Oil and Gas Sector Employers Must Now Conduct Labor Market Test

The situation

According to a new regulation, employers seeking to send foreign workers to Azerbaijan for oil and gas sector employment must register online to recruit local workers by posting job advertisements. This essentially creates a labor market test where one did not previously apply at all in Azerbaijan for any work authorization category.

A closer look

• Recruitment process details limited. The government has not yet released details of the new market testing requirement, but it is expected that the vacant position will need to be posted for as long as it takes to complete the recruitment process.
• Registration cost. Employers registering on the online system will need to pay AZN 23 (approximately USD 14) per posting.
• Fragomen’s role. Fragomen can assist with the registration and posting process.

 

Impact

This new process will prolong the work authorization process in the oil and gas industry in Azerbaijan and adds administrative steps for the employer, including sorting through resumes and interviewing local candidates.

Background

• Previous, shorter process. Previously, employers seeking to hire in the oil and gas industry only needed to submit an Endorsement Letter from the State Oil Company (SOCAR) with their work permit application, which took three to seven business days to obtain. The government processing time varies from 10-20 business days; this is not expected to change.
• Government’s intentions with new process. Through the new requirement, the government seeks to increase local labor market participation in the growing oil and gas sector in the country.
• Labor market tests usage. Several countries in the region, including Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia and Malta, have a labor market test process in their main work authorization process, which can add several weeks to the overall work authorization process.

 

Looking ahead

Fragomen will report on additional rules and details about this process when they are published.

​This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].