Azerbaijan: Ministry of Labour Introduces Broader Labour Market Testing

Employers in Azerbaijan are now required to demonstrate that they have made efforts to employ local workers and demonstrate a particular need for foreign labor when seeking to sponsor foreign nationals, which was not previously required. As part of this process, the State Migration Service will contact the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population for their opinion on the labor market impact of work permit applications; the Ministry will then issue an assessment within five to seven business days.  Additionally, employers will be required to demonstrate long-term efforts to train local staff to replace sponsored foreign workers, which was previously assumed but not strictly enforced or documented as part of the work permit application. Affected employers are advised to provide extensive documentation on foreign national qualifications, local recruitment efforts and training plans when filing work permit applications to prevent processing delays.