Azerbaijan: Stricter Documentary Requirements for Company Director Work Permit Exemption

In order to be eligible for a work permit exemption, foreign national directors of a limited liability company applying for a temporary residence permit must now include, as part of their residence permit application, documents confirming that the relevant company has both a share capital of at least AZN 50,000 as well as annual turnover of at least AZN 100,000. Previously, such documentation was not required, although the company still had to have such share capital and annual turnover.       

This change adds an additional documentary step for sponsoring employers, which may add to the total administrative processing time. For instance, if the company does not have adequate annual turnover documentation, it will need to contact the Azerbaijani tax authority to be issued such documentation – a process that can take several business days.      

Applicants who cannot complete this new documentary requirement can still apply for a temporary residence permit but will also need to apply for a work permit in order to be eligible to work, which can take up to 20 business days to process and requires more administrative steps than the exemption process.      

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].