Belarus: New Work Permit Exemption Among Multiple Changes to Immigration Rules

August 17, 2023

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Country / Territory

At a Glance

Belarus’s foreign national employee regime has recently undergone multiple changes, including, among others:

  • Eligible business travelers and those individuals in roles included on a government list of unrestricted foreign employee categories may qualify for a new work permit exemption;
  • Employers no longer need to apply for an additional permit when seeking to hire more than 10 foreign nationals;
  • Employers are no longer required to register foreign national employment agreements, although they must now notify migration authorities within three business days of the commencement or termination (and, in certain cases, the extension) of foreign national employment agreements; and
  • With some exceptions, employers can no longer enter a certain type of fixed-term employment agreement with foreign employees, which provided certain employee benefits.

The situation

Belarus’s foreign national employee regime has recently undergone multiple changes, some that relax requirements for employers and employees seeking to work in the country, and others that result in stricter related measures.

CHANGE DETAILS IMPACT
New work permit exemption

Employers of the following foreign nationals no longer need to obtain a special work permit or conduct a labor market test:

    • foreign employees on business trips (of two months or less) to representative offices; and
    • foreign nationals whose roles are included on a government list of unrestricted foreign employee categories, which currently lists 10 categories, including drivers, engineers, nurses, and veterinarians, among others.

These foreign nationals only need to enter into an employment agreement, while employers must notify migration authorities within three business days of entering into, extending or terminating such agreements.

 With this new work permit exemption, employers can now hire a greater number of foreign employees without obtaining a special work permit. Furthermore, qualifying employees will see greater flexibility regarding intra-company business travel.
Employers are no longer required to obtain an additional permit when hiring more than 10 foreign nationals
    • Employers no longer need to apply for a “foreign labor” permit when seeking to hire more than 10 foreign nationals. Rather, employers will simply need to arrange a “special work permit” for each employee, with the exception of certain categories of foreign nationals.
    • Previously, employers in this situation had to obtain a “foreign labor” permit. Any such permits became void from July 1, 2023 and should have been returned to local migration authorities by August 1, 2023.
 This change reduces the administrative and cost burden of hiring many foreign nationals, increasing the capacity of employers to attract foreign talent.
Changes to employment-agreement notification methods
    • Employers must notify local migration authorities about any commencement or termination (and, for certain work permit exempt categories, the extension) of a foreign national’s employment agreement within three business days of such an event.
    • Notifications must be made via a state-prescribed form and must include (among other items): information about the employer, the employee, and the relevant position. The notifications can be filed in person, by mail, by courier or electronically.
    • Previously, employers had to register with migration authorities within one month of the signing of, or changes to, an employment agreement. As part of this process, employers had to submit documents in person, by courier or by mail. Registration procedures could take up to 15 days.
    • Employers must still return special work permits to migration authorities within five business days of the termination of an employment agreement. 
    • Employers now face reduced foreign employee procedural burdens, including no longer needing to notify authorities about amendments to the employment agreement in most instances.
    • However, employers also face a shorter time-frame to notify government authorities about the commencement or termination (and, in certain cases, the extension) of the employment relationship.
    • Employers should therefore ensure they have rigorous internal mechanisms to track the status of their employment arrangements to ensure compliance with this new rule.
    • As with the previous situation, employees can still work immediately after entering into an employment agreement.
Restrictions on the types of foreign employment agreements  
    • With exceptions, employers can no longer enter a certain type of fixed-term employment agreement with foreign employees which provided certain employee benefits. Any such agreements must have been terminated before July 1, 2023.
    • Employers of foreign nationals are instead limited to using other types of fixed-term employment agreements with reduced benefits, which are valid only for the length of the special work permit.
    • However, employers can still enter the previous, more beneficial employment contracts with various work permit exempt foreign employee categories, including eligible business travelers and those with roles included on the government list of unrestricted foreign employee categories.
 Employers are now more limited in the type of employment terms they can offer foreign nationals, reducing their capacity to negotiate attractive terms for foreign talent.
New grounds for revoking a special work permit
    • There are new grounds for revoking a special work permit, including but not limited to:
      • failure to enter into an employment agreement within six months of receiving a special work permit; and
      • the employer’s non-payment of mandatory insurance contributions.
    • Further, a special work permit will be voided if the employment type is added to the government list of unrestricted foreign employee categories. If this occurs, the employment agreement will remain valid, but the employer must return the special work permit to the migration authority within five business days.
 With further grounds for losing a special work permit (and thus losing a valuable employee), employers should ensure they have rigorous internal monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure they are meeting their obligations regarding special work permits to minimize work disruptions.
  • Aim to expand labor market. Although these changes reduce some flexibility regarding valid employment contracts, these amendments – by somewhat reducing the administrative burden of Belarussian employers – ultimately seek to attract foreign labor to Belarus. This continues the ongoing trend in many other jurisdictions, of relaxing immigration pathways for foreign employees amid a tight global labor market.
  • Special work permit description. A special work permit grants employers the right to hire a foreign employee for a specified term and these employees the right to be employed in Belarus. Apart from specific exceptions (including those earlier discussed), every foreign national employee in Belarus who does not have a permanent residence permit must have a special work permit.

Further work permit law changes are not expected in the near future.

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].

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