Minimum Salary Level for Foreign Workers to Increase

The situation

Effective January 1, 2019, the minimum monthly salary for foreign workers will increase to KZT 42,426, up 50 percent.

A closer look

• Initial and renewal applications. Employers of foreign nationals seeking to obtain or renew an work permit on or after January 1, 2019 must increase the foreign national’s salary to comply with the new rule. Immigration applications that do not meet the minimum salary will be rejected.
• Pending applications. Employers of foreign nationals with pending work permit applications as of January 1, 2019 must increase the foreign national’s minimum salary to comply with the new rule. Immigration applications that do not meet the minimum salary will be rejected.
• Existing employees. Employers of foreign nationals currently holding a work permit must increase the foreign national’s salary after January 1, 2019 to comply with the new rule.
• Benefits and allowances. As before, benefits and allowances cannot be included in the minimum salary calculation in Kazakhstan.

Background

Kazakhstan increased its salary threshold for work permit applications by 15.6 percent in 2017, and by 7 percent in 2016.

Impact

Despite this year’s steep increase, employers will likely easily meet the requirement since only executives, specialists and highly-qualified workers are eligible for a work permit in Kazakhstan.

Despite the low salary threshold, Kazakhstan’s immigration system is quite strict, with an annual work permit quota, a fixed ratio of foreign to local workers, complex and time-consuming processes and strict enforcement and compliance checks.

Looking ahead

Most EU countries increase their salary thresholds annually by amounts under five percent. Changes typically take effect January 1, with Norway as a rare exception changing its threshold annually in July. Kazakhstan is the fourth country after Germany, Belgium and Ireland to announce its new thresholds this year. Fragomen expects most European countries to announce their new thresholds in the coming weeks, with Belarus, Croatia and the Netherlands typically being among the later countries to publish new amounts. Fragomen will report relevant developments on other countries’ increases and any other increases in Kazakhstan as they occur.

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].