Employment of foreigners

The conditions for employment of foreign citizens and stateless persons (hereinafter referred to as foreigners) in the Republic of Belarus depend on their residence status and are divided into two categories:

1. foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus;
2. foreigners temporarily staying and temporarily residing in the Republic of Belarus.

A foreigner who has received, in the prescribed manner, permission to permanent residence in the Republic of Belarus and a residence permit (permanently residing) has the right to engage in labor and entrepreneurial activities on an equal basis with citizens of the Republic of Belarus.

Therefore, an employer can hire them without special restrictions (except for positions that allow hiring only citizens of the Republic of Belarus).

Only citizens of the Republic of Belarus are allowed to take certain positions, and therefore the legislation of the Republic of Belarus establishes some restrictions for foreigners:

• foreigners cannot hold positions the appointment to which is associated with citizenship of the Republic of Belarus (in particular, foreign citizens cannot be hired for public service in state bodies, internal affairs bodies, the prosecutor's office, emergency situations bodies and units, financial investigation bodies, and cannot be employees of militarized security);
• foreigners cannot elect or be elected to elected state bodies of the Republic of Belarus, nor take part in referendums;
• foreigners cannot be members of political parties and other public associations created and operating on the territory of the Republic of Belarus pursuing political goals (at the same time, foreigners can join trade unions and other public associations created and operating on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, if this is provided for in their charters);
• foreigners temporarily staying and temporarily residing in the Republic of Belarus are not entitled to carry out entrepreneurial activity in the Republic of Belarus without forming a legal entity (at the same time, foreigners have the right to carry out one-time sale of goods in markets and/or in other places established by local executive and administrative bodies under special permits);
• foreigners staying in the Republic of Belarus do not perform military duty.

FOR REFERENCE:

Foreigners who have received permission to permanently reside in the Republic of Belarus, in case of their non-participation or participation for less than 183 calendar days in the tax period (calendar year) in financing state expenses, are recognized as payers of the fee for financing state expenses (in the amount of 20 basic units). That is, for example, they did not work under an employment contract (contract) or on terms of membership in a production cooperative or peasant (farmer) economy for more than 183 days in a year. Recognition as participating in the financing of state expenses, as well as exemption from payment of the fee, is regulated by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of April 2, 2015, No. 3 "On the Prevention of Social Dependence".

Foreigners who do not have permission to permanently reside (temporarily staying and temporarily residing) and wish to work in the territory of the Republic of Belarus (migrant workers) must have a special permit to engage in labor activity in the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as a special permit) (with the exception of citizens of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic).

Employment in the Republic of Belarus of foreigners who do not have permits to permanently reside in the Republic of Belarus (except for positions where only citizens of the Republic of Belarus are allowed to be hired) can be carried out either independently or with the assistance of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs or foreign organizations providing personnel selection services.

Engagement in labor activity by foreign citizens in the Republic of Belarus is allowed only in the case when the vacancy cannot be filled by citizens of the Republic of Belarus and foreign citizens permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus.

Foreigners can solve housing issues in the Republic of Belarus by renting or purchasing residential premises at their own expense, or by working for employers who provide temporary residential premises during the employment period.

The right to engage in labor activity under civil law contracts is granted to:

• permanently residing foreigners;
• temporarily staying and temporarily residing foreigners, in case they carry out other activities in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus;
• citizens of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic.

To use the labor of foreigners who do not have permits to permanently reside in the Republic of Belarus, in excess of ten people, the employer in the Republic of Belarus is obliged to obtain permission to attract foreign labor from the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. For this purpose, it is necessary to submit the following documents:

• application;
• copies of documents confirming state registration of a legal entity or individual entrepreneur (for residents of the Republic of Belarus), a legalized extract from the trade register of the country of origin or other equivalent proof of the legal status of the organization in accordance with the legislation of the country of origin (for non-residents of the Republic of Belarus);
• draft employment contract with a foreigner, certified by the signature of the head and the seal;
• guarantee letter confirming the possibility of accommodating a foreigner;
• document confirming payment (state fee in the amount of 5 basic units).

The Law of the Republic of Belarus "On External Labor Migration" dated December 30, 2010 No. 225-Z (as amended on January 5, 2016) introduced the concept of an immigrant worker.

Immigrant workers are persons who meet the following criteria simultaneously:

• do not have a permanent residence permit in the territory of the Republic of Belarus;
• entered the Republic of Belarus for employment and carrying out labor activities under an employment contract with an employer in the Republic of Belarus or carrying out such activities in the Republic of Belarus.

When carrying out labor activities in the Republic of Belarus, immigrant workers are provided with the following guarantees:

• equal remuneration for work of equal value with citizens and foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus;
• payments provided by legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus for citizens and foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus in connection with the loss of their health, professional capacity or their death due to accidents at work and occupational diseases;
• information provided by departments of citizenship and migration to immigrant workers about the legal status of foreigners in the Republic of Belarus;
• obtaining information from state bodies (organizations) of the Republic of Belarus about the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Immigrant workers may carry out labor activities in the Republic of Belarus subject to the following conditions:

• obtaining a special permit;
• conclusion of an employment contract.

Carrying out labor activities by immigrant workers in the Republic of Belarus is allowed if the vacant jobs (vacancies) cannot be filled by citizens and foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus.

Carrying out labor activities by an immigrant worker in the Republic of Belarus without the employer of the Republic of Belarus obtaining a special permit and concluding an employment contract is not allowed.

In case of cancellation of the special permit, the corresponding employment contract with the immigrant worker is terminated.

Discrimination, that is, restriction of labor rights or granting any advantages based on gender, race, national and social origin, language, religious or political beliefs, participation or non-participation in trade unions or other public associations, property or official status, age, place of residence, physical or mental disabilities that do not prevent the performance of corresponding labor duties, other circumstances not related to business qualifications and not dictated by the specifics of the employee's job function, including immigrant workers, is prohibited.

It is also prohibited to hire immigrant workers on terms that humiliate their human dignity or harm their health; to substitute labor relations arising from employment contracts concluded with immigrant workers with obligations arising from contracts provided for by the civil legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Persons who believe they have been subjected to discrimination in the field of labor relations have the right to apply to the court with a corresponding application to eliminate discrimination.

To use the labor of foreigners who do not have permits for permanent residence in the Republic of Belarus, in excess of ten people, with the exception of foreigners who are highly qualified workers and a foreigner involved as a manager of a commercial organization in whose creation he participated (as a property owner, founder, participant), the employer of the Republic of Belarus must obtain a permit to attract foreign labor.

The period of validity of the permit to attract foreign labor can be extended once at the request of the employer of the Republic of Belarus. After the expiration of the permit to attract foreign labor, the employer of the Republic of Belarus has the right to apply for a new permit.

To obtain a permit to attract foreign labor to the Republic of Belarus, it is necessary to submit the following documents to the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs:

• application;
• documents for traveling abroad for foreigners with whom it is planned to conclude employment contracts;
• draft employment contract with a foreigner signed by the employer;
• guarantee letter confirming the possibility of accommodating a foreigner;
• document confirming payment (5 base amounts; free of charge – for citizens who are investors who have concluded an investment agreement with the Republic of Belarus, when implementing investment projects).