License for mediation in employment abroad: common mistakes and ways to correct them

Legal assistance in obtaining the License for Overseas Employment Agency is now a highly popular service.

Such a license allows Ukrainian LLCs and individual entrepreneurs that have foreign partners to help their partners recruit qualified and reliable staff to work abroad.

The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine often refuses to grant the license if the submitted documents contain any errors. We will tell you about key points to pay attention to and how to get prepared for the licensing process.

Related article: Our Lawyers Provided Assistance In Obtaining A License For Employment Agency In Foreign Countries To The Client That Had The Partner From Latvia

Peculiarities of certification of company registration documents in the European Union countries. 

In order to cooperate with foreign partners and to obtain the appropriate license you need to get the documents confirming their company registration. These documents shall be certified and submitted as it is required by law.

Related article: Peculiarities Of The Foreign Partner’s Documents Certification

Wrong: In many countries, a company registration certificate can be downloaded from an online resource. But, such a document doesn’t meet the requirements for obtaining a license in Ukraine. 

Correct: The document must be certified by the issuing authority or any other authorized authority.

In Poland and the Czech Republic, private notaries are entitled to certify an extract from the court register. And in Slovenia, this can be done by the Post. Ukraine has agreements with the abovementioned countries, according to which the documents issued within the territory of these countries do not require additional certification (apostille or legalization).

The situation with countries, where documents shall be apostilled

Wrong: To submit a document without an apostille. 

We had a situation, when a Dutch company could not certify its registration document with the issuing authority for a long time. In the Netherlands, this document can be simply downloaded from the Chamber of Commerce registry for a certain fee. Since the bureaucracy with signatures and seals has long been simplified there, it is a whole thing to properly make documents compliant with the law of Ukraine. 

Correct: The document shall be apostilled and signed by the issuing authority.

Related article: How Soon Can A License For Employment Agency In Foreign Countries Be Obtained?

The most common mistakes the companies make when obtaining the licence

Most mistakes are caused by the fact that licensees do not know:

• what documents and information they shall request from the foreign partner;
• how to properly certify these documents; 
• how to properly fill in the application forms for the license, etc. 

The situation worsens if the foreign partners themselves do not understand the procedure for obtaining and certifying documents in their own country.

Wrong: The Client tried to obtain the license himself. He asked his Polish partner for a company registration certificate. The partner provided him with a printout from the court register, assuring that no additional certification is required under the Polish law. Of course, the Client failed to obtain the license.

Correct: Certify the document with a notary (Poland) or another authorized person. 

Related article: Our Lawyers Advised An Overseas Employment Agent How to Properly Draft An Agreement With An Employee

Wrong: The Client leased an office before the company was registered and conclude a Lease Agreement. Then, he had the imprudence to indicate the date of the Agreement, which preceded the date of the company registration in the application for the license. As a result he was refused to grant the license due to false information. 

Correct: Thoroughly check the documents before submitting them to the licensing authority, it is recommended to consult with a lawyer.

The most important things to remember 

The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine has its own subjective opinion on many issues. They often leave the documents without consideration and any explanations, but simply state: submit documents properly certified/executed.

Thus, licensees should consult with lawyers before submitting their documents, or even before signing agreements with foreign partners, in an ideal scenario.

Note! Sometimes foreign partners ask for the license before signing a Cooperation Agreement. But to obtain the license, you need to conclude the abovementioned Agreement. It's a Catch-22 situation.

In such cases, we offer to conclude a Cooperation Agreement with our Polish partner. This will allow you to obtain the necessary license in a timely manner and will eliminate lengthy negotiations and explanations.

If you think about setting up an employment agency in foreign countries or are already preparing for this, it is better seek legal support of this process.