Work permit for a top manager of a foreigner in Ukraine

A situation, where a Ukrainian company, whether with Ukrainian or foreign capital, decides to invite a foreign specialist, is not uncommon.

Over the last few years the flow of foreign workers to Ukraine has significantly increased, including in such rapidly developing areas as IT.

Not only prospective employees are attracting the interest of Ukrainian employers, but also foreign top managers, professional administrators and executives. Such personnel can be a good investment and give an opportunity to take your business to the next level.

Inviting foreign managers to work in Ukraine is also not uncommon for those foreign companies that start in Ukraine their subsidiaries. Having proven top managers, foreign investors prefer to see them “at the helm” of Ukrainian branches and subsidiaries.

Today we will talk about the procedural aspects of obtaining a Work Permit for a foreign top manager in Ukraine.

Our company provides consultations and services to foreign businesses in Ukraine. If you will not find answers to your questions here — we are always ready to answer all of them at personal consultations.

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How to get a Work Permit for a foreign director in Ukraine?

The first thing to keep in mind when inviting a foreigner to work as a top manager is that under certain conditions, the procedure for obtaining a Work Permit will be different, and the employee will be classified in a separate category.

So, when applying for a Work Permit in Ukraine, all workers are divided into three categories:

• Category 1 (special) — this category includes top managers, IT-specialists, foreign workers of creative professions. This category also includes graduates of TOP universities and founders/participants of Ukrainian legal entities;

• Category 2 — internal corporate assignees and secondees;

• All other foreign workers who do not fall into categories 1 and 2.

Interesting! Some foreigners do not need a Work Permit in Ukraine, namely employees of the representative office of a foreign company in Ukraine. They must obtain a separate type of permit documents — service cards.

Can a top manager be employed as a special category employee?

Standardly, the special category includes the following employees:

• foreign high-paid professionals — foreigners, whose monthly salary is not less than 50 minimum wages established in Ukraine;

• founders (beneficiaries) of a Ukrainian company;

• graduates of the Top 100 international universities, according to the list of the Cabinet of Ministers;

• employees of creative professions;

• IT-professionals.

Let's briefly name the pros and cons of hiring a foreign worker, who falls under a special category of employees.

Pros:

• The Work Permit for this category of employees can be issued for up to 36 months;

• Salary is often left to the employer’s discretion (except for the first item of the list, high-paid professionals).

Cons:

• Additional documents will be required to confirm that the employee belongs to a special category - for example, educational documents.

A top manager will fall under the special category only if he/she meets the above requirements — i.e. a foreigner is a highly paid specialist with a set salary, falls under the quotas adopted by the state on an annual basis, etc.

Our lawyers will help you determine whether your employee falls into a special category and whether it is beneficial for you to employ him or her on special terms.

In addition, this option is often chosen by the foreigners intending to personally develop their business in Ukraine — all beneficiaries and members of the companies in Ukraine fall under the special category. However, there is also a nuance — such an employee must be paid the minimum wage in any case, although its minimum amount is not established.

Employment of a top manager as a secondee or an internal corporate assignee

A top manager can also be transferred to Ukraine as an internal corporate assignee (a second category). In this case, the validity period of the Work Permit will depend on the employment period in the Ukrainian company, but not more than 3 years, and the conditions for obtaining a Work Permit will be the following: 

• the decision of the foreign parent company to transfer the employee to the Ukrainian subsidiary;

• conclusion of an appropriate agreement.

However, in this case the minimum wage will be set at 10 minimum wages (which amounts to UAH 60,000 as of July 2021). We wrote about it in more detail here.

Employment of a foreign top-manager in Ukraine as an employee of the general category

If a foreign top-manager that you plan to employ in Ukraine does not fall under the previous two categories, he/she can get a Work Permit in Ukraine on a general basis.

The general category of employees is subject to the following restrictions:

• a Work Permit can be issued for 1 year maximum;

• A minimum wage is set at 10 minimum wages, in case of an employee of a scientific institution or a charitable organization, a minimum wage is set at 5 minimum wages (which amounts to UAH 30,000 as of July 2021).

But in this case you don’t need any additional documents other than the basic standard list of documents established for each of the categories:

• an application on behalf of the employer;

• a document confirming the identity of a foreigner — a notarized copy with a certified translation into Ukrainian is required;

• 3.5x4.5 cm photo of employee;

• a draft employment agreement with employee;

• a receipt of the state fee payment;

• a power of attorney for the representative.

Our lawyers will help you determine which category the top manager you invite will belong to, advise you on the best algorithm for obtaining a Work Permit, and arrange the entire process.

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Legal services for obtaining a Work Permit in Ukraine for a foreign top manager 

Our company offers services for obtaining Work Permits for foreign workers of any category. Our services include:

• Legal consultation on the employment of your desired employee in Ukraine;

• Preparation of package of documents for employment of a foreign top-manager in Ukraine, including development of the employment agreement;

• Translation of documents, their notarization, etc;

• Submission of the set of documents to the Employment Center and legal support of their consideration;

• Legal advice on further employment of a foreign top manager, which will help to avoid the risks of the work permit revocation or fines from the State Labour Service.

The cost of obtaining a Work Permit in Ukraine for a top manager, director or a special category employee can be found here, or you can check the price of legal services with our specialist. The service package price will depend, first of all, on the amount of legal services you need.

Thus, we offer a Premium Package which allows you to gather the whole package of documents in one place, without any intermediaries, including a health insurance policy, translations and notarization.

Our lawyers also offer further support for legalization of a foreign worker’s stay in Ukraine, if necessary — we will obtain a Temporary Residence Permit on the basis of the Work Permit.

Do you want to invite a foreign top-manager, director or an IT specialist to Ukraine safely and without unnecessary delays? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We’ll take full responsibility for obtaining a Work Permit for the employee you need.

Didn’t find an answer to your question?

All about opening a foreign business in Ukraine is here.

Everything about the procedure for obtaining a Work Permit for a foreigner in Ukraine here.