IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Kazakhstan will impose new work permit fees beginning Jan. 1.

What does the change mean? Employers filing new and renewal work permit applications on behalf of foreign nationals will be subject to new fees based on the country’s monthly calculation index. Depending on the category of worker and the industry, fees may range from 310,853 to 567,250 tenges (between about US$916 and US$1,671).

  • Implementation time frame: The fees will be imposed Jan. 1.
  • Visas/permits affected:Work permits.
  • Who is affected: Employers filing work permit applications.
  • Business impact: Employers should take note of the new fees and figure the costs into their budgets.

Background: Work permits fees will vary depending on the category of worker and the industry.

Foreign nationals eligible for work permits are divided into four categories: first category employees (chief executives and deputy chief executives), second category employees (managers and department heads), third category employees (specialists who do not qualify as second category employees) and fourth category employees (all other qualified workers). Kazakhstan recently released the Jan. 1 work permit fees for workers across all four categories in more than 20 industries. In key industries, work permit fees will be determined as follows:

Industry Rates in Monthly Calculation Indexes
First Category Second Category Third Category Fourth Category
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing

 

 137 158 179 200
Mining, Quarrying (including the oil and gas sector) 154 178 202 225
Construction

 

 171 198 224 250
Financial and Insurance Activity 137 158 179 200
Professional, Scientific and Engineering 137 158 179 200

The fees will be calculated by multiplying the Monthly Calculation Index, which will be 2,269 tenges in 2017, by the relevant multiplier in the chart above. Fees will apply to both new and renewal work permit applications, but not to intracompany transfers.

BAL Analysis: Businesses should prepare for new work permit fees beginning Jan. 1. Those with questions about how the fee structure works or what categories foreign workers should be placed in should contact their BAL professional.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Kazakhstan. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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