EXPERT OPINION
country . The certificate is issued for up to three months and can then be extended for the period of an employment contract ( but for no longer than three years ), after the foreigner finds a job directly in Kazakhstan .
To encourage foreign investment , Kazakhstan offers various exemptions from the requirement to obtain work permits for foreign workers . Amongst others , such exemptions extend to :
• Business immigrants arriving in Kazakhstan to do business .
• CEOs of local branch offices or representative offices of foreign companies .
• CEOs and deputy CEOs of local wholly foreign-owned companies .
• CEOs of companies that have entered into agreements with the Government of Kazakhstan to invest more than US $ 50 million in the country , and CEOs of local companies running investment projects in key industries under agreements with local competent authorities .
• Nationals of member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union , regardless of their position or the duration of the employment in Kazakhstan .
• Managers and professionals with higher education working with either local companies that have entered into contracts to implement investment projects in priority areas or companies in the architecture , city planning and construction industry contracted by such an investor , for a period until the end of the first year after the commissioning date of the project facility , or as qualified workers in accordance with the list of occupations and employee numbers approved as part of investment contracts .
• Employees of companies registered in one of Kazakhstan ' s eleven free economic zones ( FEZ ) to implement projects worth more than KZT 2.405 million ( in 2018 ) or companies contracted by a FEZ resident , for the period of construction and installation work in the FEZ and during the first year after the commissioning date of the project facility , in accordance with the list
of employee categories and numbers adopted by a competent authority .
• Employees on business trips sent for a period of no more than 120 calendar days in total during one calendar year .
Permits are issued in the location where the foreign worker will be employed . The employer is not required to maintain an office in that particular location . Permits are valid only for the foreign national for whom they have been issued and cannot be transferred to a different employer , but they may be reissued for another foreign worker meeting the same qualification criteria . According to the current rules , permits are only valid in the administrative unit where they have been issued . Foreign workers may be sent on a business trip to companies located in other administrative units for a period of no more than 90 calendar days in total during one calendar year .
It is important to note that the Government of Kazakhstan is open to dialogue with foreign investors and constructive proposals for improving the legal framework , including rules for the employment of foreign workers in the country . There are a number of business communities in Kazakhstan that provide a platform for foreign investors to voice concerns about what they consider to be gaps in the legal framework or enforcement practices . Close cooperation between Kazakhstan ' s Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population and major business associations has made it possible to substantially simplify the work permit procedure for foreign workers over the last few years . Improvements include shorter processing times , the abolition of guarantee deposits , the abolition of the requirement for employers to look for candidates in the domestic market first ( the requirement is still in place for intra-company transfers but has been simplified ), the limitation of special conditions to intra-company transfers for which no quotas or fees apply , the extension of the validity of permits for CEOs and deputy CEOs to three years and the abolition of permits for CEOs and deputy CEOs of local wholly foreign-owned companies .
As government agencies continue to cooperate with foreign investors , further improvements in rules for the employment of foreign workers should be expected . In particular , there is an ongoing discussion to revivethe provisions that allowed employers to extend work permits to two or more administrative units of Kazakhstan as well as the extension of benefits available for intra-company transfers to other divisions of the company . In addition , the Government of Kazakhstan adopted the Migration Policy Concept for 2017-21 in September 2017 in an effort to further enhance migration mechanisms , including labor migration regulations . The concept is focused on an analysis of best international practices to implement the most effective mechanisms for migration regulation .
EY is an active member of major business associations , participating in initiatives as part of various working groups to enhance Kazakhstan ' s investment climate and drive its economic growth by improving national laws .
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