Ukraine is adopting European hiring rules: who will benefit from simplified employment of foreigners
14 November 2025 21:30
Ukraine is preparing to significantly simplify the procedures for employing foreigners. The Verkhovna Rada has already registered a government bill on a single permit document for foreign workers that will combine a work permit and a residence permit, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports, citing the official website of the Ukrainian parliament.
Foreigners will no longer have to obtain two documents separately, but will need only one, which immediately gives them the right to live and work legally in Ukraine. In addition, it is planned to introduce a special online job portal through which foreign specialists will be able to apply for jobs in Ukraine remotely.
Let’s take a closer look at the innovations proposed by this draft law and analyze its potential impact on the Ukrainian labor market: what industries will require foreign specialists, what challenges we may face, and what experience other countries have in this area.
What changes does the draft law propose?
A single residence and work permit. The main innovation is the introduction of a single document for foreigners and stateless persons that combines a work permit and a temporary residence permit. That is, instead of a separate work permit from the State Employment Service and a separate residence permit from the Migration Service, a foreigner will receive one document confirming the right to work and reside in Ukraine for a specified period. This decision is intended to reduce bureaucracy and accelerate the attraction of foreign specialists, and also implements European approaches in line with EU directives.
State job portal and electronic applications. The draft law provides for the creation of a Unified State Web Portal for the Employment of Foreigners, where Ukrainian employers are obliged to publish vacancies available to foreigners. Foreign job seekers will be able to familiarize themselves with these offers online and, upon receiving an invitation from the employer, apply for a single permit in electronic form through this portal. The applications will be reviewed by the State Migration Service together with other authorized bodies, and in case of a positive decision, the foreigner will receive grounds for entering Ukraine and obtaining a residence permit. This portal is designed to make the hiring process more transparent and convenient: employers will be able to legally hire workers from abroad, and candidates will be able to apply remotely, minimizing personal visits to institutions.
Categories of foreigners with free access to the labor market. Separately, the draft law defines a list of categories of foreigners who do not need a work permit to work in Ukraine and thus effectively gives them free access to the labor market. This refers to cases where foreigners can be hired without going through the aforementioned procedure for obtaining a single permit. Although the specific categories in the document are yet to be approved, they usually include, for example, foreigners with permanent residence in Ukraine, refugees, or highly qualified specialists who already enjoy simplified conditions. For such persons, a separate procedure for obtaining a residence permit without a standard work permit is provided. This innovation is intended to eliminate unnecessary obstacles for those foreigners whose employment is already appropriate and does not pose risks to the labor market.
How this will affect the Ukrainian labor market
The simplification of procedures is expected to make Ukraine more attractive to foreign workers and investors. Today, the Ukrainian economy is experiencing an acute shortage of labor in almost all sectors. Millions of citizens have left the country because of the war, and up to 70% of them do not plan to return in the near future. Experts note that the shortage of personnel is observed in all sectors of the economy. In particular, there is a shortage of teachers in schools, doctors and nurses in hospitals, and engineers for the defense industry. There is also a shortage of workers in construction and agriculture. Last year, 75% of Ukrainian companies reported problems filling vacancies on their own. Under these circumstances, attracting even a few tens or hundreds of thousands of foreign workers each year can partially alleviate the staff shortage.
Sectors with the highest demand for foreigners. The construction industry, which will be the engine of postwar reconstruction, needs the most additional hands. Experts agree that construction is the sector that can accommodate the majority of potential labor migrants. There is already a shortage of workers on construction sites: bricklayers, concrete workers, plumbers, welders, i.e., representatives of labor specialties that are difficult to find on the domestic market. In addition to construction, industry and manufacturing need specialists and factory workers, especially to perform hard physical labor, which local youth refuse to do. The agricultural sector is also experiencing a shortage of seasonal workers needed for harvesting and farm work. In the service sector (hotel and restaurant business, logistics, and maintenance), there are niches that can be filled by foreigners, especially in regions where many Ukrainian workers have gone abroad. Even in highly skilled industries (such as IT, engineering, and medicine), there is an outflow of personnel, so companies do not rule out hiring specialists from abroad if they have unique knowledge or experience.
Ukrainian business will also benefit from the introduction of a single permit. According to surveys, more than 23% of companies believe that simplifying the legalization of foreigners would encourage them to hire more employees from abroad. So far, most employers have been slow to do so: currently, only about 13% of Ukrainian companies openly declare their readiness to hire foreigners. The main reasons for this are the lack of urgent need and the language barrier, as well as the lack of experience in working with foreign staff. However, the situation is changing: with the growing staff shortage, more and more companies are realizing the need to look for employees outside the country. If legal procedures become simpler and the state guarantees clear conditions, some businesses will be ready to engage foreign specialists to fill their vacancies.
Possible challenges and risks
Despite the positive effect of employment deregulation, there are challenges to consider. The first is competition for labor. Ukraine is now competing with many countries for the same workers. Europe is also facing a shortage of personnel, and countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany are actively simplifying immigration procedures to attract workers from abroad. A foreign specialist will compare the conditions: the level of salaries, social guarantees, and the security situation. Unfortunately, Ukrainian salaries are still much lower than Western European ones, and military uncertainty scares off many potential migrants. Experts predict that we should not expect a massive influx of foreign workers in the coming years: their number will be in the tens of thousands rather than millions. For foreigners to really choose Ukraine, employers will have to offer competitive wages and opportunities for family relocation, otherwise they will go to Poland or Germany, where these conditions are better.
The second challenge is the integration of foreigners into work teams and society. Language barriers and cultural differences can make cooperation difficult: 44% of Ukrainians name the language problem, and 30% name the difference in cultures and traditions among the reasons for their cautious attitude towards foreign colleagues. Therefore, along with simplifying recruitment, adaptation programs are needed: language courses, workplace orientation, and measures to promote mutual understanding in teams. Businesses also expect the government to support the adaptation of employees (26% of companies mentioned this need).
The third challenge is the implementation of reforms in practice. It is necessary to create and set up a new job portal, to ensure fast data exchange between the migration service, employment centers, and consulates. It is important that the declarative “simplification” does not turn into new bureaucratic barriers due to technical failures or lack of synchronization between agencies.
Control over the working conditions of foreigners is also critical: the state must prevent possible abuses, cases of illegal labor or labor exploitation of migrants. To do this, experts advise strengthening labor inspections and clearly defining the rules of deportation in case of violation of laws, so that the new system is fair and safe for all participants.
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Experience of other countries and prospects
The idea of combining residence and work permits for foreigners is not a Ukrainian know-how, but a standard EU practice. The draft law is directly based on the European directive on a single permit: in the EU, a person receives one plastic residence card that immediately includes the right to work. This simplifies control, eliminates unnecessary instances, and makes the rules clear to investors and international companies, which make it easier for them to transfer employees to Ukrainian offices or hire people for projects.
Poland has already shown how this works in practice: at the beginning of 2025, more than 1.6 million foreigners were officially employed there, about two-thirds of them Ukrainians. Migrants cover the shortage of personnel in construction, industry, and services.
For Ukraine, simplifying access to the labor market is only the first step. The effect of the reform depends on the stability of the economy, the level of wages and the quality of life: only then will the country become truly attractive to foreign labor and qualified specialists.
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