Hiring foreign employees in Kazakhstan: permits, visas, TRP, notifications

Hiring foreign employees in Kazakhstan puts the legal burden on the employer, not the employee. The company needs a lawful basis for the hire (a labour permit from the local executive body or an exemption), the employee needs a visa or temporary residence permit that matches employment, the company as host party must file a stay notification within three working days of each arrival, and every one of these documents expires on a date someone must track. Fines for a missed notification or for work without a permit fall on the legal entity and its officer. This guide walks through a typical hire and shows where AIFC status and citizenship change the route.

Step 1. Establish the hiring basis

Labour permit from the local executive body

The default basis is a permit to attract foreign labour, issued to the employer by the local executive body (akimat) of the region where the employee will work. The procedure is governed by the rules approved by Order of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Protection No. 279 of 30 June 2023, in force since 1 July 2023. Applications are filed electronically through egov.kz, elicense.kz or the migration.enbek.kz portal.

Key parameters under the rules:

• Categories of workers: first category, heads and their deputies; second, heads of structural units; third, specialists; fourth, qualified workers. Each category has its own qualification requirements, which the employee's education and experience must match.
• Validity: first category permits are issued for one, two or three years at the employer's choice and can be extended for the same periods; second and third category permits are issued for twelve months and can be extended for twelve months no more than three times; fourth category permits are issued for twelve months without extension; seasonal permits for up to 90, 180, 270 or 365 calendar days.
• Timing: the local executive body decides within seven working days of registration; the overall service term is up to 19 working days.
• Fee: a state levy set by the Government is payable for issue or extension; the employer must submit proof of payment within ten working days of the notification of the decision, otherwise the decision is annulled.
• Local content: for fourth category workers the employer undertakes to replace them with Kazakhstan citizens within six months to one year; annual quotas apply.

Intra-corporate transfers from a foreign parent to a Kazakhstan branch or subsidiary follow a separate chapter of the same rules: up to three years, with a one-year extension.

Exemptions: when no permit is needed

Government Decree No. 1041 of 24 November 2023 lists persons for whom the employer needs no permit. The most relevant for foreign companies:

• citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union member states (Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Russia), who work under an ordinary employment contract;
• foreigners hired by participants and bodies of the Astana International Financial Centre;
• the first head and a deputy of a Kazakhstan legal entity with 100 percent foreign participation, within the limits set by the decree;
• business immigrants, kandas (ethnic Kazakhs), refugees, crew members, artists, athletes and certain academics.

AIFC participants

Article 8 of Constitutional Law No. 438-V on the AIFC allows participants and bodies of the Centre to hire foreigners without a permit, and the foreigners need no individual work authorization. No quota applies. The participant must hold documents confirming each foreign employee's high qualification, under a list set by AFSA, and the AIFC administration reports foreign staff to the migration authority. The registered address must be inside the AIFC territory. Visa, state duty, fingerprinting and the stay notification apply in the ordinary way.

Step 2. Visa or TRP, depending on citizenship

Visa nationals: the C3 work visa

For citizens of visa countries the work visa is category C3. The employer prepares an invitation and a petition to the migration service, attaching the labour permit or the documents showing that none is required; for AIFC participants that is the certificate of registration in the AIFC and a copy of the employment contract. The visa is single-entry up to 90 days on an invitation, or multi-entry up to three years, and up to five years for AIFC participants and Astana Hub members. A C3 visa cannot be obtained as an e-visa; it is issued at a consulate abroad or, where the person is lawfully in Kazakhstan, through the migration service.

AIFC participants file through the AIFC Expat Centre on the AIFC client portal. Two practical points from that process: online upload of documents is not a filing, and after the Expat Centre's managers confirm the package, originals are submitted in person by appointment; and the migration service, not the Expat Centre, decides on the visa. The employee's file normally contains the passport, the application form, the employer's petition, the state duty receipt, the visa application form, the fingerprinting certificate, the stay notification, the employment contract and qualification documents. Spouses and minor children receive dependant C3 visas on separate petitions.

Extension is filed not earlier than 30 days and not later than five working days before the visa expires; the passport holder collects in person.

Visa-free nationals with a ratified agreement: TRP for work

Citizens of states with a ratified visa-free agreement (Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan under a Government decree) do not need a visa. Instead the employer, as host party, files for a temporary residence permit under Order No. 992 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: free of charge, one working day, through the police, a service center or egov.kz. The file includes the application form, passport copy, registered medical insurance, the notarized consent of the housing owner if the employer is not the owner, the fingerprinting certificate, the labour permit or exemption document and the registered employment contract. The TRP for work is issued for one year, renewable annually, not longer than the contract, and must be applied for before the permitted stay ends or within ten calendar days after.

Short visa-free regimes that exclude work do not support a TRP for employment; those citizens follow the C3 route.

Step 3. After arrival: the three-working-day rule and registrations

• Stay notification. The host party, normally the company, notifies the migration service within three working days of arrival through the visa and migration portal or eQonaq, free of charge. The purpose of stay must match the visa or TRP: "work", not "tourism". A separate notification is filed for each family member and on a change of address.
• IIN and fingerprinting. An individual identification number is assigned through the Expat Centre, egov.kz or a service center; dactyloscopic registration is done at the migration service, and the certificate number goes into the visa petition and the TRP file.
• Employment contract registration. Contracts are registered in the unified system of labour contracts.

Step 4. Track and extend

Every foreign employee generates at least four dates: permit expiry, visa or TRP expiry, passport expiry and contract end. The visa cannot outlast the passport, the TRP cannot outlast the contract, and the permit extension window closes before the permit ends. Someone has to own the calendar and be reminded at least 30 days ahead. Offboarding is part of compliance: on termination the employer arranges exit formalities or visa cancellation, so that the company is not the host party of a person who has overstayed.

Stage	Who files	Where	Typical term
Labour permit	Employer	Local executive body via egov / elicense	Up to 19 working days
Invitation and C3 visa	Employer (host party)	Migration service; AIFC Expat Centre for participants	Invitation 3 to 5 working days; visa per consulate
TRP for visa-free citizen	Employer (host party)	Police, service center or egov.kz	1 working day
Stay notification	Employer (host party)	Visa and migration portal / eQonaq	Within 3 working days of arrival
Extension	Employer	Same body	Filed 30 days to 5 working days before expiry

Liability

Under the Code of Administrative Offences:

• Article 518: failure of the host party to arrange the foreigner's stay or departure documents, or late notification of the migration service, carries a fine for the officer and for a small business of 10 MCI, for a medium business 15 MCI and for a large business 20 MCI; housing a foreigner who is in breach carries 40, 55 and 75 MCI; repeat violations carry more. A host party penalized twice in twelve months may find its invitations refused.
• Article 519: attracting foreign labour without a permit of the local executive body, or employing a foreigner in a position other than the one in the permit, carries a fine of 50 MCI for the officer and 100, 200 and 700 MCI for small, medium and large businesses, with higher amounts for repeat offences.
• Article 517: the foreigner personally faces a fine, arrest or expulsion for activity inconsistent with the visa purpose or work without the required authorization; this does not close the company's case.

Questions and answers

We are registering a company now. Should we choose the AIFC to simplify hiring?
If the business fits the AIFC (financial, consulting, technology and similar activities) and can hold a registered address inside the Centre, participant status removes the labour permit, the quota and the individual work authorization. Registration can be combined with hiring the first employees. For manufacturing or retail the AIFC is usually not the right vehicle, and the permit route applies.

Can a foreign director work without a permit?
The first head and a deputy of a Kazakhstan legal entity with 100 percent foreign participation are on the Decree No. 1041 list within its limits, so no permit is needed for them; the visa (usually C5 for a founder-director or C3 for a hired director) and the registrations still apply. For companies with mixed ownership the position is checked case by case.

The employee entered on a business visa. Can we start work?
No. A business visa does not permit employment, and the stay notification will say "business". The correct sequence is the hiring basis, the invitation and the C3 visa; whether the visa can be issued inside the country is confirmed before filing.

Who is liable if the employee forgets to extend the visa?
The company as host party bears the administrative liability for the stay documents under Article 518, and the employee bears personal liability under Article 517. This is why the extension calendar belongs to the employer.

How SHANYRAQ Legal can help

Our employer support service takes the whole cycle: a status audit of existing foreign staff with a risk table and deadline calendar, the hiring basis (labour permit, exemption or AIFC status), invitations and visas through the AIFC Expat Centre or the migration service, temporary residence permits for visa-free citizens, stay notifications, extensions and offboarding, with one agreement per company, one lawyer in touch and reminders 30 days before anything expires. We file under the company's power of attorney; the employee appears only for fingerprinting and visa collection. A first hire can be handled as a one-off engagement; from the second employee a subscription is more efficient. Employment contracts and HR documents with a foreign element are prepared by our corporate law team. Company and employee document lists are in our document checklists.

Current as of 28.09.2026. This material is for general information; requirements and fees are set by the competent authorities and are confirmed on the date of engagement.