From October 17, employers in Kazakhstan applying for a work permit for a foreign hire lose their last chance to argue before a refusal. Order No. 380 of the Minister of Labour and Social Protection removes the preliminary decision and the hearing from the rules: if the local executive body finds grounds to refuse, it issues a final decision straight away. Until now an employer had two working days to object. For Chinese contractors and manufacturers that bring in engineers and technicians to a project timetable, the takeaway is simple: the application package has to be complete and accurate the first time.
The order
The order was signed on September 30, 2026 and registered with the Ministry of Justice the same day under No. 40037. It was first officially published on October 6 in the Reference Control Bank of Legal Acts and takes effect ten calendar days later, on October 17. A few provisions on kandases (ethnic Kazakh returnees) and the regional resettlement quota apply from January 1, 2027.
It amends 13 ministerial acts at once: the rules on work permits for employers, the rules on the foreign labour quota, the rules on qualification certificates for foreigners seeking employment on their own, permits for labour immigrants, and several acts on kandases. For companies, the first set matters most.
Work permits: the step before refusal goes
The changes concern the Rules and Conditions for Issuing or Extending Permits to Employers to Engage Foreign Labour and for Intra-Corporate Transfers, approved by Order No. 279 of June 30, 2023. Under the current Paragraph 9, the official must, under Article 73 of the Administrative Procedural and Process Code, send the employer notice of a preliminary decision to refuse, with the time and place of a hearing. Objections are accepted within two working days, and only after the hearing does the local authority decide whether to accept the application or refuse it. Paragraph 12 likewise requires notice of the preliminary decision, via the employer's online account or by telecom, before any refusal.
From October 17, Paragraph 12 is deleted and Paragraph 9 shrinks to one sentence: when the public service is refused, no hearing is held with the applicant.
New grounds to pause
A new Paragraph 6-1 lets the local executive body suspend processing, at the employer's request or on its own initiative, in two situations. The first is force majeure, meaning a state of emergency or the threat or occurrence of a natural or man-made emergency. The second is the employer being on a business trip or in inpatient treatment for longer than the processing period, unless a legal representative receives the service instead.
What stays the same
Rules related to this news
Deadlines are untouched. The application is registered within one working day, documents are checked within six working days of registration, and the decision, issued as an order of the head of the local executive body, comes within seven working days.
the definition of an intra-corporate transfer is also unchanged: a head, manager or specialist of a legal entity set up in a WTO member country and operating outside Kazakhstan moves to its Kazakh branch, subsidiary or representative office for the term of the employment contract, up to three years with the right to extend by one year. Paragraph 74-1 keeps its penalty: if a foreigner is brought in on an intra-corporate transfer without a permit, or in an occupation that does not match the one stated in the permit, no new permits are issued for 12 months from the date the violation is established.
Decisions can be appealed to the office of the akim of the capital, region or city of republican significance, which has five working days to review the complaint. After that, the employer can turn to the authorised migration body or the courts.
In the quota rules, according to the Paragraph legal information system, the edits are mostly terminological, and the deadlines for employers' applications and for setting the quota are unchanged. As before, the authorised body sets the quota before January 1 and publishes the allocation decision on its website within three working days. The revised rules on self-employment qualification certificates also state that no hearing is held on refusal.
What it means for Chinese companies (editorial assessment)
Without the objection stage, a small error in the paperwork can turn straight into a refusal, and a fresh application restarts the clock. When a contractor is flying in a group of specialists for a specific construction phase, those days belong in the schedule.
Steps worth taking in advance: check the application against the new form (Annex 1 to the Rules is replaced), paying particular attention to categories, job titles, occupations and the workers' qualification documents; for intra-corporate transfers, make sure the actual position matches the permit to avoid the 12-month bar; and if the company head will be travelling for long periods, appoint a representative ahead of time.
This article is for reference only and is not legal advice; confirm the procedure with the local executive body.
Sources:
Adilet legal information system (text of Order No. 380), https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V2600040037
Adilet legal information system (current Rules, Order No. 279), https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V2300032977
Uchet.kz, https://uchet.kz/news/razresheniya-na-inostrannuyu-rabochuyu-silu-novye-pravila-s-17-oktyabrya/
MoySklad (moysklad.kz), https://www.moysklad.kz/global-news/izmenitsya-protsedura-polucheniya-razresheniy-na-inostrannuyu-rabochuyu-silu/
Paragraph legal information system (prg.kz), https://prg.kz/document/?doc_id=36857795
The cover is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph, and does not directly depict the news.
Key facts
- Order No. 380 in Kazakhstan enters into force on October 17, 2026.
- When the local executive authority determines that a permit application should be refused, it no longer first issues a notice of preliminary decision or schedules a hearing.
- The local executive authority in Kazakhstan must issue or refuse the permit within seven business days after receiving the application.
- Foreign labor permit processing in Kazakhstan may be suspended in cases of force majeure, or where the employer is on a business trip or receiving inpatient treatment beyond the processing period and no legal representative is handling the application on the employer’s behalf.
- The duration of an intra-company transfer is determined by the employment contract and may not exceed three years, with an extension of one year.
- Where a foreign employee’s actual position does not match the occupation or specialty specified in the permit, no new permits will be issued for 12 months from the date of discovery.
FAQ
When does Order No. 380 enter into force?
Order No. 380 enters into force on October 17, 2026; the provisions concerning regional quotas for returnee compatriots and migrants take effect on January 1, 2027.
Are a notice of preliminary decision and a hearing still provided before a foreign labor permit is refused?
When the competent authority determines that an application should be refused, it no longer issues a notice of preliminary refusal and no longer schedules a hearing; the existing two-business-day period for objections is also canceled.
In what circumstances may foreign labor permit processing be suspended?
Processing may be suspended in cases of force majeure, or where the employer is on a business trip or receiving inpatient treatment beyond the processing period and no legal representative is handling the application on the employer’s behalf.
Has the processing period for foreign labor permits changed?
The local executive authority must register the application within one business day after receipt, review the documents within six business days from registration, and issue or refuse the permit within seven business days.
What are the duration and compliance requirements for intra-company transfers?
The duration of an intra-company transfer is determined by the employment contract and may not exceed three years, with an extension of one year. Where this arrangement is used to employ workers without a permit having been obtained, or where the actual position differs from that specified in the permit, no new permits will be issued for 12 months from the date of discovery.