Foreign labour permits in Kazakhstan: what changed on 17 October 2026
Since 17 October 2026, changes to the procedure for issuing foreign labour permits have been in force. Here is what changed — and a proposal that would make life easier for companies operating in several regions at once.
What changed
- A one-year ban for illegal hiring. An employer that illegally employed foreigners cannot obtain a permit for one year.
- The fee goes to each region's budget. If a permit covers several regions, the fee is paid into the budget of each of them.
- Refusal without a hearing. Employers are no longer invited to a hearing before a refusal. Previously they had 2 working days to object.
- Complaints within 5 working days. That is now how long the akimat takes to review a complaint against a local authority's decision.
- Suspension of the service. Processing can be suspended — for example, in an emergency, or if the company's head is on a business trip or in hospital and there is no other representative.
What employers should do now
- File error-free documents the first time. There is no longer a chance to object before a refusal.
- Check every foreign employee on your staff. Illegal hiring now costs you the right to permits for a whole year.
- Plan work in several regions in advance. The quota in each region must be applied for and approved before you file, and for now the documents themselves have to be filed in each region separately — allow time for that.
- Use business trips for short assignments. Business trips to other regions are allowed for up to 90 days a year.
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Commentary by a Workmigration team expert
The rule that the fee is paid to the budget of each region is nothing new: it has been known for a long time. What matters more is that, in practice, you still cannot file one application for several regions at once.
Formally, the system already lets you select more than one region in which the permit is valid when filing the documents. In practice, however, it does not work: each region reviews the application only for its own territory, even if two regions are selected. As a result, the company still files documents in each region separately, although the document packages are reviewed in the same way everywhere.
For this function to work, regions need a procedure for coordinating with each other. The condition: the employer applied for quotas in the regions it needs in advance and received approval.
Example. An Astana company files documents in the capital for a "project manager" position. The employee will work on sites in Astana and Karaganda, which are parts of one large project. It would be convenient to file a single application in Astana, where the company is registered, and select both Astana city and Karaganda region under "territory of validity". Having received the documents, the Astana local executive body would itself coordinate the permit for its region with the Karaganda regional authority.