Many employers do not want to hire foreign citizens. This is partly due to the complex procedure for their hiring. According to the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, the obligation to obtain a special permit for labor for each employee is assigned to his employer. Without obtaining such permission, the employer simply cannot employ a foreigner.
Such rules apply to foreigners who do not have a permanent residence permit or residence permit in Belarus, with the exception of certain categories of citizens stipulated by law.
Citizens for whom there is no need to obtain permission to work include, for example, citizens of countries that are part of the EAEU; foreigners who receive higher education in Belarusian universities or have already received and worked within 1 year after graduation in their specialty; laureates of international prizes; residents of the High-Tech Park and others. This list of citizens is enshrined in the Law “On External Labor Migration” and in international agreements of the Republic of Belarus.
Submission of all necessary documents to the citizenship and migration unit of the relevant executive committee does not at all guarantee the mandatory receipt of a work permit.
The main principle of labor migration in the Republic of Belarus is the protection of the labor market. To begin with, it should be understood that hiring temporarily resident foreigners is possible in the absence of suitable candidates among citizens of the Republic of Belarus or permanent residents of foreigners for a vacant position.
In this regard, the first step that the employer must take will be the adoption of the necessary measures to search for candidates among the above categories of citizens. One of such measures is the submission of information on the availability of vacancies to the labor and social protection committee of the relevant executive committee. The informing form and the procedure for submitting vacancies are regulated in detail by the form established by law for submitting information and the Instruction for filling out information on the availability of free jobs (vacancies).
Information about the availability of vacancies should be posted in AIS "Republican Bank of Vacancies" for a period of at least 15 working days. Only after this period has elapsed, you can apply for a special permit.
Before issuing an opinion on the issuance or refusal to issue a special permit, the relevant citizenship and migration unit sends a request to the employment agency. The most common reason for receiving a negative opinion of the employment authority is precisely the non-observance of the 15-day deadline for finding vacancy information in the republican vacancy bank.
It is important to understand that this procedure should not be formal, that is, candidates can apply for vacancies, and employment agencies themselves can send them for interviews. If the employer refuses unreasonably 3 or more times to hire Belarusians or permanently resident foreigners in Belarus (with the necessary qualifications) who were sent for employment by the labor, employment and social security departments of the executive committee, then a positive conclusion on issuing permission will be refused.
Only after this stage, if an employee among the Belarusians was not found, it is possible to apply with an application and other documents for issuing a work permit for a foreign citizen.
From year to year, the number of refusals to issue permits to attract foreign force and special permits to carry out labor activities increases so as not to be left without a work permit, we will consider what state authorities pay attention to when issuing such a permit.
There are alternative and unconditional grounds for refusing to issue a work permit in the Republic of Belarus.
The first reason for the refusal may be not passing the check on whether the employer really asked the question of finding workers among the citizens of Belarus, namely, whether the information was submitted to the labor committee about the vacancies claimed by foreign citizens.
The second reason is the presence of Belarusian specialists who would like to take the relevant vacancy, and also fit the requested parameters.
These measures are due to increased unemployment in the Republic of Belarus and an attempt to solve this problem in the country.
Also, getting a permit is little chance for the employer who submitted inaccurate data or documents to the Department of Citizenship and Migration or violated the legislation on labor migration.
The identity of a foreign worker also plays an important role, so if a foreigner applying for a position is on the list of persons whose entry is prohibited or undesirable into the territory of the Republic of Belarus, then he will not receive a work permit here.
A ban on entry is not a permit to enter Belarus for a certain period of time, indicating the exact date that such a ban is in effect. You can get a ban on entry without even knowing it, but only at the border at the next entrance to the Republic of Belarus. A ban can be obtained for committing administrative offenses, for example, violation of traffic rules, violation of public order, hooliganism and so on.
There is no chance for an employee convicted in the Republic of Belarus and deprived of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in activities that the employer offers him.
The most abstract reason for refusal may be the protection of the interests of national security, public order, the protection of morality, public health, the rights and freedoms of citizens of the Republic of Belarus and other persons. This reason for refusal is not explained by the legislator. In case of refusal for this reason, the employer will not be able to more accurately find out what exactly was the reason for the refusal, since all documents on this issue are classified.
Among the reasons why the employer may be refused permission will be the alien’s citizenship in a country that is not migratory-friendly, or if the alien has been administratively liable more than 5 times during the year.
After eliminating one reason or another for which the refusal was received, the employer may try to submit the documents necessary to obtain a work permit again. If the validity of the permit expires, then once it can be extended by submitting the necessary documents for renewal to the executive committee.
If the employer allows a foreign citizen for whom special permission has not been obtained to work, he is threatened with administrative responsibility. The Code of Administrative Offenses for such misconduct provides for a warning or a fine of up to 20 basic units. In case of another violation of this norm, the penalty increases to 30 basic units.
An employee involved in labor without permission, in turn, may also be held administratively liable. For the first time he faces a warning or a fine of up to 50 basic units, but even deportation from the country is possible. Upon repeated commission of such an administrative offense by a foreign citizen, a fine of 10 to 100 basic units with or without deportation, as well as simply deportation without a fine, may be chosen as liability. In practice, the first time a foreigner violates migration laws, an immigrant worker will be sent home by the internal affairs bodies of the Republic of Belarus.
Based on this article, we can conclude that the legislation strictly addresses issues of labor migration, before submitting documents for obtaining a special permit, it is better to first make sure there are no reasons for receiving a refusal, and if appropriate measures have been taken to find employees among citizens of Belarus.
Allford Group Law Office, TAX № 805090430 All advocates of Allford Group Law Office carry out their activity within the Law Office which is a part of Minsk regional bar association.
