Residence and work abroad

According to the Ukrainian Labour and Employment Law, interests of Ukrainian citizens temporarily working abroad are protected by the agreements signed by Ukraine and foreign countries. The Government of Ukraine signed labour and employment agreements with the Governments of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Byelorus, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Libia, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic and Vietnam.

According to the Law of Ukraine on "Licensing of Some Types of Economic activities", only the institutions that received the licenñe of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine may serve as a mediator in provision of employment.

When seeking help in finding a job abroad through employment organizations, one should keep in mind that there are certain conditions under which the organizations' activities are licensed, i.e. legal. Those conditions are set by the State Committee of Ukraine for Business Regulatory Policy at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (# 155/534,19 December 2001). They were registered at the Ministry of Justice on 10 January, 2002 under the number 17/6305 and include the following:

• A special license to serve as a mediator in employment abroad;
• External Economic Agreement with a foreign employment organization to provide Ukrainians with employment abroad;
• Partner organizations abroad should hold a special permission from the authorities in their country to provide Ukrainians with employment (The organizations that provide Ukrainians with employment for foreign ships do not need this permission.) This permission should be drawn up according to the laws of the country where the organization has been established. This agreement should also be properly legalized by the Consulate of Ukraine in that country, unless other procedures are defined in the active legislation of Ukraine or international agreement between Ukraine and that foreign country.

Should one of the conditions be violated, an activity is illegal.

The organization should not charge a person with any fee for the services until he/she signs a working agreement with an employer.

A necessary pre-condition for legal employment abroad is, in particular, a permission to enter a country for employment. In order to receive such a permission, it is required to obtain a confirmation of work from the employment service of a relative country, insurance and other necessary documents from a foreign employer.

(The information is provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)