Peculiarities of employment of foreigners in representative offices in Ukraine
Many foreign companies consider Ukraine as a promising market for selling products of national production.
When opening representative offices on the territory of Ukraine, foreign companies, in the vast majority, send their personnel here. This especially applies to management and managerial positions.
It is important to note that the work of foreign citizens in foreign representations on the territory of Ukraine has its own characteristics, which we will consider below.
1. Documents for the employment of a foreigner in a representative office
Firstly, unlike the employment process to Ukrainian companies, representative offices are not required to obtain work permits for their foreign employees.
It is necessary to obtain a service card for each foreign employee. When registering a Representative Office in its application, addressed to the Ministry of Economy, a foreign company indicates the number of foreign employees necessary to perform the assigned tasks. Also, this number of employees is reflected in the certificate of registration of the Representative Office issued by the Ministry of Economy. The legislation does not provide for any restrictions on the number of foreign employees, however, the Ministry at its discretion has set an "unspoken" quota, namely 3 people. When justifying the need to attract a larger number of foreign citizens to perform tasks and represent the interests of a foreign company, this quota can be increased.
The procedure for issuing official cards is approved by the Order of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine No. 179 dated 15.06.2007.
According to the Order, the following documents must be submitted to the Ministry of Economy to issue a service card:
- application on the official letterhead of the Representation;
- a copy of the certificate of registration of the Representative Office;
- a list of foreign employees indicating the terms of their stay in Ukraine;
- notarized translations of passports of foreigners;
- 2 photos of each employee.
Service cards are issued within 15 working days personally to a foreign employee for a period of up to 3 years and are subject to return after the expiration of the powers of its owner. The card can also be obtained by power of attorney.
2. Work book for a foreigner employed at the representative office
After issuing a service card, foreign citizens can start working at the Representation, each person fills out an employment book.
The Order of the Ministry of Labor of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Social Protection of the Population of Ukraine of July 29, 1993 No. 58 approved the Instruction on the procedure for keeping the labor records of employees.
Paragraph 2.20 of the Instruction provides for the creation of special bodies and enterprises that are authorized to make notes in the labor books about the acceptance of work and about dismissal from work, for storage of work books of foreign employees of representative offices. Namely, in the city of Kyiv, it is the General Directorate of the Kyiv City Council for the Service of Foreign Representations (referred to as GDIP), in the regions, it is the management of external relations and foreign economic activities of regional state administrations or enterprises designated by regional state administrations.
The current situation shows that GDIP has become a monopolist in the specified field of activity, since no one else can provide foreign representative offices with this type of service.
It should be noted that a completed employment record book only gives the right to work in a representative office of a foreign company in Ukraine, and does not give the right to stay in the territory of Ukraine for a long time.
In order to legally reside, freely leave and re-enter Ukraine, it is necessary to obtain a visa, and then a residence permit in Ukraine.
3. Invitation and visa for a foreign employee of a representative office
Citizens of countries with which Ukraine has established a visa regime for entry, including countries with a visa-free short-term stay (for example, EU countries, the USA, the Republic of Korea, Japan, etc.), after issuing a service card, must receive an invitation to open a long-term visas.
On the basis of an invitation and service card, a foreign employee at the Consulate of Ukraine in the country of citizenship issues a long-term visa (Visa type D).
It is necessary to clarify a little about the visa type D. According to the Rules for issuing visas for entering Ukraine, this type of visa is issued only for a period of 90 days. The words "long-term visa" very often misleads foreigners, but the logic of this situation is as follows: with a long-term visa, a foreigner has 90 days to issue a document for a long-term stay, namely to issue a temporary residence permit.
4. Residence permit for a foreigner who works in a representative office
Work is the basis to obtain a temporary residence permit in Ukraine. This document is issued by the State Migration Service of Ukraine for one year with the right to extend its validity.
To issue a temporary residence permit, a foreign employee must personally or with the help of qualified lawyers apply to the territorial body of the State Migration Service at his place of residence and submit the following documents:
- a passport for travelling abroad with a type D visa (if available) or border crossing stamps;
- a copy of the passport with a translation into Ukrainian, certified by a notary public;
- request from the Representative Office;
- certificate of registration of the Representative Office;
- original taxpayer card (TIN - if available);
- the original and a copy of the health insurance policy for a period of 1 year and 1 month;
- receipts for the payment of state duty (paid while application).
A temporary residence permit is issued within 15 working days personally to a foreign employee and is valid for 1 year.
If necessary, the document can be extended for the same period. Note that in order to extend a temporary residence permit, you must apply documents to the issuing authority no later than 15 working days before its expiration date. At the same time, it is not necessary to issue a new long-term visa.
5. Registration of a foreign employee of the representative office
Within 30 days of receiving a temporary residence permit, you should contact the state administration (administrative services center) at your address and register place of residence.
Having received a temporary residence permit, a foreign employee may not worry about the legality of his stay on the territory of Ukraine and can confidently begin the performance of tasks assigned by a foreign company.
In addition, a foreign worker who has a temporary residence permit in Ukraine can register at the consulate of his country in Ukraine. Also, if it is necessary to travel to another country for work (business trip) or personal (travel, vacation) purposes, he has the right to apply for a visa at the consulate of that country, which is located on the territory of Ukraine.
