Potential expats willing to live and work in Ukraine may need to rethink their lifestyle choices.
As of July 5, Resolution No. 437 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
from May 27, 2013, came into force, slightly changing the requirements for
obtaining a work permit in the country for foreigners.
Expats will now need fewer documents to apply (eight instead of 15), but
would also need to present a medical certificate, which was not needed before.
The document will have to prove a foreigner doesn’t have certain diseases, including chronic
alcoholism and drug addiction.
Frishberg
& Partners law firm addressed a local medical outfit and found it would be
possible to obtain the document from a single institution, albeit with multiple
doctors visited and tests taken.
“It is not
clear yet, but (the Ministry of Health Protection) will probably give a list of
medical institutions that will be able to do that,” said Scott Brown, an
attorney at Frishberg & Partners.
Outside Ukraine things may be tougher. “Not only would
the foreigner be required to obtain this document, but it would also need to be
certified by Apostille,“ Brown said, adding that this could lead to a breach of
privacy or human rights, as the information will be shared with local
authorities.
The new resolution introduces a few other significant changes to the
process.
The document states that being a founder or
a co-founder of a company, as well as an owner of intellectual property used by
a company, is a sufficient substantiation to issue a work permit. But candidates
for other open positions may be refused a permit if employers refuse to hire a Ukrainian citizen sent by the Employment Center to
fill the vacancy.
On the positive side, an employer may now pay the
state duty within 30 days of the work permit being issued. Earlier it had to be
paid when documents were submitted, and was not refunded in case of refusal. Moreover, those expats
prolonging their work permits, but not receiving them anew, will not need to
pay the duty at all.
Also, a work permit will now be issued within 15 calendar days, as opposed
to 30. But not all are hopeful about major improvements.
“I would not expect these changes to have a
significant impact on the process. It has always been bureaucratic. The
documents that are required for the process change on a regular basis,” said
Ron Barden from Tax and Legal Services of PwC.
Kyiv Post intern Anna Shamanska
can be reached at [email protected].
