The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade, and Agriculture of Ukraine published amendments to the Order No.283 of March 19, 2020, simplifying the immigration procedure for foreign specialists wishing to work in Ukraine. BRDO experts actively participated in drafting the document.
What do the amendments envisage?
1. Expanding the list of occupations
The previous version of the order provided for 10 occupations, the representatives of which had the right to obtain an immigration permit. At the same time, the Ukrainian labor market requires specialists in a much larger number of occupations. The updated version of the order takes into account the IT industry’s proposals and contains the list of 23 occupations. This will allow to attract more foreign IT specialists who can be involved in the work of Ukrainian IT companies.
2. Establishing mandatory and additional qualification requirements
The previous version of the order contained a mandatory requirement for foreigners to have higher education in specialty and the proven work experience in a given area. At the same time, many foreign IT specialists have significant relevant experience but do not have specialized education, and this affects their professional competence and skills in no way.
Establishing a combination of mandatory and additional requirements will solve this problem. The mandatory requirement of proven work experience should be supplemented by at least one of the additional requirements: the amount of income in a given area for the previous calendar year, or the availability of higher specialized education, or the availability of globally recognized certificates in a given area.
3. Reducing the requirements for work experience
Previously, the minimum proven work experience was 7 years. However, in the Ukrainian IT industry, a person with experience of 3 years is considered a highly qualified specialist. Moreover, there is a significant demand for foreign IT specialists with 3 years of work experience in the Ukrainian labor market. That is why reducing the requirements for work experience will allow to attract even more specialists to work in Ukrainian companies demanding highly qualified staff.
4. Establishing an extensive list of documents confirming work experience
Previously, foreigners were required to provide proof of experience in the sector, but there were no general requirements for such documents. The problem is especially acute for those IT specialists who provided services as self-employed persons. Establishing an extensive list of documents confirming work experience will be a guideline for both the foreigners collecting documents and civil servants considering documents submitted by foreigners to confirm their work experience.
5. Grouping occupations by categories
Qualification requirements are not specified for each occupation but are grouped according to their categories. This will greatly simplify the perception of the text of the order because these requirements are the same for many occupations.
6. Determining quotas not for each occupation, but occupation categories
The previous version of the order determined quotas for each occupation. At the same time, it is virtually impossible to predict how many specialists in each specific occupation will apply for an immigration permit for the next year. As a result, for some occupations, quotas can be used for several months, while for others, they will not be used till the end of the year. Determining quotas for occupation categories minimizes such risks, as the imbalance of different occupations will be reduced within one category during the year.
What’s next?
It is obvious that the changes mentioned above generally improve the relocation conditions for foreign specialists wishing to work in Ukraine. However, there are still a few steps to be taken towards an effective procedure.
First of all, the State Migration Service should significantly reduce the time required to verify the documents of foreigners and start publishing up-to-date information on the number of permits issued under the quota of highly qualified specialists and the number of applications submitted online.
The total period of document consideration should not exceed 10 calendar weeks, although now it takes 9-12 months.
View amendments to the Order of the Ministry of Economy.
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