Amendments to the procedure for employment of foreign nationals

published on 20 June 2025 | reading time approx. 4 minutes

Belarusian businesses on a regular basis hire foreign nationals, who are strictly controlled by Belarusian authorities in order to avoid any disbalance in the internal labor market. In furtherance of this trend, on 21 May 2025, Presidential Edict No. 202 “On enhancing the role of employers in the area of external labor migration” (“Edict No. 202”) was issued. Edict No. 202 establishes further obligations for both Belarusian employers and employees being foreign nationals.

Effect of Edict No. 202

Edict No. 202 will take effect on 23 August 2025 and applies to the labor activities of foreign nationals who meet the following criteria:

are not in possession of a permanent residence permit in Belarus, and
enter or have entered Belarus to be employed on a basis of an employment contract to be entered into with a Belarusian employer; or
are already employed on a basis of an employment contract having concluded with a Belarusian employer (“Foreign national").

It is also worth mentioning that Edict No. 202 does not extend to employment of member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (“EAEU").

Please note:

As of the date of this Newsletter, the members of the EAEU are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Major changes

Conclusion of an employment contract

Edict No. 202 establishes a clear timeframe for the conclusion of an employment contract:

no later than 30 calendar days as of the date of a Foreign national entry into Belarus – in the event that an employer has already been granted the work permit;
within 30 calendar days as of the date of obtaining the work permit – if a Foreign national has entered Belarus before issuance of the work permit.

Proficiency in Russian or Belarusian

It is imperative that a Foreign national possesses a basic understanding of Russian or Belarusian sufficient for effective communication. Consequently, employers must conduct a language assessment before entering into an employment contract.

This requirement applies to employment in positions that are to be established by the Government of the Republic of Belarus (“List of positions").

The Government will also determine the procedure for knowledge assessment (“Assessment regulations").

Accommodation-related control

An employer shall be obliged to control:

Foreign national's actual residence at their registered place for temporary stay;
conformity of the living conditions with the relevant sanitary norms and other requirements for accommodation;
compliance with the rules for the use and maintenance of accommodation.

For this purpose, a responsible person must be assigned by an employer (“Responsible person"). In order to conduct control, a Responsible person must visit a Foreign national at their place of temporary stay at least once during the period of an employment contract. At an employer's request, representatives of the controlling authorities (e.g. housing maintenance services, sanitary and epidemiological authorities) may check accommodation conditions of a Foreign national.

Should any violations be detected during such visits, an employer is required to:

take the measures necessary to eliminate violations;
inform the relevant authorities about the results of the visit (if required, e.g. at the request of a public authority).

Documentation procedures

An employer is obliged to perform the following actions:

verify the validity of the documents required for a Foreign national to stay in Belarus and to carry out labor activities (e.g. visa, passport and driving licence);
familiarize a Foreign national with the documents regulating employment rights and obligations using language that is comprehensible to them. These documents include, inter alia:

job (work) description;
internal labor regulations;
labor protection instruction.

check Foreign national's knowledge of these documents during their labor activity.

Other Issues

Edict No. 202 also provides for the following amendments:

Prohibition of temporary transfer of a Foreign national to any other employer.
Employers are required to send notifications on the conclusion (extension or termination) of employment contracts with Foreign nationals to the Migration Authorities electronically via the nationwide automated information system (this requirement will come into force on 1 January 2026).

Currently such notifications may be submitted:

in written form or
in the form of an electronic document signed with an e-digital key.

Consequences of breaching Edict No. 202

Breach of Edict No. 202 may result in the following consequences:

Holding an employer administratively liable:

in case of failure to fulfil the employer's obligations established by Edic No. 202 – imposition of a fine of up to 50 basic units (as of 18 June 2025 BYN 2 100 or ca. EUR 615);

in case of failure to submit notifications to the Migration Authorities on time – imposition of a fine of up to 20 basic units (as of 18 June 2025 BYN 840 or ca. EUR 250).

2. Compulsory early termination of an employment contract - in case of non-compliance with the obligations by a Foreign national.

To-do steps

Edict No. 202 sets out additional requirements to be met by employers intending to hire Foreign nationals.

In order to avoid any violations an employer is strongly recommended to:

- ensure that existing employment contracts with Foreign nationals have been amended in line with the obligations specified in Edict No. 202;
- translate the necessary local legal documents of the employer into a language that that is comprehensible to Foreign nationals (if required);
- appoint a Responsible person;
- monitor the publication of the List of positions and Assessment regulations, as well as any amendments to them.