Ukraine Work Permit 2026: Step-by-Step for Bangladeshi Applicants

Who Needs a Ukrainian Work Permit

Under Ukrainian law (Law of Ukraine No. 5067-VI On Employment of Population), any foreign national who is not a permanent resident must hold a valid work permit before commencing employment. The permit is issued to the employer, not the individual — a distinction that matters structurally. The employer applies, bears legal responsibility for the hire, and must maintain the permit throughout the employment relationship.

For Bangladeshi nationals, there is an additional layer: the Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) requires that any Bangladeshi citizen working abroad obtain BMET clearance before departure. This is not optional and is not a formality — failure to obtain it has legal consequences under Bangladeshi law. Step 4 below covers BMET in detail; a separate guide on BMET clearance is also available.

The employer must be a real, operating Ukrainian entity. A verified EDRPOU (unified state registration code) is the foundation of the entire process. An employer who cannot produce a verifiable EDRPOU is not a legitimate employer under Ukrainian law.

The Seven Steps

Before any document is prepared or any fee is paid, the Ukrainian employer must be verified through the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (usr.minjust.gov.ua). This lookup confirms that the company exists, is not in liquidation or bankruptcy, has a registered address, and that the director named in the employment contract matches the entity's registration.

Tax and sanctions checks (State Tax Service, NACP sanctions list) are sensible for your own protection. The legal condition for the employer is narrower: it must be recorded in the Unified State Register and not liquidated (Law No. 5067-VI, Art. 42-9).

This step is completed before any contract is signed. It takes 24–48 hours with proper tools. Our employer verification service produces a written report covering all five registry checks.

The employment contract must comply with the Ukrainian Labour Code and include: the employee's full name and passport number; the employer's EDRPOU and registered address; the position title and a job description; the start date; the salary in hryvnia (UAH); the duration (fixed-term or indefinite); and the signatures of both parties. For the permit application the employer certifies the draft contract (Law No. 5067-VI, Art. 42-2), and its terms must comply with Ukrainian labour law (Art. 42-8).

The contract must be drafted in Ukrainian. If the employee does not read Ukrainian, a parallel translation is acceptable for the employee's reference, but the Ukrainian-language version is the legal document. A contract drafted solely in English or Bengali is not valid for work permit purposes.

The employer files the work permit application with the State Employment Service of Ukraine (Державна служба зайнятості, ДСЗ), itself or through an authorised person: in person, by post with a list of contents, through the employer's online cabinet, at an administrative services centre (ЦНАП) or via the Diia portal (Law No. 5067-VI, Art. 42-2, part 4).

The application file submitted to ДСЗ includes: the application form, in which the employer confirms that the position is not tied to Ukrainian citizenship and needs no state-secret clearance; copies of the employee's passport pages with a certified Ukrainian translation; a 3.5 × 4.5 cm colour photo; the draft employment contract certified by the employer; and proof of the permit fee payment (Law No. 5067-VI, Art. 42-2). ДСЗ pulls the employer's EDRPOU record itself (Art. 42-2, part 5), and the law sets no vacancy advertising or labour-market test.

ДСЗ decides within up to 7 working days of registering the application (Law No. 5067-VI, Art. 42-6). If the file is incomplete, review is suspended and the employer has 7 working days to correct it (Art. 42-8); uncorrected defects lead to refusal (Art. 42-9). The acceptance receipt, including the file reference number, is the document that triggers all subsequent steps.

The Bangladeshi applicant must obtain BMET clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training; the clearance itself comes after the work permit and the visa (Overseas Employment and Migrants Act 2013, s. 4(2)), while the medical check and BMET online registration (employee.oep.gov.bd, linked from bmet.gov.bd) can be arranged earlier. BMET clearance is mandatory under Bangladeshi law for any citizen taking employment abroad.

To register for BMET clearance, the applicant must have: a signed employment contract; the employer's verification documents; a valid passport; and a completed BMET registration form. The BMET Smart Card issued at the end of this process is the proof of legal clearance. Ask your BMET office for the current processing time. See our BMET clearance guide for the complete step-by-step.

Once the work permit has been issued by ДСЗ and verified against the ДСЗ public registry, the applicant may apply for a Ukrainian Type D visa for employment through the VFS Global Ukraine centre in Dhaka. The Type D visa is the only visa category that permits legal entry for the purpose of employment — a tourist visa does not.

The visa file includes: the visa form registered on visa.mfa.gov.ua; a passport valid for at least 3 months after your planned departure from Ukraine, with two blank pages and issued within the last 10 years; one colour photo 35 × 45 mm; medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover; proof of sufficient funds or of lawful income in Ukraine; a certified copy of the work permit; and the consular fee receipt (Resolution No. 118, paras. 5, 8). Biometrics are taken at VFS. The BMET Smart Card is a Bangladesh exit requirement, separate from the Ukrainian visa list. Ukraine has no embassy in Bangladesh: the file is lodged at VFS Dhaka and the Embassy of Ukraine in New Delhi decides within up to 10 working days of receiving the documents, up to 30 with additional checks (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 118, para. 19).

Air travel to Ukraine has been suspended since 24 February 2022, so entry is overland, through a land checkpoint on the border with Poland, Romania or Moldova. The passport with the Type D visa is presented to the State Border Guard Service officer, who stamps it on entry; keep the work permit copy at hand in case the officer asks for it. Retain all documents. The permit itself remains with the employer, but the employee should hold a certified copy.

A forged visa or a visa obtained on false documents gives no right of entry: the border guard refuses entry, and a 3-year entry ban can follow (Law No. 3773-VI, Art. 13). Knowingly using a forged document is a criminal offence (Criminal Code of Ukraine, Art. 358, part 4). This is one of the reasons Step 1 (verification) is non-negotiable.

After entering Ukraine on the Type D visa, the employee files the TRP application at the office of the State Migration Service of Ukraine (Державна міграційна служба України, ДМСУ) at the place of actual residence no later than 15 working days before the permitted stay ends (Resolution No. 322, para. 17). Residence registration follows the TRP: within 30 calendar days of receiving it (Law No. 1871-IX, Art. 5(5)).

The TRP application requires (Resolution No. 322, paras. 32–33): the passport with the Type D visa; a certified Ukrainian translation of its personal-data page; medical insurance for the whole TRP period; proof of the administrative fee; the tax number document, if you have one; the work permit; and the employer's undertaking to notify DMSU and the employment service if the contract ends early. A lease or title document for your address is optional (para. 32). File no later than 15 working days before your permitted stay ends (Resolution No. 322, para. 17); the TRP is issued within 15 working days of acceptance (para. 5) and, once issued, becomes the primary document authorising the employee's lawful stay in Ukraine.

Timeline Summary

Common Delays and How They Happen

Frequently Asked Questions