A Ukrainian work permit is applied for and issued in Ukraine — by your employer, not by you. No Bangladeshi agent, BAIRA member, or recruiter can issue a Ukrainian work permit. Anyone claiming otherwise is lying. Your role is to provide documents; your Ukrainian employer's legal obligation is to file the application with DSZ.
What Is a Ukrainian Work Permit?
A Ukrainian work permit (дозвіл на застосування праці іноземців та осіб без громадянства) is a document issued by the State Employment Service of Ukraine (Державна служба зайнятості, DSZ) that authorises a specific foreign national to work for a specific Ukrainian employer in a specific position. It is tied to an employment contract, a specific employer ЄДРПОУ registration number, and a specific position title. A new employer needs a new permit; a new job title or position with the same employer, a new passport or a change of the employer's name is handled by an amendment to the permit (Art. 42-5).
The work permit is not a visa. It is a prerequisite for applying for a Type D employment visa through the VFS Global Ukraine centre in Dhaka. Without a valid work permit, a D-employment visa cannot be issued.
Step 1 — Employer Eligibility: Who Can Hire a Foreign Worker
Before accepting any employment offer, check the employer yourself. The legal condition is narrow; the other checks protect you:
- Recorded in the Unified State Register (usr.minjust.gov.ua) as a legal entity or individual entrepreneur and not liquidated — absence from the register is a refusal ground (Art. 42-9).
- Tax-compliant — a sensible check for your own protection.
- Sanctions checks are a sensible step for your own protection; the law lists the permit refusal grounds exhaustively (Art. 42-9).
- The contract salary must be at least the national minimum wage (UAH 8,647 a month from 1 January 2026); the work permit law sets no other salary threshold.
- Offering a genuine, existing role that matches the draft employment contract.
Step 2 — Draft Employment Contract
The employer and worker agree the draft employment contract, which the employer certifies and files with the application. The law sets no labour-market test and no vacancy-publication period before filing (Law No. 5067-VI, Arts. 42-1 and 42-2).
Step 3 — DSZ Application Package
The employer files all of the following with the local DSZ office in the city where the worker will be employed:
| Application form | In the form set by the Cabinet of Ministers, signed by the employer. The employer confirms that the position is open to non-citizens by law and needs no state-secret clearance. |
|---|---|
| Passport copy | Copies of the worker's passport data pages with a Ukrainian translation certified in the established manner. |
| Photo | One colour photo of the worker, 3.5 × 4.5 cm. |
| Draft employment contract | Certified by the employer (gig contract for gig workers). Seconded workers and intra-corporate transferees file the foreign contract or transfer decision instead. |
| Fee payment | Proof of payment of the permit fee, paid by the employer: 3, 5, 8 or 10 subsistence minimums depending on the permit term (Art. 42-4). |
This is the full list in Art. 42-2 of Law No. 5067-VI. The employment centre pulls the employer's register data itself, and its officials are prohibited from demanding other documents. Documents issued abroad must be legalised or, for Bangladesh since 30 March 2025, apostilled; the translator's signature on a Ukrainian translation must be notarised (Art. 42-2, part 6).
Step 4 — Decision Within 7 Working Days
The regional employment centre decides on a new permit within up to 7 working days of registering the application (Law No. 5067-VI, Art. 42-6). If documents are missing or defective, review is suspended and the employer has 7 working days to correct them (Art. 42-8). Refusal is possible only on the grounds listed in Art. 42-9, and the written decision must state them.
Step 5 — Permit Issuance and EDRPOU Verification
When DSZ approves the application, the work permit is issued to the employer at the DSZ office. The employer collects the original permit and sends the worker a certified copy for the visa file (Resolution No. 118, para. 8). The permit face must show:
- Worker's full name (check against passport transliteration)
- Employer's full legal name and ЄДРПОУ code
- Position title (must match the employment contract)
- Validity start and end dates
- DSZ registration number (use this number for verification)
Check the decision with the employer and on the official State Employment Service website dcz.gov.ua, where the employment centre publishes its decisions (Law No. 5067-VI, Art. 42-7, part 3), or ask the regional employment centre directly; check the employer's ЄДРПОУ in the Unified State Register (usr.minjust.gov.ua). If any field does not match records, do not proceed — contact a lawyer immediately.
Step 6 — Type D Visa Application via VFS Dhaka
With a certified copy of the work permit, the worker applies for a Type D visa for employment through the VFS Global Ukraine centre in Dhaka; the Embassy of Ukraine in New Delhi, accredited to Bangladesh, decides. The work permit is the primary supporting document. See the full D-visa document checklist in the Ukraine Visa Process guide.
Visa processing time: up to 10 working days from receipt of the documents, extendable to 30 working days for additional checks (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 118 of 01.03.2017, para. 19).
Full Timeline Overview
| Bangladesh-side preparation | For the visa and the employer's own checks: degree apostille if the employer asks for it, PCC if the consul requests it (Res. 118, para. 10). The DSZ file needs only your passport pages and photo (Art. 42-2). |
|---|---|
| Work permit decision | Up to 7 working days from registration of the employer's application (Art. 42-6) |
| Incomplete file | Review suspended; 7 working days for the employer to correct it (Art. 42-8) |
| Type D visa (lodged at VFS Dhaka, decided by the Embassy in New Delhi) | Up to 10 working days; up to 30 with additional checks (Resolution No. 118, para. 19) |
Work Permit Validity and Scope
Work permits are issued for the term of the contract: up to 2 years for hired workers and up to 3 years for seconded workers and intra-corporate transferees (Art. 42-3). The permit is valid only for the specific employer (ЄДРПОУ tied), the specific position title, the specific foreign national, and the validity dates printed on the permit face. Working outside any of these parameters is a labour law violation for both the worker and the employer.
If the Employer Changes or Closes
The work permit is employer-specific. If your employer terminates your employment, closes the company, or changes ownership in a way that alters the ЄДРПОУ, your work permit becomes invalid for employment purposes. Options:
- New employer: the new employer must file a new work permit application from scratch.
- Employer obligations: when the contract ends, the employer asks DSZ to revoke the work permit (Art. 42-10) and, under its TRP undertaking, notifies DMSU and the employment service (Resolution No. 322, para. 33).
- TRP without employment: when the contract ends, DMSU revokes the employment-based TRP on the employer's request (Resolution No. 322, para. 63). The law sets no fixed grace period, so get legal advice before the contract ends.
Renewal Process
The employer files the extension no later than 20 and no earlier than 50 calendar days before the permit expires; the centre decides within up to 3 working days (Art. 42-6). Required for extension: the application form, a 3.5 × 4.5 cm photo, any documents from the original list whose information has changed, and proof of fee payment (Art. 42-2, part 2). The extension fee is one subsistence minimum less than the fee for a new permit of the same term (Art. 42-4).