What Is a Ukrainian Work Permit?

Work Permit Categories

Ukrainian law recognises distinct work permit categories for foreign workers. Bangladeshi nationals most commonly fall into one of three:

General work permit (загальний дозвіл):

The standard category for most Bangladeshi workers — construction workers, manufacturing employees, IT professionals, engineers, medical professionals. The employer must satisfy the labour market test (see below) and the worker's qualifications must match the stated role. Initial validity: 1 year, renewable. This is the category covering the vast majority of employment-based immigration from Bangladesh.

Intra-company transfer (внутрішньокорпоративний переказ):

For workers transferred to Ukraine from a parent, subsidiary, or affiliated company of the Ukrainian employer registered outside Ukraine. The worker must have been employed by the sending entity for at least 12 months before the transfer. This category exempts the employer from the standard labour market test — relevant for multinational companies moving staff from Bangladesh-based operations to Ukraine. Initial validity: up to 3 years.

Highly qualified specialist (висококваліфікований фахівець):

For workers with advanced qualifications or specialised expertise where Ukraine has documented labour shortages: senior IT engineers, medical specialists, academic researchers, senior executives. Salary threshold requirements apply (typically significantly above the minimum wage). Labour market test applies in a modified form. This category is less common for Bangladeshi applicants but relevant for IT professionals and medical specialists with strong credential documentation.

The Labour Market Test

The Ukrainian employer must demonstrate that the position cannot reasonably be filled by a Ukrainian or permanently resident foreign national. This involves:

• Publishing the vacancy on the State Employment Service job portal (Порталу служби зайнятості) for a minimum of 15 calendar days before submitting the work permit application.
• Documenting that no suitable Ukrainian applicants applied or that those who applied did not meet the stated requirements.
• Confirming the employment contract terms meet Ukrainian minimum wage and social insurance standards.
• Ensuring the employer has no outstanding tax debts, unpaid social insurance contributions (ЄСВ), or active DSZ sanctions at the time of application.

If the labour market test is not satisfied — typically because the job was not posted on the national portal for the required 15 days, or was posted with criteria so narrow it appeared designed to exclude Ukrainian applicants — DSZ will reject the work permit application. This rejection delays the entire immigration process by at least 30 additional working days while the employer corrects and resubmits.

Employer Rights and Responsibilities

The employer who holds the work permit takes on specific legal obligations toward DSZ and the worker:

• Must inform DSZ in writing within 3 working days if the worker's employment is terminated for any reason — including resignation, dismissal, contract completion, or business closure.
• Must maintain the employment relationship and salary terms described in the work permit application. Material changes to job title, location, or salary require notification to DSZ and may require a new permit.
• Must renew the work permit before expiry if the employment continues — typically beginning the renewal application 60 days before the current permit expires.
• Is responsible for the accuracy of all information in the work permit application. False information (inflated salary, incorrect role description, fake labour market test documentation) exposes the employer to criminal liability.

Worker Rights: An Important Protective Point

A critical and often misunderstood aspect of Ukraine's work permit system: if the employer violates the permit terms, the worker's immigration status is not automatically terminated. This differs from kafala-style systems where employer cancellation of sponsorship immediately collapses the worker's legal status.

Under the Labour Code of Ukraine (Кодекс законів про працю), foreign workers have the same rights as Ukrainian workers including:

• Right to receive wages on the contracted schedule. If the employer fails to pay, the worker can file a complaint with the State Labour Inspectorate (Держпраці) — the same body that processes work permits.
• Right to terminate the employment contract if the employer materially breaches its terms — unsafe conditions, non-payment, harassment — without this automatically triggering deportation.
• Right to seek new employment and have a new work permit applied for by a new employer. The worker's TRP does not immediately lapse if employment ends — there is a grace period during which a new arrangement can be pursued through a licensed immigration attorney.
• Protection from forced labour, confiscation of travel documents, and accommodation coercion — violations that are criminal offences under Ukrainian law.

In practice, exercising these rights requires Ukrainian language ability or access to a Bangladeshi community member who can assist, and ideally a relationship with an immigration attorney. But the legal framework provides meaningful protection that should not be dismissed as theoretical.

How to Verify a Work Permit Is Genuine

A genuine Ukrainian work permit bears a DSZ permit number, the official DSZ round seal, and the name and EDRPOU of the issuing employer. It can be cross-checked with DSZ directly:

• Contact the DSZ regional office corresponding to the employer's registered address with the permit number and employer EDRPOU code.
• Request confirmation that the permit is active and matches the stated worker and employer.
• If a trusted representative in Ukraine (attorney, community contact) can visit the DSZ office in person, the permit can be verified face-to-face in minutes.

Forged work permits circulating among Bangladeshi applicants share identifiable indicators:

• Document exists only as a low-quality scan or photo — a genuine DSZ permit would be provided as an original or an officially certified copy.
• Permit number returns no result in DSZ records, or belongs to a different worker or employer.
• Employer's EDRPOU is inactive, recently registered (within 60 days), or corresponds to a different company name than stated on the permit.
• Agent refuses to provide the permit number before full payment is collected.
• The stated salary on the permit is implausibly high for the sector — a tactic designed to impress rather than reflect reality.
• The permit was supposedly issued faster than 30 working days — the minimum legally possible processing time.