As of November 1, 2023, Kazakhstan has welcomed more than 13,000 foreign citizens employed under permits issued by local executive bodies, TuraNews.kz reports.
Among the various categories of permits granted for the attraction of foreign labor, 345 permits fall under the first category for managers and their deputies, and 2,588 permits for heads of structural divisions (second category). The majority of foreign workers fall into the third (specialists) and fourth (skilled workers) categories, with 5,767 and 608 individuals, respectively. An additional 2,078 people were employed for seasonal work, and 1,643 individuals joined companies through corporate transfers.
Currently, 1,612 employers in Kazakhstan utilize these permits, employing over 468,100 citizens of Kazakhstan, accounting for 97.2% of the total workforce.
Breaking down the sectors by economic activity, the largest number of foreign workers are engaged in construction (25.4%), followed by agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (12.1%), mining and quarrying (9.3%), manufacturing industry (9.1%), and professional, scientific, and technical activities (5.8%).
The primary countries of origin for these labor migrants are China (29.8%), Uzbekistan (13.6%), Türkiye (9.6%), and India (9.4%).
To safeguard the domestic labor market, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan annually establishes and distributes quotas for attracting foreign specialists. In 2023, the overall quota is set at 0.24% of the labor force in the republic, equivalent to 22,260 units.
