As of July 1, 2022, 16,061 foreign nationals are working in Kazakhstan with permits issued by local executive bodies, Qazmonitor reports.
Permits for hiring foreign labor are divided into several categories. 603 permits have been given to managers and their deputies (first category), 3,131 permits for heads of departments (second category), 7,970 permits for specialists (third category) and 1,021 permits for skilled workers (fourth category).
The major part of recruited foreign labor makes up the third and fourth categories. Additionally, 1,430 people are involved in seasonal work, and 1,906 people are in corporate transfer.
The main countries of origin of migrant workers are China - 3,587 people, Turkey - 1,820 people, India - 1,691 people, Uzbekistan - 1,563 people, and Great Britain - 1,123 people.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, there are currently 1,766 employers using foreign labor in Kazakhstan. They employ more than 397,000 Kazakh citizens, which covers 96% of the total number of employees.
In order to protect the domestic labor market, the labor ministry annually sets and distributes quotas for attracting foreign workers to the country.
This year, the quota for foreign labor force was reduced from previously planned 28,352 to 23, 560 units - by 4,792 units (16%).