[69129] The economic challenges of recruiting foreign workers to Ukraine: high costs and bureaucratic barriers

The economic challenges of recruiting foreign workers to Ukraine

Against the backdrop of the acute labor shortage in the Ukrainian economy, business entities are pointing to significant difficulties in recruiting workers from foreign countries. According to reports in Всевидящее ОКО: Україна and Новини.LIVE, the cost of employment, including the process of regularization and transportation of a single foreign worker, can reach an amount between 30,000 and 120,000 hryvnia.

According to Novyny.LIVE reports, the process of obtaining permits faces another significant barrier: the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) may conduct background checks on these employees for a period of up to 90 days. Kateryna Glazkova, Executive Director of the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, warns that the cost and time invested do not guarantee job stability, as "for some of them, Ukraine is only an intermediate stage on the way to the European Union."

Despite the difficulties, businesses continue to explore foreign recruitment options for three main reasons detailed in Новини.LIVE:

• Death rates are higher than birth rates in the country.


• An increase in the number of people with disabilities and limited work capacity.


• An urgent need to fill vacant positions.

However, the business sector emphasizes that their primary preference remains finding local labor. In light of the situation, alternative paths are currently being examined, such as investing in the retraining of women and those aged 50 plus, as well as developing programs to encourage the employment of students and youth, in accordance with legal restrictions.