ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 22. As of April 1, 2025, a total of 13,891 foreign nationals are employed in Kazakhstan under permits issued by local executive bodies, Trend reports via the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
"Among the permits for attracting foreign labor (FL), the following categories are represented: 570 permits for executives and their deputies (first category) and 2,439 permits for heads of structural divisions (second category). The majority of the FL falls into the third (specialists) and fourth (skilled workers) categories—4,541 and 1,023 people, respectively. In addition, 1,709 individuals are employed in seasonal work, and 3,609 under corporate transfers," the ministry noted.
Currently, there are 1,768 employers in Kazakhstan utilizing FL. These employers also hire over 376,000 Kazakhstani citizens, accounting for 96.4 percent of the total workforce.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Kazakhstan, the majority of foreign workers are employed in the following economic sectors: construction—5,131 people; agriculture, forestry, and fisheries—1,695 people; mining and quarrying—1,351 people; and manufacturing—1,232 people.
The main countries of origin of labor migrants are China—4,885 people; Uzbekistan—1,614 people; India—1,150 people; and Türkiye—1,124 people.
"In order to protect the domestic labor market, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan annually sets and allocates a quota for the attraction of foreign specialists to the country," the ministry added.
In 2025, Kazakhstan initially set the overall labor quota at 0.2 percent of the national workforce, equivalent to 14,800 positions. However, beginning in March of this year, the quota was increased to 16,500 positions by ministerial order, following requests from local executive authorities.
