Foreigners may be allowed to work in Ukraine only in sectors where there are no Ukrainian candidates

In Ukraine, due to the increasing pressure on the Ukrainian labor market and the shortage of workers, the possibility of attracting foreign labor is being discussed. This issue has become one of the most debated amid the shortage of personnel, the full-scale war, and the need to restore the economy. At the same time, the state officially employed 4,720 foreigners in 2025 — almost half as many as in 2020, when there were 9,880 such workers.

This was stated on July 21 by the Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Veterans' Rights Protection, Halyna Tretyakova, during a hearing on the topic: "Ukraine’s Employment Market Under Pressure: Attracting Foreign Labor, Protecting Ukrainian Workers, and State Control over Migration Processes."

As Halyna Tretyakova noted, despite an almost twofold decrease in the total number of employed foreigners, their number has increased in several sectors. In particular, the number of foreigners employed in manufacturing nearly doubled. Increases were also recorded in temporary accommodation and food service activities, as well as in healthcare and social assistance — here growth of about 10% compared to 2020 was noted. The fourth sector is administrative services.

Among the main problems in the employment of foreigners, participants in the hearings named the procedures for issuing work permits and residence permits, as well as the need to create a "single window" principle — where a foreigner or employer can complete all main procedures related to employment, document processing, and stay in Ukraine through one coordinated mechanism, rather than having to contact several different government bodies.

There is also a need to determine the real needs of the Ukrainian labor market that cannot be met by internal resources, strengthen the detection and verification of foreigners, and improve mechanisms for their expulsion in cases provided by law.

Labor shortage or competition for workers: what will happen to Ukrainians

Ukraine is already facing an acute shortage of workers, especially in manufacturing, construction, technical professions, medicine, and the service sector. This has become one of the main arguments in favor of the possible attraction of foreign labor.

At the same time, during the hearings it was emphasized that foreign workers should not become a way to replace Ukrainians or create unequal conditions in the labor market. Business representatives proposed first providing employment opportunities to Ukrainian citizens, and only after that attracting foreigners if the vacancy cannot be filled.

In this context, the issue of wages arises. If an employer has to offer higher salaries or additional financial incentives to attract a foreign worker, this may create tension in the labor market. Artificially lowering wages for foreigners creates a risk of exploitation and contradicts the principle of equal labor rights. Therefore, the question is not only how many foreign workers Ukraine needs, but also under what conditions they will work and how the state will guarantee that attracting foreigners will not worsen the situation of Ukrainian workers.

The standard of living Ukrainians want to return to is lacking

During the hearing, it was said that Ukraine should address the labor shortage not by mass attraction of cheap foreign labor, but by returning its own citizens, retraining the unemployed, and creating conditions for the employment of veterans, internally displaced persons, youth, and older people.

At the same time, communities lack:

• doctors;
• teachers;
• engineers;
• builders;
• utility workers;
• public transport drivers.

It was also emphasized that there are potentially enough Ukrainian workers, but the state has not created conditions under which they want or can return to the Ukrainian labor market. The state must primarily create conditions for the return of Ukrainians from abroad, employment of veterans, internally displaced persons, youth, and older people. Some hearing participants supported attracting foreign students to study in Ukraine, as this allows attracting foreign currency, but opposed labor migration, stating that foreign workers can compete with Ukrainians for jobs.

Labor shortage intensifies: vacancies increase, workers decrease

The problem of staff shortage is evident not only in forecasts but also in current labor market statistics. During the full-scale war, the number of employees in micro-enterprises decreased by 20% — by 137 thousand people. The number of employees among individual entrepreneurs decreased by another 194 thousand.

At the same time, employers continue to look for people: over the past two years, the number of vacancies in the State Employment Service database has increased by almost 50%. The largest employment reductions occurred in industry and transport — the share of industry in employment structure decreased from 24.9% to 22.6%, and transport from 8.6% to 8.4%.

Against this background, the structure of entrepreneurship is also changing. The number of female individual entrepreneurs has increased by 41.6% compared to the pre-war level — for the first time, women have outnumbered men in registered individual entrepreneurs. At the same time, there are 21,967 individual entrepreneurs with foreign citizenship in Ukraine, which is about 1.2% of the total number. Every fourth of them is registered in Kyiv, and the most common fields of activity are trade, hotel and restaurant business, and IT.

Wages are also rising, although the gap between different sectors remains significant. The average salary in 2025 was 25,946 UAH, and in the first quarter of 2026 it rose to 28,885 UAH. In IT, the average salary reached about 66 thousand UAH, while in education it was 16,110 UAH. The gender pay gap also increased during this time — from 18.6% in 2021 to 27.4% in 2025.

Participants in the hearings also emphasized that the state still lacks up-to-date data on the demographic situation. The previous population census in Ukraine took place in December 2001. Therefore, an accurate understanding of how many people currently live in Ukraine and what the real labor potential of the country is remains one of the key issues for employment policy formation.

Attracting labor migrants may face the problem of public perception

At the same time, the issue of labor migrants requires "very targeted" communication with Ukrainian society. In her opinion, the biggest risk for attracting labor migrants may be the perception by Ukrainians of citizens from different countries who may potentially come to work in Ukraine.

First and foremost, Ukraine must employ its own citizens, reintegrate veterans, and provide jobs for internally displaced persons. In addition, labor migration is a matter of economic resilience.

In particular, the International Organization for Migration emphasized that attracting foreign workers should be based on real data about labor market needs and simultaneously protect workers' rights.

The IOM representative also warned that weak regulation of labor migration can lead to exploitation of workers, violations of their labor rights, and undeclared employment. In the worst cases, according to her, international recruiting and employment can create risks of human trafficking.

How Ukraine can protect its citizens

The labor shortage is a serious consequence of the full-scale invasion, which is exacerbated by citizens leaving abroad, internal displacement, and other war consequences. At the same time, the economy’s need for workers is growing. Therefore, the state must seek comprehensive mechanisms to attract people to the labor market — primarily creating conditions for the return of Ukrainians and employment of those population groups that remain insufficiently engaged. At the same time, attracting foreign workers can be considered where internal resources are insufficient.

Such a process must take place under clear and transparent rules, with priority given to protecting Ukrainian workers and their labor rights.

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