Kyrylo Budanov announced a revision of the list of migration risk countries for attracting foreign workers
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov announced the start of a review of state policy towards “migration risk” countries. The decision to update the relevant list was made in response to an urgent request from the Ukrainian business community, which is experiencing a shortage of qualified and linear labor.
According to the official, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine were instructed to urgently work on amendments to the current regulations in order to facilitate the legal employment of foreigners.
The issue of liberalizing migration legislation was raised during a meeting with representatives of big business, where the possibility of attracting personnel from countries such as Bangladesh, India, Colombia and Ethiopia was discussed. Currently, entrepreneurs are facing bureaucratic and security obstacles when trying to import labor.
Kyrylo Budanov confirmed that a special meeting dedicated to the development of relations with African and Asian countries was recently held, where the need to revise the lists of restrictions was noted.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine have been instructed by a protocol decision to urgently work on changes to the list of migration risk countries,” the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine noted.
At the same time, the official emphasized the existence of serious security challenges that force law enforcement officers to act cautiously. The main problem is that a significant part of foreigners consider Ukraine as a transit zone on the way to the European Union countries. Having received official residence documents under the pretext of employment, many migrants soon try to cross the border illegally or remain in the country, not observing the initial conditions of stay.
“This is the problem that exists and that bothers you. It is impossible to solve it completely, don’t even dream of it, but the list of countries is now being revised, and this is good news for you,” Kyrylo Budanov added.
The Security Service of Ukraine and the diplomatic service must find a balance between the economy’s needs for new personnel and the preservation of national security. It is expected that after a detailed analysis, some countries will be excluded from the high-risk category, which will allow Ukrainian companies to attract workers faster and more efficiently to restore infrastructure and support production processes.
The revision of the migration lists is part of a broader strategy to adapt the Ukrainian labor market to the conditions of prolonged martial law. Official changes to the list of countries should become a tool for legalizing labor resources and ensuring transparency of tax revenues from the activities of foreign citizens in Ukraine.
