Hiring foreign staff in Azerbaijan: work permits and exemptions

If your Azerbaijani company wants to hire a foreign manager or specialist, or you are the foreign founder planning to run it yourself, three questions come first: is a work permit needed, who applies for it, and how long and how much does it take? The short answer: under the Migration Code (Miqrasiya Məcəlləsi), an able-bodied foreigner aged 18 or over may work in Azerbaijan once the employer has obtained a work permit for them, the employer being a legal entity, an individual entrepreneur, or a branch or representative office of a foreign legal entity^1,2. A labour contract may not be concluded with a foreigner before the permit is obtained; the permit is issued for 1 year, or for the contract term if shorter^1,2. For a permit of up to 1 year, the state duty ranges from 350 to 1,400 manat, depending on the permit’s term (up to 3 months, 6 months or 1 year) and how quickly the application is processed³. The Code exempts certain categories, including the head of a company with a foreign founder and a founder holding at least 51% of its capital who works in it². How these rules apply to your case is a question for the State Migration Service (Dövlət Miqrasiya Xidməti) or a licensed lawyer in Azerbaijan.

Who needs a work permit, and who applies

The Migration Code requires the employer to obtain a work permit for each foreigner or stateless person it wants to employ, except in the cases listed in Article 64². The company applies, not the employee, and can do so while the foreigner is outside Azerbaijan². The employer must employ the foreigner only at its own workplace and conclude a labour contract for the permit’s period of validity^1,2, and it may not take and keep the foreigner’s passport or identity document².

The State Migration Service describes two principal conditions for foreigners’ paid work: a vacancy that no Azerbaijani citizen with the required qualifications has applied for, and the inability of the employment services to meet the need from local labour¹. The Code’s grounds for refusal include the possibility of meeting the need locally and a filled labour-migration quota².

Categories exempt from a work permit

Article 64 of the Migration Code lists the categories that do not need a work permit, and the State Migration Service publishes the same list^1,2. Those most relevant to a new company include:

• holders of a permanent residence permit, and people engaged in entrepreneurial activity in Azerbaijan;
• heads of legal entities established in Azerbaijan with at least one foreign founder, and a founder holding at least 51% of the capital if they work in the legal entity they founded;
• heads of branches and representative offices of foreign legal entities in Azerbaijan, and their deputies;
• people married to an Azerbaijani citizen who is registered at their place of residence in Azerbaijan;
• people seconded for no more than 90 days a year, in fields set by the relevant executive authority;
• specialists in categories set by that authority, invited by Azerbaijani citizens or legal entities established in Azerbaijan to perform work or services in fields it sets;
• highly skilled migrants, while they work in their field of expertise.

The list includes other categories, among them lecturers invited to higher education institutions, people working in the Alat (Ələt) Free Economic Zone, technology park residents (for a legal entity, its director and deputies) and the ICT specialists they bring in, and staff of diplomatic missions and international organisations^1,2.

What this means for founders and directors

The item on companies with foreign founders covers, in its own words, two cases: the person who heads the company, and a founder who holds at least 51% and works in it². A founder with a smaller stake who works in the company without heading it is not named in that item: either another category applies, or you should plan for a work permit. Some categories depend on fields or lists set by the relevant executive authority, which we did not review, so confirm with the Service that your case falls within an exemption before you rely on it. An exemption does not settle residence: the Code deals with the grounds for a temporary residence permit in a separate article, Article 45².

Documents and how to apply

According to the State Migration Service’s page and Article 65 of the Migration Code, the employer submits^1,2:

• the application form in the approved format, and a copy of the foreigner’s passport or other border-crossing document;
• a notarised copy of a document showing the foreigner’s qualification for the job;
• a reference justifying the need to employ the foreigner in that job;
• for the employer: notarised copies of the charter and registration certificate if a legal entity, or of the identity document and taxpayer registration certificate if an individual;
• a certificate that the foreigner is not a carrier of HIV or of hepatitis B and C^1,5.

If the foreigner is already in Azerbaijan on other grounds, the Code adds a copy of the document entitling them to stay². For a qualification document issued abroad, ask the Service which certification and translation it accepts; the pages we read do not say. Documents may be submitted in writing or electronically², and the ASAN service page says the service is available at all ASAN service centres (ASAN xidmət) except the Ganja (Gəncə) regional centre No. 1⁵.

Time limits and state duty

An application is considered within the period set by the Law on State Duty, according to the amount of duty paid^1,2. The Law sets three tracks for issue or extension³.

What this table covers: the state duty the employer pays to issue or extend one work permit for one foreign employee, by permit term and processing track. It does not include notary, translation or medical-certificate costs, the separate duty for a temporary residence permit, or any adviser’s fee.

These amounts come from Article 18.58 of the Law on State Duty as checked on 1 October 2026; confirm them before paying. The Migration Code, as described above, issues a permit for up to 1 year and allows extensions of up to 2 years only in the territories it describes as liberated from occupation^1,2. The Law also shortens each processing period by 5 working days for the spouses and children under 23 of highly skilled migrants, and, for 5 years from 1 January 2023, for work in those territories³. Once the duty is paid, the employer can obtain the permit electronically². If the duty is not paid within 30 days, or a temporary residence permit for the foreigner is refused, the Service revokes the work permit^1,2.

Extension and changes during employment

• Extension: each time by up to 1 year, and by up to 2 years in the territories the Code describes as liberated from occupation^1,2. The employer applies at least 30 days before the permit expires^1,2, with the form, the notarised qualification document, the justifying reference and the medical certificate¹.
• A move to another job with the same employer, or a reorganisation of the legal entity: a new permit is needed², and no state duty is paid for the new permit on an internal move³.
• Early termination of the contract: the employer informs the relevant authority within 5 working days, and the permit ceases to be valid². If the worker has no other grounds to stay, they must leave Azerbaijan within 10 working days^1,2.

The link with temporary residence

The Migration Code provides that a foreigner who wants to reside temporarily and do paid work obtains a work permit alongside a temporary residence permit², and it lists obtaining a work permit among the grounds for granting or extending temporary residence². Plan the two permits together.

Consequences of employing without a permit

The Migration Code empowers the authority that oversees permits to hold foreigners working without a permit, and the employers who hired them, liable as the law provides². Article 578 of the Code of Administrative Offences sets the fines for the employer⁴:

• employing a foreigner without a work permit: 3,000 to 4,000 manat for officials and 15,000 to 20,000 manat for legal entities;
• the same offence involving 3 or more foreigners: 5,000 to 7,000 manat for officials and 30,000 to 35,000 manat for legal entities;
• failing to report within 5 working days that a foreigner’s contract ended early: 300 manat for officials.

When this may not suit you

• The foreigner is a founder or the director. Check the exemption before preparing a permit file².
• The assignment is short. The exemption for up to 90 days a year is limited to fields set by the relevant executive authority²; we did not review them, so ask the Service first.

Frequently asked questions