In response to the war in Ukraine, the government is preparing to adjust the quotas for recruitment of employment card applications. Instead of Ukraine, it aims to offer job opportunities to low- and medium-skilled individuals at embassies in Manila, the Philippines, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The plan involves increasing the number of available employment cards to 3,000 in the Philippines (up from the current 2,500 per year) and 2,000 in Mongolia (up from the current 1,230). To maintain the volume of labor migration from third countries, the quota for the embassy in Lviv, Ukraine, will be reduced from 38,000 to 33,000. The Ministry of the Interior has drafted this proposal, which is expected to be discussed by the Government in June.
Furthermore, the document mentions a one-time plan to allow Skoda Transportation to recruit 300 skilled workers from Indonesia, primarily welders, electricians, and locksmiths, for wagon production. The permanent quota for Jakarta envisages the issuance of 130 cards annually.
Last September, the government redirected a portion of the employment quota initially allocated for Ukrainians to other countries. Quotas for skilled foreigners from outside the EU were introduced in September 2019, with the maximum number of applications set by the government and periodically reassessed. Employers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the labor shortage and have requested foreign workers, urging for a more streamlined and expedited process.
The proposed amendments, which institutions can provide feedback on until the middle of next week, also include the elimination of the quota for visa applications exceeding 90 days for business purposes at the embassies in Ekaterinburg and St Petersburg, Russia. This change is due to the closure of both offices, and the quota currently stands at 50 applications per year for each office.
The Ministry of the Interior emphasizes that in order to issue the employment cards, the posts at each embassy must be maintained. The extension has been granted until the end of December of this year. This includes 11 posts at embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as 97 posts at the Ministry of the Interior. Additionally, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has requested the re-allocation of seven posts at the State Labor Inspection Office, with an extension requested until the end of 2028 for all these positions.
