Hire Employees in Kazakhstan

Your own entity is normally a TOO limited liability partnership. Companies registered in the Astana International Financial Centre operate under a separate regime with corporate tax exemptions running to 2066, which is a substantive reason to consider that structure.

An Employer of Record inverts the sequence: the Kazakh entity signs the contract in Kazakh and Russian, registers with the State Revenue Committee, applies four separate contribution caps correctly and files monthly, while you direct the day-to-day work.

A new Tax Code took effect in January 2026 and moved several things simultaneously, so any inherited model needs rebuilding rather than adjusting.

A new Tax Code took effect in January 2026 and it moved three things at once, income tax stopped being a uniform 10% and gained a 15% band above 8,500 MCI, the standard monthly deduction rose from 14 MCI to 30 MCI, and the employer pension contribution went from 2.5% to 3.5%. Any model built before this year is wrong on all three.

Employer cost is indicatively 17–18% before offsets, but that figure needs treating as provisional rather than firm. Social contributions are set against social tax rather than sitting alongside them, so a simple addition overstates the burden and published totals are not directly comparable. One international dataset gives 14.5% for 2026 against 11% previously.

The mechanically important detail is that four different charges have four different caps, expressed in multiples of the KZT 85,000 minimum wage: 7 MW for social contributions, 20 MW for employee health, 40 MW for employer health and 50 MW for pension. Applying a single ceiling across them is a real error rather than a rounding one.

Almaty and Astana have growing technology and financial services sectors, and companies registered in the Astana International Financial Centre operate under a separate regime with corporate tax exemptions running to 2066.

Break-even rule of thumb: EOR fees begin to exceed the running cost of a small Kazakh entity somewhere between 15 and 20 employees. Model both before committing, see EOR vs Entity for the full comparison, and plan any later migration so employees keep seniority.

The 2026 Tax Code changed three things at once. Income tax stopped being a uniform 10% and gained a 15% band above 8,500 MCI, the standard monthly deduction rose from 14 MCI to 30 MCI, and the employer pension contribution went from 2.5% to 3.5%.

Employer cost is 17.5% for 2026, and it is now a simple sum. Social tax fell from 11% to 6% but the offset against social contributions was abolished at the same time, so social tax 6%, social contributions 5%, employer health 3% and employer pension 3.5% now simply add. Guidance describing an offset is pre-2026.

Four charges carry four different caps, expressed in multiples of the KZT 85,000 minimum wage: 7 for social contributions, 20 for employee health, 40 for employer health and 50 for pension. Applying a single ceiling across them is a real error rather than a rounding one.

What the percentage does not tell you. Employer contributions of 17% to 18% are the statutory floor, not the cost of a hire. Add deferred pay that accrues monthly but is paid later, any sector agreement that raises the minimum, and the administrative cost of registering and filing. A quote built on the headline rate alone will be short.

Where the number moves. Ceilings, floors and eligibility conditions change the effective rate at different salary levels, so the percentage that applies to a junior hire is rarely the percentage that applies to a senior one. The calculator below applies each component separately, with its own ceiling where one exists, rather than a single blended rate.

Before you commit. Confirm the current schedule against the sources listed at the foot of this page. Kazakh figures were verified on 17 August 2026, but contribution ceilings and minimum wages are revised on their own timetables and not always in January.

Four representative profiles, costed with the 2026 contribution rates above. Salaries are illustrative market midpoints, not GX operating data, use them to see how the on-cost percentage behaves as pay rises, not as a salary benchmark for a specific role. For real market data on your roles, ask for a costing.

Because the main charges are capped, the on-cost percentage falls sharply above the ceiling. Model a senior hire explicitly rather than scaling the junior figure, the error runs in your favour but it distorts the comparison against uncapped markets.

Four representative profiles costed on 2026 statutory rates. Salaries are illustrative market midpoints, not GX operating data.

Payroll runs monthly in tenge. The employer acts as tax agent, withholding income tax alongside the employee’s 10% pension and 2% health contributions and remitting the employer-side charges.

The MCI for 2026 is KZT 4,325, up from KZT 3,932, set by Article 7 of the Law on the Republican Budget 2026-2028. It drives both the income tax threshold and the standard deduction, so a stale value misstates two separate calculations at once.

The standard deduction must be claimed by the employee through a written application rather than applied automatically, so it needs collecting at onboarding or the employee over-pays until it is.

Thresholds and ceilings are uprated periodically, so a figure correct in January may not hold later in the year. Where a row below is flagged, published sources disagreed and the conflict is recorded rather than resolved.

Thresholds move on a local cycle that does not always fall in January, so a figure correct at the start of the year may not hold through it. Where a row below carries a flag, published sources disagreed and the conflict is recorded rather than resolved, there are 2 such rows on this page.

The sections that follow set out contracts and probation, working time, leave, termination and immigration in that order. Where an entitlement comes from a collective agreement rather than statute it is marked as such, because that distinction determines whether it is negotiable.

A written contract in Kazakh and Russian is required, signed in two copies before work begins.

Probation is up to three months, extendable to six for senior and specified roles, and must be stated in the contract. It cannot be applied to certain categories including recent graduates entering their first role in the specialism.

The Labour Code requires the contract to state the work function, the place of work, the term and the remuneration as minimum content. Omissions are not fatal to the contract but shift the evidential burden to the employer in any dispute.

Forty hours a week and eight a day. Overtime requires the employee's written consent, is capped at two hours a day and twelve a month, and is paid at not less than one and a half times the standard rate. Work on holidays and rest days attracts double.

Overtime is where payroll disputes usually start. Record hours from day one even where the role is salaried and the expectation is that overtime will not arise, reconstructing records after a complaint is far harder than keeping them.

Overtime is where payroll disputes usually begin, and the burden of proving hours worked generally sits with the employer. Record hours from the first day even for salaried roles where overtime is not expected, reconstructing a record after a complaint is considerably harder than keeping one.

Public holidays sit on top of the annual leave entitlement. Where a holiday falls at a weekend, practice varies, some markets move it, some grant a substitute day and some do neither, so check the position before assuming a day in lieu.

The 16 dates below are the statutory position. Employers in many markets grant more by policy or collective agreement, and sector agreements sometimes add local or patronal days that do not appear in a national list.

Kazakhstan observes 16 paid public holidays in 2026. Dates that fall at a weekend and any substitution rules are set out below; entitlement is separate from annual leave.

Maternity: 126 calendar days, 70 before and 56 after the birth, Paid by the State Social Insurance Fund; longer for complicated or multiple births. Childcare leave: Until the child is 3. A state allowance during the first year; the job is protected throughout. Paternity: 5 calendar days unpaid. Statutory minimum; many employers provide more. Sick leave: From day 1. Employer-paid up to a statutory cap expressed in MCI, with the excess unpaid unless the contract provides otherwise.

Study leave: Paid where the employer has sponsored the training. By agreement.

Termination requires a ground in the Labour Code. On liquidation or redundancy the employee receives one month's average salary in compensation with at least a month's notice, and longer periods apply under some collective agreements.

Where the employer terminates for performance or conduct, Kazakh labour courts scrutinise the evidential basis closely, and an inadequately documented dismissal is frequently reversed. The documentation needs to exist contemporaneously rather than being assembled after the decision.

Probation is up to three months, extendable to six for senior and specified roles, and must be stated in the contract. It cannot be applied to certain categories including recent graduates entering their first role in the specialism.

The written contract must be in Kazakh and Russian and signed in two copies before work begins.

Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan work without a permit under the Eurasian Economic Union arrangements, a significant simplification for regional hiring. Employer health contributions still apply to them.

Other foreign nationals need a work permit obtained by the employer against an annual quota allocated by region and category. Allow two to three months, and note that the quota is finite so late-year applications can face an exhausted allocation.

AIFC-registered participants access a simplified route that avoids the quota entirely, which is one of the practical advantages of that structure alongside the tax position.

Kazakh labour courts scrutinise the evidential basis for dismissal closely, and an inadequately documented termination for performance or conduct is frequently reversed. The documentation must exist contemporaneously rather than being assembled after the decision.

The contribution structure is the second exposure. Four caps, an offset between social contributions and social tax, and a disputed MCI value make Kazakhstan the most technically demanding payroll in this guide to configure correctly.

Practical controls: rebuild the model on the 2026 Tax Code, confirm the MCI with the State Revenue Committee, map each cap to its own charge, collect the standard deduction application at onboarding, and document performance concerns as they arise rather than at the point of exit.

Work backwards from the start date. For a Kazakh national or an EAEU citizen, Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, one to two weeks is realistic and no work permit is needed. Other foreign nationals need a permit against an annual quota, adding two to three months.

Confirm before making an offer: that payroll is built on the 2026 Tax Code rather than the previous flat 10% and 14 MCI deduction; which of the four contribution caps bite at the proposed salary; and the current MCI value, since sources conflict and it drives both the tax threshold and the standard deduction.

Registration with the State Revenue Committee, UAPF pension enrolment and OSMS registration all precede the first payroll. Collect the standard deduction application from the employee, since it is claimed rather than applied automatically.