Date of publication:

01/09/2026

Kyrgyzstan

Do domestic laws and policies allow forcibly displaced and stateless persons to engage in wage-earning employment and protect them against arbitrary deprivation of, or dismissal from, employment?

ANALYSIS

Assessment by population

IDPs
Refugees
Asylum-seekers
Stateless persons
Analysis

According to the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, refugees have the right to paid work on an equal basis with foreign citizens permanently residing in the country. According to Article 13 of the Law on Refugees dated March 25, 2002, № 44, a person recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic enjoys the same rights and bears the same obligations as foreign citizens permanently residing in the country. This includes the right to work, to work for hire or to engage in entrepreneurial activity.  

The legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic also regulates the labor activity of foreign citizens. In particular, Article 7 of the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens dated December 14, 1993, № 1296-XII establishes that foreign citizens, including refugees, permanently residing in the country, can work for hire or engage in entrepreneurial activity on the same grounds as citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic. 

 In addition, Article 3 of the Law on External Labor Migration of January 13, 2006, № 4, stipulates that the requirement to obtain a work permit does not apply to persons who have received refugee status or political asylum in the Kyrgyz Republic. Accordingly, recognized refugees, along with citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic, have the right to work, work for hire, and engage in entrepreneurship without special restrictions. Exceptions are cases where legislation requires licensing of certain types of activities or establishes requirements for filling positions in the civil service. In addition to national legislation, the Kyrgyz Republic adheres to international obligations regarding the rights of refugees.  

However, the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic does not contain direct provisions allowing asylum seekers to engage in labor activities. At the same time, in accordance with the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, working citizens of the EAEU member states do not need to obtain a permit to carry out labor activities in the state of employment (Article 97 of the EAEU Treaty, ratified by the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic dated May 21, 2015 No. 111).  

Thus, in accordance with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, refugees legally staying in the territory of the state have the right to access paid work no less than the most favored non-citizens. The state is obliged to provide refugees with access to the formal labor market without arbitrary restrictions, which includes the possibility of employment, entrepreneurship and participation in the digital economy. The domestic legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic fully allows refugees to seek and perform paid work on the same basis as foreign citizens permanently residing in the country. 

    LAW & POLICY

    Related provisions of domestic law or policy

    The Law on External Labor Migration

    Legal provision

    Article 3 - Scope of application of this Law

    This Law shall apply to government bodies, business entities regardless of their form of ownership, including persons registered in the Kyrgyz Republic as individual entrepreneurs and carrying out business activities without forming a legal entity, engaged in activities related to sending citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic to work abroad, attracting and using foreign labor in the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter referred to as business entities), as well as migrant workers and members of their families. This Law shall not apply to foreign citizens and stateless persons: a) who have received refugee status or political asylum in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic; b) permanently residing in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic

    The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Refugees

    Legal provision

    Article 13 - Rights and obligations of a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic

    A person recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic enjoys the same rights and bears the same obligations as foreign citizens permanently residing in the Kyrgyz Republic. A person recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic shall also be granted the rights and obligations of a person applying for refugee status, as stipulated by Article 6 of this Law. A person recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic and his family members shall have the right to: - reside for three months in a temporary settlement; - choose a settlement from among those proposed by the Authorized Body in which his relatives reside as their place of permanent residence, subject to their consent to cohabitation; - work for hire or engage in entrepreneurial activity in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic; - acquire real estate under the conditions established for foreign citizens and stateless persons by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic; - receive, with the assistance of the relevant state bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic, information about property left behind in the state of previous residence; - have the necessary documents proving his identity and travel documents; - to receive medical care on an equal basis with citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic; - to receive administrative assistance when applying to state bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic; - to mandatory registration of civil status acts and receipt of relevant documents.

    The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens"

    Legal provision

    Article 7 - Labor activity

    Foreign citizens permanently residing in the Kyrgyz Republic may work as workers and employees at enterprises, institutions and organizations or engage in other labor activities on the grounds and in the manner established for citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic. Temporarily staying foreign citizens may engage in labor activities if this is compatible with the purposes and duration of their stay in the Kyrgyz Republic, or if the relevant permission has been received from the authorized state body in the field of migration in the manner determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic. Foreign citizens may not be appointed to certain positions or engage in certain labor activities if, in accordance with the legislation, appointment to these positions or engagement in such activities is associated with belonging to the citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic. Foreign citizens enjoy rights and bear obligations in labor relations equally with citizens of the republic.