The number of foreign workers in Ukraine has increased; in which sectors do they work?
Due to the full-scale war, the Ukrainian labor market has lost some of its migrant workers; however, in some sectors, their numbers have begun to rise. Kyiv issues the most work permits to foreign nationals.
"The growth is occurring in the manufacturing sector. The number of foreign nationals employed in manufacturing has doubled. There has also been an increase in temporary housing and food services. This means that foreign nationals are helping with the evacuation of our citizens, their housing, and work with the homeless and internally displaced persons. Their numbers have grown in these areas,” said Tretyakova.
In addition, foreign workers are increasingly being involved in the healthcare and social assistance sectors. There, an increase of approximately 10% was recorded compared to 2020.
Another sector with significant growth is administrative and support services, where the number of employed foreigners has also more than doubled. At the same time, Tretyakova noted that the total number of foreign nationals working in the Ukrainian economy has nearly halved since the start of the war.
How Many Migrants Have “Arrived” in Ukraine
“In 2020, Ukraine employed 9,880 foreign nationals. In 2025, the figure was 4,720. This number, however, began to rise again in 2026,” Tretyakova noted.
In turn, Yulia Zhovtyak, director of the State Employment Service, reported that before the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine issued significantly more work permits for foreigners each year. In 2021, 21,780 permits were issued and renewed.
“Then the full-scale invasion began, and there were 6,200 permits. In 2023, there were 4,500; in 2025, 9,582 permits were issued and renewed, of which 7,083 were new," Zhovtyak noted.
She explained that previously, the largest number of workers came to Ukraine from Turkey. Citizens of India, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Bangladesh were also traditionally among the top sources. However, the situation changed in 2026.
“The first half of 2026 shows that India is now in first place with 1,023 permits. Next comes Turkey with 662 permits, followed by Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan,” Zhovtyak said.
In addition, the director of the State Employment Service noted that the largest number of permits is traditionally issued in Kyiv (nearly 40% of the total number in Ukraine). The Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa regions are also among the leaders.
At the same time, the number of such permits in regions near the front lines remains low. Specifically, in 2025, 95 permits were issued in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, 60 in Kharkiv Oblast, 11 in Donetsk Oblast, 8 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and only one in Kherson Oblast.
Galina Tretyakova, chair of the parliamentary committee on social policy and the protection of veterans’ rights, reported this during a committee hearing.
Authorities have disclosed the countries from which foreigners are coming to work in Ukraine.
Communities near the front lines have called on the authorities to prevent the mass influx of migrants into Ukraine
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