10 Strategic benefits of using Employer of Record (EOR) services in Kazakhstan: 2026 guide
- Natia Gabarashvili
- Oct 31
- 11 min read
Table of contents:
Introduction
Kazakhstan has become one of Central Asia’s most underrated hiring powerhouses.
It’s stable, business-friendly, and bilingual, a mix you rarely find at this cost level.
As more companies expand into the region, employer of record services in Kazakhstan are becoming the go-to hiring model. Why? Because it lets you hire top talent legally and fast, without the red tape of entity registration or the risk of misclassifying employees.
Through Team Up’s Kazakh entity, your people are employed under local labor law, fully registered with the State Revenue Committee and the Social Insurance Fund, while you manage the work directly. Payroll, taxes, contracts, and compliance, handled end-to-end by Team Up.
This isn’t just about convenience; it’s strategic infrastructure for regional expansion. Whether you’re testing operations in Almaty or building a finance team in Astana, an EOR makes it legally airtight and operationally simple.
In this 2026 guide, we’ll walk through the 10 biggest advantages of hiring through an Employer of Record in Kazakhstan, backed by real compliance rules, payroll numbers, and insights from companies already using this model.
What Does an Employer of Record (EOR) Do in Kazakhstan?
Let’s get practical. What does an EOR actually do for you in Kazakhstan?
Under the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2015, updated 2023), every employer must sign a written contract, file payroll with the State Revenue Committee (SRC), and pay pension, social, and medical contributions for every employee. It’s mandatory, not optional.
That’s a lot of bureaucracy if you’re not a local company.
An Employer of Record (EOR), like Team Up, becomes the legal employer of your staff under Kazakh law.
You direct their day-to-day work, but Team Up handles:
Bilingual employment contracts (Kazakh + English), compliant with Articles 28 and 33 of the Labor Code.
Payroll and tax filings with the SRC’s e-Salyq system.
Pension and health insurance payments to the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) and State Social Insurance Fund (SSIF).
Annual leave, public holidays, and sick pay tracking under Articles 92–96 of the Labor Code.
Immigration management for foreign specialists under Law No. 477-V ZRK (Migration Law).
Essentially, Team Up is your Employer of Record compliance in Kazakhstan. You get fully legal operations in Kazakhstan without touching a single government portal or learning a new alphabet.
The 10 Strategic Benefits of Using an EOR in Kazakhstan
Hiring through Team Up’s employer of record services in Kazakhstan is more than just faster; it’s safer and smarter. It gives you a compliant infrastructure, legal protection, and access to a world-class workforce that’s already shaping the region’s future.
Let’s break down why.
1. Hire in Days with Employer of Record (EOR) Services in Kazakhstan
Setting up a local entity in Kazakhstan can take 6–8 weeks.
That’s assuming your paperwork is translated, notarized, and approved by the Ministry of Justice, your tax ID is issued, and your local bank account passes currency control clearance.
With Team Up’s employer of record services in Kazakhstan, you can legally onboard staff in as little as five business days.
Here’s how:
We onboard your hire under Team Up’s registered Kazakh entity.
File their tax and social insurance registrations immediately.
Issue a compliant, bilingual employment contract.
Start payroll through our integrated local banking network.
Your new employee gets a local salary slip, pension account, and benefits coverage, while you stay focused on managing deliverables.
Perfect for testing new markets, running pilot teams, or scaling quickly without long-term commitments.
2. Ensure Full Compliance with Labor Laws in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has one of the most structured labor environments in the region, and it’s not forgiving of mistakes.
Every employee must be registered in the Unified System of Labor Contracts (E-HR Portal) and connected to their Individual Identification Number (IIN) before starting work.
Miss a step, and you risk penalties of up to 200 MCI (≈ €1,000) per employee under the Administrative Offenses Code (Article 89).
Team Up ensures all compliance obligations are met:
Every contract is registered and traceable in the government system.
Payroll, income tax, and social contributions are filed monthly with the SRC.
Pension and insurance contributions are auto-reconciled with SSIF databases.
The result? Your business stays audit-proof, while your employees get full legal protection — a must-have for retention in Kazakhstan’s regulated market.
3. Simplify Payroll and Tax Reporting with EOR Services in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s payroll rules are clear but complex to execute if you’re offshore.
Here’s the breakdown:
10% Personal Income Tax (PIT), withheld monthly by the employer.
3.5% Social Tax (paid by employer).
3.5% Pension Contributions (paid by employee).
2% Medical Insurance (employer + employee).
1% Social Insurance (employer).
Add mandatory quarterly reports to the State Revenue Committee and the Unified Pension Fund, and you can see why payroll isn’t a DIY project.
Team Up handles everything through its local accounting infrastructure:
Payroll calculation and compliance with current KZT thresholds.
Net salary payments in tenge (KZT).
Monthly tax filings and reporting to SRC and SSIF.
Issuance of compliant payslips and employment certificates.
You receive one invoice in EUR or USD. Your staff receive a locally compliant payslip.
That’s payroll clarity, minus the paperwork.
4. Lower overhead and predictable costs
Here’s the simple math:
Model | Setup Time | Initial Cost | Monthly Admin | Risk |
Own Entity | 6–8 weeks | €1,200–€2,000 | €500–€800 | Moderate |
Team Up EOR | 3–5 days | €0 | €199 per employee | None |
With Team Up, you skip the legal translations, director appointment, bank deposits, and ongoing local accounting.
Instead, you get one fixed monthly fee covering contracts, payroll, compliance, and HR support.
It’s a scalable model, cost-efficient for small teams, and transparent enough for enterprise-level budgeting.
When your headcount grows beyond 20–25 people, Team Up can even help transition your operations to a standalone entity seamlessly.
5. Protect Your IP and Legal Rights with Employer of Record Contracts
Hiring in Kazakhstan without the right contract clauses is risky, especially for IP-heavy industries like software, design, or R&D.
Under the Civil Code of Kazakhstan (Articles 980–991), intellectual property created during employment belongs to the employee unless an agreement transfers those rights to the employer.
Many foreign companies miss this, leading to ownership disputes later.
Every Team Up EOR contract includes:
IP transfer clauses compliant with local civil law.
Confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions under the Law on Commercial Secrets (2002).
Dual-language documentation (Kazakh + English) is enforceable in local courts.
That means your source code, data, and creative assets remain legally yours, with full protection under Kazakh jurisdiction.
6. Access to Kazakhstan’s skilled, bilingual workforce
Kazakhstan has one of the most educated labor markets in Central Asia.
According to the World Bank, tertiary enrollment is over 60%, and nearly one-third of graduates specialize in STEM.
Cities like Almaty, Astana, and Karaganda have built ecosystems around tech, engineering, and finance, supported by the Astana Hub and Digital Kazakhstan initiatives, which offer tax incentives for IT companies.
Through Team Up’s employer of record services in Kazakhstan, you can tap into this talent pool without navigating labor registration yourself.
Popular hiring profiles include:
Software engineers (Python, C#, React, Java).
Financial controllers and analysts.
Supply chain and logistics managers.
Data scientists and QA specialists.
Average monthly net salary for mid-level engineers: €1,000–€1,400.
That’s roughly half the cost of comparable roles in Western Europe, with similar output quality.
7. Competitive employee benefits that build retention
You don’t just want to hire in Kazakhstan, you want people to stay.
And that’s where benefits compliance in Kazakhstan makes or breaks your strategy.
Under the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, every employee is entitled to:
24 calendar days of paid annual leave (Article 92).
Paid maternity leave: 126 days (before and after childbirth).
Paid sick leave is administered through the Social Insurance Fund.
Public holidays: 12 national days, including Independence Day and Nauryz.
On top of these legal requirements, Team Up builds flexible, market-aligned benefits packages that attract and retain top-tier professionals:
Private medical insurance through leading Kazakh providers (Eurasia Insurance, Nomad Life).
Remote work or hybrid office options in Almaty and Astana.
Meal and transport stipends, structured to meet local tax exemptions.
Optional contributions to voluntary pension schemes (up to 5%).
All benefits are handled locally, processed, taxed, and filed under Team Up’s Kazakh entity, so there’s never a gap between “what you offer” and “what’s legally compliant.”
8. Streamlined immigration for foreign staff
Foreign employees make up a growing share of Kazakhstan’s workforce, especially in IT, energy, and professional services.
But the immigration framework here is formal and document-heavy.
Work permits are governed by the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners (No. 477-V ZRK) and the Rules for Issuing Work Permits to Foreign Labor (Decree No. 802).
They’re tied to quotas, employer registration, and position classifications.
Team Up’s EOR in Kazakhstan handles the entire process:
Quota Management: Ensuring your company qualifies for foreign labor quotas under the Ministry of Labor’s annual allocation.
Work Permit Application: Filing through the e-Gov portal with notarized translations, contract references, and justification letters.
Residence Registration: Coordinating with the Migration Police for local address validation.
Permit Renewal: Tracking validity (typically one year) and managing renewal before expiration.
For high-demand fields, IT, fintech, and energy, Kazakhstan has introduced relaxed rules through the Astana Hub IT Visa Program, offering 5-year permits and tax exemptions for foreign tech workers.
With Team Up, this process of employer of record work visa in Kazakhstan is handled start to finish under our registered employer status, no intermediaries, no government queue surprises.
9. Reduced legal and financial risk
Hiring in Kazakhstan without a local compliance partner is a gamble.
One payroll misclassification or missed filing, and you could be hit with:
Administrative fines up to 500 MCI (≈ €2,500) per worker.
Backdated taxes and pension contributions.
Revocation of work permits for foreign staff.
Under the Administrative Code (Article 89) and Tax Code (Article 58), the employer — not the client- bears all liability for employee-related breaches.
If you’re hiring contractors directly, that employer is you.
With Team Up’s Employer of Record services in Kazakhstan, we take that legal liability off your balance sheet.
Every employee is registered, paid, and insured under Team Up’s Kazakh entity.
You stay audit-proof, tax-compliant, and fully protected against retroactive claims or labor disputes.
Think of it as compliance insurance, but operationalized.
10. Scalable expansion across Central Asia
Hiring in Kazakhstan isn’t just about the local market; it’s about using the country as your regional base.
Kazakhstan sits at the center of Eurasia’s trade routes, connecting the EU, Russia, and China. It’s part of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which facilitates cross-border employment and tax cooperation across Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.
That makes Kazakhstan the perfect launchpad for regional operations.
Team Up’s EOR network extends beyond Kazakhstan, into Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, under one centralized framework.
You get:
Multi-country hiring under a single service agreement.
Unified payroll reporting across different currencies (EUR, USD, KZT).
Standardized HR administration and compliance monitoring.
Seamless regional transfers and mobility programs.
Whether you’re hiring engineers in Almaty and Yerevan, or setting up a sales team across Tbilisi and Baku, Team Up keeps your compliance uniform across jurisdictions.
Why Kazakhstan over other EOR markets?
Kazakhstan isn’t just Central Asia’s biggest economy; it’s the most legally transparent and internationally integrated.
Let’s break it down.
1. Predictable tax structure.
Kazakhstan’s tax system is famously simple: 10% flat personal income tax, 20% corporate tax, and standardized social contributions.
All filings go through the State Revenue Committee (SRC), fully digital, bilingual, and investor-friendly.
2. Pro-business legislation.
The country ranks among the top 25 globally for starting a business (World Bank Doing Business Index, 2024).
Foreign investors operate under equal treatment laws, and the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) provides arbitration under English common law.
3. Competitive labor cost.
Average salaries for skilled professionals sit around 40–60% lower than in Eastern Europe, without compromising on education or English proficiency.
4. Strategic geography.
Kazakhstan connects Asian supply chains with European operations, a core advantage for logistics, manufacturing, and energy firms.
5. Political and economic stability.
The government’s Digital Kazakhstan and 100 Concrete Steps reforms have modernized banking, taxation, and labor reporting, making EOR operations smoother than ever.
How to choose the right Employer of Record service provider in Kazakhstan
If you’re considering an EOR partner, not all are equal. Many “global” providers cover Kazakhstan through outsourced local accountants, which exposes you to compliance gaps.
Here’s how to vet your employer of record services in Kazakhstan properly:
1. Verify local registration.
Ask for the provider’s Kazakh BIN (Business Identification Number) and proof of registration with the State Revenue Committee. If they can’t show it, they’re subcontracting.
2. Confirm bilingual contracts.
Contracts must be in Kazakh and English to be legally binding and enforceable. Team Up issues dual-language contracts recognized under local civil law.
3. Check HR and payroll localization.
Ensure your EOR processes payroll and filings inside Kazakhstan, not through a third-country system.
4. Look for regional coverage.
If you plan to scale beyond Kazakhstan, your provider should have active entities in nearby markets.
Team Up operates across Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, giving you a regional advantage.
5. Demand transparency.
No hidden fees. No “implementation” charges. You should know your monthly costs upfront.
Team Up meets all five criteria: a registered Kazakh entity, local HR staff in Almaty, compliant bilingual contracts, and regional scalability.
Conclusion
Kazakhstan offers what few emerging markets can promise, speed, affordability, and legal clarity.
With Team Up’s employer of record services in Kazakhstan, you can:
Hire in days, not months.
Stay 100% compliant under local labor and tax law.
Protect your IP and payroll data.
Scale across Central Asia without opening entities.
This isn’t just a cost-saving solution. It’s a strategy for sustainable regional growth.
Team Up helps global companies hire in Kazakhstan legally, fast, and at local cost.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is an Employer of Record (EOR) in Kazakhstan?
An Employer of Record (EOR) in Kazakhstan is a locally registered company that legally employs staff on behalf of a foreign business. The EOR handles every compliance obligation — from employment contracts and payroll tax to pension, health insurance, and social contributions — under the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2015).
Team Up operates its own Kazakh entity, meaning your team is employed legally inside the country while you keep full control over day-to-day work.
2. How do employer of record services in Kazakhstan work?
You select the people; Team Up hires them under our Kazakh entity. We:
Draft bilingual contracts (Kazakh + English).
Register employees with the State Revenue Committee (SRC) and the Social Insurance Fund (SSIF).
Run compliant payroll through the e-Salyq system.
Handle benefits, leave tracking, and tax submissions.
You receive one invoice in EUR or USD; employees receive compliant payslips in KZT.
3. Is hiring through an EOR legal in Kazakhstan?
Yes. EOR hiring is fully recognized under Kazakh labor and tax law as long as the provider is a registered local employer. Team Up complies with the Labor Code (Articles 28 & 33) and Tax Code (Article 58), filing all reports through the SRC and Unified Pension Fund.
4. What taxes apply when hiring employees through an EOR in Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan runs a transparent flat-tax system:
10% Personal Income Tax (withheld by employer)
3.5% Social Tax (employer)
3.5% Pension Contribution (employee)
2% Mandatory Health Insurance
1% Social Insurance All filings go monthly through the State Revenue Committee. Team Up handles the calculations, payments, and reporting end-to-end.
5. How much does it cost to use an Employer of Record in Kazakhstan?
Team Up’s employer of record services in Kazakhstan start at €199 per employee per month. That covers:
Payroll & tax filings
Contract management
Benefits & HR administration
Legal & compliance coverage
Compare that to entity setup costs of €1,200–€2,000 upfront + €500–€800 monthly admin.
6. Can an EOR help with work permits for foreign employees?
Yes. Team Up manages the entire work-permit cycle:
Quota confirmation with the Ministry of Labor
Work-permit application via e-Gov
Residence registration with the Migration Police
Annual renewals and compliance audits
Kazakhstan’s Astana Hub IT Visa also offers simplified five-year permits for foreign tech specialists, which we process directly.
7. What employee benefits are mandatory in Kazakhstan?
24 days paid annual leave
Paid maternity leave: 126 days
Sick leave: covered by Social Insurance Fund
Public holidays: 12 national days
Pension and health insurance under UAPF and SSIF
Team Up adds optional private health coverage, meal & transport allowances, and flexible benefits to remain competitive.
8. How does an EOR protect intellectual property in Kazakhstan?
Under the Civil Code (Articles 980–991), IP belongs to the employee unless transferred contractually.
Team Up’s bilingual contracts include explicit IP assignment and confidentiality clauses under the Law on Commercial Secrets (2002), guaranteeing that all work, code, design, or data legally belongs to your company.
9. What are the key industries hiring through EOR in Kazakhstan?
Technology & software development
Energy & engineering
Finance & shared services
Logistics & procurement
Data analytics & R&D
Most EOR clients use Kazakhstan as a base for bilingual technical and operations teams supporting EU and Asian markets.
10. Why choose Kazakhstan over other EOR markets?
Flat 10% income tax = simpler than Eastern Europe’s progressive systems.
Pro-investment laws modeled on OECD standards.
Young, educated workforce: 60% tertiary enrollment, 1/3 STEM graduates (World Bank 2024).
Geographic reach: connects EU, China, and EAEU markets.
Cost efficiency: salaries ≈ 40–60% below Western Europe.
