The procedures for obtaining a work permit and residence permit last more than 90 days, even when foreign citizens are to be employed as top managers in one of the companies in the country, the Foreign Investors Council reacted. In addition to having problems finding qualified labor, companies with foreign capital complain that obtaining a residence permit is too long a process, emphasized Viktor Mizo, president of the Council at the presentation of their assessment of the business and investment climate in Macedonia. The shortage of workers is shaking the entire Macedonian industry, but it is no less difficult to find engineers and professional managers, Mizo added. Last year, Macedonia increased the import quota from 5.000 to 7.000 foreign workers.

– This is a major bureaucratic problem that we appeal to the Government to resolve as soon as possible. It is not good, and it is not in our interest at all, for the residence permit procedures to last for months – Mizo stressed.

For a foreign worker to come to work in the country, they first need to obtain a residence permit. However, when they come here, they register with the Ministry of Interior and the Employment Agency, but companies cannot immediately give them a work contract, because they first need to obtain a work permit. Angel Dimitrov from the Employers' Organization has also pointed out on several occasions that the biggest problem is that this entire procedure is very lengthy, so it happens that a foreign worker has to wait for a work permit for more than a month. Therefore, one of the employers' demands is to urgently facilitate the procedures for issuing work permits.
Due to complex procedures, new amendments to the Law on Foreigners have been put up for public debate, but they will bring facilitations for the employment of foreign workers mainly for the state's strategic partners, such as the company "Bechtel and Enka". This does not solve the crisis of the complete shortage of labor, writes Radio Free Europe.

– The draft text published on ENER states that problems have been identified in the existing process for foreigners to obtain temporary residence for work, which is often burdened with complex and extensive documentation. Although the aim is to simplify the procedure, the amendments to the Law on Foreigners are focused mainly on the employment needs of strategic partners. The proposed text states that companies with strategic partner status will be able to employ foreigners regardless of the exhaustion of the state quota and without the approval of the Employment Agency. The procedure for issuing temporary residence will be accelerated, and the stay of foreign workers will be extended for up to one year with a guarantee from the employer. What is new is that the legal entity submits an application for residence directly to the Ministry of Interior, bypassing the Employment Agency. Strategic partners will submit a written guarantee that they will assume all costs for the stay of foreigners, including possible forced removal. Also, the new amendments allow temporary residence of foreign workers who have been convicted in their country, but not in the country they come to. The amendments provide for additional deadlines for procedures, including a shorter 30-day deadline for approving residence permits, RFE/RL reported.

EC: Some jobs in private companies are only for Macedonian citizens

Citizens of one member state have the right to work in another member state and must be provided with the same working and social conditions as other workers.
No progress has been made in aligning national legislation with EU law on access to the labour market.

The Law on Employment and Work of Foreigners does not distinguish between EU citizens and other foreigners. The quota of work permits is determined annually, and family reunification is allowed, it is written in Chapter 2: Free Movement of Workers in the EC Report on Macedonia, published last October.

– EU citizens cannot access jobs in public administration except for a narrow list of positions in healthcare and higher education. Also, some jobs in private companies are reserved exclusively for citizens of North Macedonia. In 2023, North Macedonia issued 834 work permits for foreign workers. The country has signed three bilateral agreements on seasonal workers with Germany, Slovenia and Qatar, of which only the agreement with Germany has started to be implemented. There is no progress in the area of ​​the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), as only nine EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Slovenia) have access to medical services in public and some private healthcare institutions in the country – the Report states.