Doing business in Belarus as a foreign company: hiring foreign staff, contracts and disputes

Forms of presence in Belarus

Under the Civil Code, foreign legal entities carry on business in Belarus under the rules established for Belarusian legal entities, unless the law provides otherwise. In practice a foreign company may:

• work under direct cross-border contracts without a presence in Belarus;
• open a representative office or a branch;
• set up a Belarusian company with foreign investment.

A representative office or a branch of a foreign organisation can act as an employer under the Labour Code. The status of the foreign company itself, including the powers of its directors, is governed by the law of the country where it was incorporated. However, a foreign company cannot rely on a limitation of its director's powers that is unknown to the law of the country where the transaction was made, unless the other party knew or should have known about it. Disputes about the incorporation, registration or liquidation of Belarusian legal entities are heard only by Belarusian courts.

Hiring foreign employees

Work in Belarus is governed by Belarusian labour law. A foreign national who is temporarily staying or temporarily residing in Belarus needs a special permit for labour activity. It is issued at the employer's request for a specific person by the citizenship and migration unit, for a limited period, and may be extended once; after that a new permit is needed. The law lists exceptions, for example the head of a representative office or branch of a foreign organisation and employees seconded to it for up to two months, or graduates of Belarusian educational institutions working in their speciality.

• Foreigners with a Belarusian permanent residence permit work on the same terms as Belarusian citizens.
• Citizens of other member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan) do not need a work permit under the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union; their temporary stay is tied to the term of the employment contract.
• Employment is a ground for a temporary residence permit; highly qualified workers and specialists needed by Belarusian organisations may obtain permanent residence.

The employment contract is concluded in writing in two copies; each page of the contract and its annexes is numbered and signed by both parties. The contract with a foreign worker who needs a special permit is concluded for a fixed term not longer than the permit, in Russian or Belarusian and also in a language the worker understands. The employer notifies the citizenship and migration unit within three working days of concluding or ending an employment contract with a foreign worker who does not hold a permanent residence permit. Work without a special permit or without an employment contract is punished with a fine for the worker, and the employer is fined separately; a repeated violation within a year may lead to deportation of the worker.

Contracts with Belarusian partners

• Applicable law. The parties may choose the law that governs the contract, also after it has been concluded. Contracts for real estate registered in Belarus are governed by Belarusian law.
• Jurisdiction. The parties may agree in writing that disputes go to a Belarusian or a foreign court, but such an agreement cannot change the exclusive jurisdiction of Belarusian courts, for example over real estate in Belarus.
• Arbitration. A dispute may be referred to international arbitration if the parties agree.
• Claim procedure. In disputes between companies or sole proprietors, where the law or the contract requires a written claim before going to court, the pre-trial procedure is considered complied with after the other party refuses or fails to answer within the period set in the claim, the law or the contract, and if no period is set, within one month.
• Language and signature. A Russian version is useful for any contract that may reach a Belarusian court or authority. Check who signs and on what authority.

Dispute resolution

Disputes connected with business activity are heard by the economic courts, under the Code of Civil Procedure, which since 2026 governs both general and economic cases. Belarusian courts hear disputes involving foreign parties, among other cases, where the defendant is located in Belarus or has a representative office or branch there, or where the contract has been or must be performed in Belarus. Foreign parties enjoy procedural rights on an equal basis with Belarusian ones and may use an interpreter free of charge; documents for the court are filed in Russian or Belarusian.

Decisions of foreign courts and foreign arbitral awards are recognised and enforced in Belarus by a Belarusian court where this is provided for by law or an international treaty, or on the basis of reciprocity. A foreign court decision may, as a rule, be presented for enforcement within three years of its entry into force.

How I can help

I review and draft contracts and employment documents, advise on hiring foreign nationals, prepare claims and represent companies in economic and general courts throughout Belarus. Consultations are in English; documents for Belarusian authorities and courts are in Russian.