Everything You Need to Know About Working in Kazakhstan

I want to talk about how to get a job in Kazakhstan. I made a blog regarding this topic maybe four or five years ago, and that blog, I think, has the most views on my channel. So, I was thinking maybe it’s time to update that information. A lot of people are trying to come to Kazakhstan for a job, and I understand it's becoming more popular. I would say why? Because Kazakhstan is becoming more European-friendly, western-friendly, and tourist-friendly. So, I think there are more opportunities for people to find information about Kazakhstan and come here to find a job.

For me personally, I work here as a teacher, and there are three main ways to get a job as a teacher in Kazakhstan. So, I will talk about these ways, and then I’ll explain how to get a job in general.

For me personally, I got my first job in Kazakhstan by luck. One of the professors who worked at Nottingham University in the UK had an opportunity to come to a university in Kazakhstan — it was the PASOK British Technical University in Almaty. He came here for a conference, interacted with people, and when he returned, he shared his experience, saying that Kazakhstan is an amazing place, with very few foreigners and a lot of opportunities. This was eight years ago. For example, most of my friends wanted to go to the US, UK, Australia, or Europe. I was the only one who came to Kazakhstan, at least among my friends. So, the first time I applied for the job, I was at the same university my professor had listed.

I had three interviews. The first interview was a general one with the head of the department, the second was with the Dean of the university, and the third was with HR and some teachers from the IT department. After all those interviews, they said that, based on the rules, they couldn’t hire me directly; they would give me a temporary job for one or two months and see how I worked. So, when I went there for the two-month job, I think at that time I had a business visa or something similar, because I wasn’t officially allowed to work. I was providing educational materials, supporting teachers, improving how they taught, and introducing more English into their teaching methodology.

After two months, they offered me a senior lecturer position. That was the easy part. The difficult part was the documents. I had to apply for various documents, and one of them was from India — my bachelor’s degree — and my second document was from the UK — my master’s degree. These had to be apostilled, notarized, and translated, because Kazakhstan uses Russian and Kazakh. All these steps took around two to three months, and it was very expensive. Fortunately, my work reimbursed me for the visa and the last documentation process.

So, the first method to get a job is to apply directly to universities and schools. You can search for the top schools and universities in Kazakhstan, and go through their website. If you’re lucky, there may be an English version of the website, but if not, try to translate it into English and then contact them directly. Applying online rarely works; you need to have a special status. Just emailing directly with your resume and experience can work. Most HR departments at reputed schools and universities will respond, even if you don’t get the job, and they will keep your documents on record and contact you if any vacancies open up.

The first tip is: don’t just apply online. Your application will likely get lost. It’s better to apply directly to the school and then remind them again about the status of your application after a month. There are websites in Kazakhstan that share job vacancies, but they aren’t very popular for foreigners, as there are very few foreigners in Kazakhstan. So again, if you’re working in schools, apply directly to the schools and universities.

The second tip is for people who are working in oil and gas companies. Vacancies are usually shared through job agencies or their main websites. I’ve seen a lot of people coming here who said they saw advertisements in their home countries. For example, they need 20 electricians, 20 engineers, or 5 electricians. It’s almost like buying something from a shop! Always check local newspapers or websites. Companies, especially oil companies, like Chevron, promote their vacancies through online platforms or job agencies. Keep in touch with them.

However, there’s a difference. If you try to email oil companies directly in Kazakhstan, they won’t respond. The interesting thing is that if you have a lot of experience — say, 10 to 15 years of experience in some specialty in oil and gas — then you have a chance to get a job here. But if it’s a general job, Kazakhstan has developed a lot of petroleum and oil and gas engineers, so there is no general job market for those roles here.

The third way to get a job is through companies based in places like Dubai or Abu Dhabi. These companies are building hotels and resorts in Kazakhstan, and many Indians and foreigners come through this route. They get contracts here to create infrastructure, factories, or hotels. Many Indians and people from other developing nations are coming through this route. The visa process is quick, and they come to Kazakhstan.

These are three easy ways to come to Kazakhstan. One thing I want to say, which you may not like, is that eight years ago it was easier to come to Kazakhstan, and the visa process was simple. There were a lot of job opportunities. Now, Kazakhstan is trying to become more self-sufficient. Even if you apply for a job and get accepted, when you apply for the visa, they might reject it saying that you don’t have enough experience or qualifications. Kazakhstan is not like Dubai or the US where you can just go there and look for a job. Kazakhstan is only looking for highly skilled labor with a lot of experience, good qualifications, and education.

That’s it. Hopefully, this blog was useful. I’m always online if you have any questions about jobs or visas. Please make sure to comment below. I’ll read your questions, and if I know the answer, I’ll respond.

As for getting a permanent visa in Kazakhstan, personally, I don’t have a permanent residence here, so I can’t give you a strong, valid answer. But I will be interviewing someone soon. His name is Joe, he’s from the US, and he recently got his permanent resident card here in Kazakhstan. We call it the "pink card" because, in the US, it’s called the "green card," but here it’s pink. So I’ll be interviewing him about his experience, the documents, the process he went through, and the difficulties he faced.