More than 30,000 foreigners came to Belarus for work in the first half of the year, according to data published by the Interior Ministry.
According to Interior Ministry data based on notifications, 30,365 people came to Belarus for work from January to June. The number of migrant workers increased by 42.8% compared with the same period last year.
Citizens of Turkmenistan were the largest group of migrant workers, numbering 13,555. They were followed by citizens of:
- Russia — 3,156 people,
- Ukraine — 2,742 people,
- Uzbekistan — 2,547 people,
- China — 1,833 people.
Only 202 workers arrived from Pakistan, from where Aliaksandr Lukashenka had said he was ready to accept up to 150,000 people.
A total of 21,656 people came to work without special permits. Of those working without permits, 13,538 were employed in manual occupations and 349 in non-manual positions. The most in-demand occupations were drivers (2,109), cooks (1,817), livestock workers (1,154), concrete workers (1,144) and bricklayers (1,137).
A total of 8,709 people came to the country under special permits.
In the first half of the year, 1,287 Belarusian citizens left the country under registered employment contracts. The most popular destinations were Poland, Russia and the United States. While those travelling to Poland and Russia were mainly manual workers, those going to the United States were employed in the service and retail sectors.
