Quick answer
A Pakistani construction worker — plasterer, bricklayer, concrete worker, or a related trade — coming to Belarus through the organised-recruitment route needs an individual special work permit (spetsrazreshenie), obtained by the Belarusian employer, on top of the recruitment steps set out in the 2025 Belarus–Pakistan Memorandum. This applies even though several construction trades, including plasterer, appear on Belarus's separate list of professions exempt from the permit for most other nationalities. The two mechanisms do not combine: the Pakistan route runs on its own legal basis and does not inherit that exemption.
This page is a general process guide. It does not guarantee that any individual application, permit or visa will be approved; requirements should be confirmed with the relevant Belarusian authority before filing.
Why construction trades from Pakistan are not exempt
Belarus's Ministry of Labour and Social Protection publishes an annual list of professions — 29 worker trades and 18 specialist positions for 2026 under Resolution No. 115 — for which most non-EAEU foreign workers can skip the special-permit procedure entirely. Construction trades are well represented on the 2026 list: bricklayer, concrete worker, plasterer, painter, carpenter, electric/gas welder, and a general building-maintenance worker.
Separately, Belarus and Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on labour migration cooperation on 27 August 2025 (ratified 7 May 2026), setting up a dedicated organised-recruitment channel for Pakistani workers. Under this channel the employer applies to the Embassy of Pakistan, signs a cooperation agreement with a licensed Pakistani sending agency, and — per professional commentary on the mechanism — still obtains a special permit for each individual worker under Article 28 of Law No. 225-З, with no exception for professions on the Ministry's list.
The legal reason is structural: Belarusian law (Article 2, part 2 of Law No. 225-З) treats "hired into a listed profession" and "hired under a procedure set by an international treaty" as two separate, independent grounds for handling a foreign hire. The Pakistan Memorandum sits on the second ground. It does not automatically pick up the exemption that applies to the first.
Step by step: hiring a Pakistani construction worker in 2026
- Submit a request to the Embassy of Pakistan, specifying the number of positions, trade/specialty required, offered salary, and accommodation, food and transport arrangements.
- Sign a cooperation agreement with a licensed Pakistani sending (recruitment) agency, which sources and pre-screens candidates, typically through remote video interviews.
- Obtain a special work permit for each named worker from the territorial citizenship and migration office under Article 28 of Law No. 225-З. The sending agency is expected to arrange for the worker's Russian-language competence ahead of this step.
- Ensure the worker holds, or obtains, a permit for temporary residence in Belarus, as required under Article 11 of the Memorandum and Article 48 of the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens.
- Complete the mandatory language assessment required under Presidential Decree No. 202 of 21 May 2025 before the employment contract is signed. A failed assessment means the employer must decline to proceed with that candidate.
- Sign a written employment contract — normally fixed-term — within 30 calendar days of the worker's entry (or of the special permit being issued, if entry preceded it), and notify the citizenship and migration office through the "E-Paslуha" portal within 3 business days.
Costs, timing and validity
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Special-permit decision | Standard 10 working days from a complete filing |
| State fee (legal entity) | 2 basic units (reduced from 5 in 2025) |
| Basic unit value | BYN 45 from 1 January 2026 |
| Permit validity | 1 year, renewable once for 1 year (2 years for highly qualified workers) |
| Contract deadline after entry | 30 calendar days |
| Migration-authority notification | Within 3 business days of signing the contract |
Timing for the recruitment steps that sit outside Belarusian domestic law — sending-agency vetting, embassy processing in Islamabad, and travel logistics — is not fixed by statute and should be confirmed with the sending agency and the Embassy of Pakistan directly.
What this means if you are comparing routes
If a candidate's trade is not tied to the Pakistan-specific organised-recruitment channel — for instance, a worker already holding Belarusian permanent residence, or hired from a non-EAEU country outside this Memorandum — a listed construction trade such as plasterer or bricklayer can remove the special-permit requirement entirely, cutting out both the permit application and the 15-working-day vacancy posting that the ordinary route requires. That shortcut is specifically what does not apply to the Pakistan organised-recruitment mechanism described on this page.
Related Permitra guides
- Belarus Work Permits 2026: EAEU Exemption vs. the Pakistan Special-Permit Rule — the full legal breakdown behind this guide.
- The Two-Step Belarus Route to a Schengen Application — for candidates using Belarusian residence toward a later Schengen move.
- Professional Driving and Construction Jobs in Czechia for Pakistanis — a comparable EU construction-sector alternative for the same nationality.
- Moldova Work Visa from Pakistan: How the Route Works — a non-EU regional alternative with its own visa category.
Sources
- Presidential Decree No. 202 of 21 May 2025 — president.gov.by
- Belarus–Pakistan Memorandum of Understanding, 27 August 2025 (official text mirror) — prg.kz
- ilex.by, "Labour migrants from Pakistan: an employer's action plan" — ilex.by
- Ministry of Labour and Social Protection Resolution No. 115 of 10 October 2025, announcement — sputnik.by
- Law No. 225-З "On External Labour Migration," consolidated text — base.spinform.ru
General process information, not legal advice or a guarantee of any permit, visa or recruitment outcome. Confirm current requirements with the relevant Belarusian authority before filing.
