The current inflow of IT professionals from Belarus could bring some $120 million of foreign currency to Ukraine each year, based on the estimate that 1,200 such people have moved to Ukraine since the beginning of the unrest in belarus in August.
According to Ilya Neskhodovsky, who heads the Institute for Socio-Economic Transformation, each IT professional from Belarus can generate, on average, about $100,000 in added value per year. Besides, their salary — which ranges from $2,000 to $7,000 per month — is being spent in Ukraine. This may have a notable positive effect on the country’s economy.
In addition, the more comfortable will Belarusian IT specialists feel comfortable working in Ukraine, the more investments in the country can be expected, believes Vladimir Dubrovsky, a senior economist at the CASE Ukraine Center for Socio-Economic Research.
Simplified procedures
On October 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to facilitate the relocation of Belarusian IT professionals to Ukraine, following several countries of the region.
On October 9, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine further simplified the procedure for IT workers from several countries, including Belarus, moving to Ukraine.
Previously, when IT specialists from Belarus moved to Ukraine to work in a local company, work and residence permits were required. Ukrainian IT companies could obtain the work permit from the administration. But, to get the residence permit, the specialist would have to return to Belarus with the work permit and then go back again.
Under the new rules, the latter requirement no longer exists. Workers can apply for a residence permit in Ukraine immediately after obtaining their work permit without crossing again borders.
