Contract review and localisation
English-speaking contract lawyers in Kazakhstan: we review, draft and adapt contracts for use here — from distribution to employment: penalties, governing-law and arbitration clauses, currency terms.
LANES | For non-residents
Legal solutions seen through a foreign group's business lens: entering the Kazakh market, subsidiaries, compliance, local counterparties — in English, under Kazakh law.
Yes, we do speak proper English
LANES
We help you enter the market and operate in line with compliance rules and standards. Our “For non-residents” practice includes, in particular:
You can order each line of work separately, as a fixed-fee starter package or under a retainer.
For investors
Law, tax, currency, people and the protection of rights, with advantages and risks. A separate part for investors covers the digital economy, special economic zones, Alatau City and the AIFC.
Doing Business in Kazakhstan · 2026
Doing Business in Kazakhstan
Read the guide Download PDFPDF · 15 pages · 0.7 MB · as at November 2026
For foreign groups
We help international headquarters manage the legal risks of their Kazakh subsidiaries. Contracts, HR, corporate governance — in English, under Kazakh law.
Using foreign templates does not guarantee protection of your rights in Kazakhstan. Leave the adaptation and implementation to us.
We bridge the gap: we draft and localise contracts to work under the Civil Code and Labour Code of Kazakhstan and the currency-control rules.
Three lines of work
English-speaking contract lawyers in Kazakhstan: we review, draft and adapt contracts for use here — from distribution to employment: penalties, governing-law and arbitration clauses, currency terms.
Governance of the LLP, appointment of the director, sole-participant decisions, regulatory compliance — together with HQ legal.
Negotiation support, debt recovery, pre-trial claims, litigation and arbitration — reported to HQ in English.
Compliance for foreign groups
Matters head office should settle before they become problems. A red dot marks the topics where mistakes cost the most.
The director of a Kazakh company acts on its behalf without a power of attorney, and their signature binds the company even against the group's internal rules. Head-office control rests on the charter and the participant's decisions: matters the director may not decide alone, transaction limits, an approvals matrix, reporting lines and powers of attorney with clear limits.
We set these mechanisms up so that they work under Kazakh law and read the same here and at head office.
Codes of conduct, anti-corruption and anti-harassment policies, rules on gifts, conflicts of interest and internal investigations bind employees only once adapted to the Labour Code and introduced in the prescribed manner, with employees acknowledging them in writing. From 4 August 2026 respect for honour and dignity is a stated principle of employment law.
Transferring employee and customer data to head office requires consents and compliance with the cross-border transfer rules of the personal-data legislation as amended from 1 July 2026.
More: Employment law · Corporate law
A subsidiary's transactions with related foreign parties — supplies, head-office services, royalties, interest on loans — are international business transactions controlled under the Kazakh Law on Transfer Pricing. The price must be at arm's length and its justification documented; otherwise the tax authority may adjust the price and assess additional tax.
We structure intra-group agreements and prepare the price justification in advance, not during an audit.
More: Corporate support
Where the same person heads several Kazakh companies of a foreign group, this is, as a rule, treated as economic concentration and a single group of persons. The companies' assets and revenue are aggregated when checking the thresholds, and acquisitions of shares, mergers and interlocking management positions within the group may require the prior consent of the competition authority.
We review the group structure before a transaction or appointment: breaching the clearance procedure risks fines and a challenge to the transaction.
More: Corporate law
Settlements between the subsidiary and head office — payments for supplies and services, royalties, dividends, charter-capital transactions, receiving and repaying loans — are currency transactions. For a number of contracts with non-residents above threshold amounts the bank assigns a registration number, repatriation deadlines are monitored, and breaches lead to fines and delayed payments.
We build currency-control requirements into the contracts before the first payment.
More: Commercial law
A loan from head office or another group company is a common way to fund a subsidiary. Before signing, consider the currency requirements for the contract, the tax limits on deducting interest on loans from related parties, an arm's-length interest rate and the corporate approvals on both sides.
We compare a loan with a charter-capital increase and prepare an agreement that will stand up to the bank and the tax authority.
More: Corporate law
A group brand is protected in Kazakhstan only if the trademark is registered here or an international registration extends to Kazakhstan. The subsidiary and distributors use it under a licence agreement; the licence should be registered and the royalties justified for transfer-pricing purposes.
Before launching the product, we check trademark protection and establish clear rules for using the brand, packaging and other intellectual property — particularly when working with local distributors and retail partners.
As digitalisation continues to reshape the global market, Kazakhstan is seeing sales channels for branded products that operate outside official distribution and retail networks. Such channels are increasingly established through social media and messaging platforms. There is usually consumer demand for these products, while trademark owners lose sales through their authorised wholesale and retail channels.
This is commonly referred to as grey imports, and businesses can take legal measures to address it.
Bringing in foreign specialists and managers: work permits and intra-corporate transfers, permit exemptions — including for the chief executives of wholly foreign-owned companies — work visas and residence permits.
In 2026 a mandatory labour-market test through the state job exchange, cross-checks against the ESUTD and the migration police and local-staff ratios apply — a refused or revoked permit can stop a project.
Beneficial-ownership data is kept under the rules updated in 2026. Banks run enhanced due diligence with disclosure of beneficial owners and the source of funds and, because of secondary sanctions, screen counterparties and payments ever more strictly.
We set up sanctions and export-control screening, anti-money-laundering procedures and the documents a bank expects to see before opening an account and the first payments.
More: Corporate support
Starter packages
A fixed scope, timeline and fee — you know what you are buying before work starts.
KZT 150,00048 hours
KZT 450,000fixed fee
from KZT 750,000per month
Need a different scope or several lines of work at once?
Estimate the cost in the calculatorSend us a contract at Info@lanes.law — we reply in English during business hours, usually within two hours, with a fixed fee.
Knowledge base
Setting up and acquiring a business, IIN, visas and permits, taxes and repatriation of profits — answers with references to the law. Search by keyword.
Investments are all types of property, other than goods intended for personal consumption, including items of financial leasing from the moment the lease is concluded, and the rights to them, contributed by an investor to the charter capital of a legal entity or to increasing long-term assets, and to implementing a public-private partnership project, including a concession project. Long-term assets means assets recorded on receipt in the investor's accounts under international financial reporting standards or the accounting legislation, in the form of fixed assets and investment property.
Legal basisPara. 1 of Art. 274 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the RK
An investor is granted full and unconditional protection of its rights and interests, secured by the Constitution, the Entrepreneurial Code, other regulatory legal acts and ratified international treaties. An investor may claim compensation for harm caused by state bodies issuing acts that do not comply with the laws, and by unlawful acts or omissions of their officials, under civil law. The Republic of Kazakhstan guarantees the stability of the terms of contracts concluded between investors and state bodies.
Legal basisParas. 1, 2 and 3 of Art. 276 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the RK
Investors may use at their discretion the income earned from their activity, after paying taxes and other obligatory budget payments under the Tax Code, obligatory pension contributions, obligatory professional pension contributions, the employer's obligatory pension contributions and social deductions under the Social Code, and the deductions and contributions for compulsory social health insurance. Investors may open bank accounts in Kazakhstan in national and foreign currency in accordance with the banking and currency legislation.
Legal basisArt. 277 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the RK
Compulsory taking of an investor's property is permitted only in the exceptional cases provided for by law. On nationalisation the investor is compensated in full for the losses caused by the enactment of nationalisation laws. Requisition is carried out against payment of the market value of the property, determined in the manner established by law; the valuation on which the compensation was based may be challenged by the owner in court.
Legal basisParas. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Art. 279 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the RK
Investment preferences are targeted advantages granted to legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan implementing an investment project, and to leasing companies importing technological equipment under a finance lease for such a legal entity as part of the project. A legal entity of the Republic of Kazakhstan includes an entity with foreign participation established under Kazakhstan law. The types of preference depend on the content of the project and are granted on the terms set by the Code.
Legal basisParas. 1 and 2 of Art. 283 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the RK
An investment dispute is a dispute arising from contractual obligations between investors, including major investors, and state bodies in connection with the investor's activity. Such disputes are settled by negotiation or under a dispute resolution procedure previously agreed by the parties. Where that fails, they are resolved in accordance with international treaties and the laws of Kazakhstan in the courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and in arbitration determined by agreement of the parties. Disputes that are not investment disputes are resolved under the general legislation.
Legal basisArt. 296 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the RK
Immigrants arriving to carry out employment fall into three categories. Foreign workers — those arriving for independent employment in occupations in demand in priority sectors of the economy, and those engaged by employers to work in Kazakhstan, including under an intra-corporate transfer. Business immigrants — those arriving to carry on entrepreneurial activity. Seasonal foreign workers — those engaged for no more than one year for seasonal work under the list of occupations approved by the authorised body for population migration.
Legal basisArt. 34 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
A permanent establishment arises where a non-resident carries on activity in Kazakhstan through a permanent place of business; where it provides services or performs work through hired employees or other personnel; where it acts through a dependent agent; and where it carries on joint activity. Where an international treaty applies, the permanent establishment is determined under that treaty. Activity that is exclusively preparatory or auxiliary does not create a permanent establishment, including using premises solely for storing or displaying the non-resident's goods without selling them.
Legal basisParas. 1 and 2 of Art. 226 of the Tax Code of the RK
A permanent place of business includes any place of production, processing, assembly, packing, packaging or sale of goods; any place of management, office, factory, branch, workshop, mine, oil or gas well, quarry or other place of extraction of natural resources; any place of geological study of the subsoil, exploration and extraction of minerals or of control and supervision over them; any place of activity connected with a pipeline; and any place of activity connected with the installation, adjustment and operation of gaming machines, computer networks and communication channels, amusement rides, and with transport or other infrastructure.
Legal basisPara. 1 of Art. 227 of the Tax Code of the RK
Providing services or performing work through hired employees or other personnel creates a permanent establishment where the activity meets two conditions at once: it continues in Kazakhstan for more than one hundred and eighty-three calendar days within any consecutive twelve-month period, and it is carried out within one project or connected projects from the date the activity begins. Connected projects are interrelated, interdependent and similar contracts; the criteria of interrelation are set out in the Code.
Legal basisParas. 1, 2 and 3 of Art. 228 of the Tax Code of the RK
Income of a non-resident from Kazakhstan sources is taxed at source at the following rates: twenty per cent on income defined by the Code other than the categories listed below; fifteen per cent on insurance premiums under risk insurance contracts; five per cent on premiums under risk reinsurance contracts; five per cent on income from international carriage services; and fifteen per cent on capital gains, dividends, interest and royalties, apart from the separately specified cases. Dividends paid to a person holding, directly or indirectly, at least twenty-five per cent of the capital of a resident legal entity are taxed on a progressive scale.
Legal basisPara. 1 of Art. 682 of the Tax Code of the RK
The list of a non-resident's income from sources in the Republic of Kazakhstan is set out in Article 679 of the Code. Separately defined are the sums and payments that do not constitute such income, and the income that is not subject to taxation in Kazakhstan. Correctly classifying a payment under these three articles determines whether the Kazakhstan payer takes on the obligations of a tax agent.
Legal basisArts. 679, 680 and 681 of the Tax Code of the RK
The document confirming residence is an official document stating that the recipient of the income is a resident of a state with which Kazakhstan has concluded an international treaty. It is submitted as an original certified by the competent authority of the foreign state, and the signature of the official and the seal of that authority must be legalised in the manner determined by Kazakhstan law, or the document legalising the signature and seal must be published on the internet resource of the relevant state body. The Code also permits the other forms of submission expressly listed in Article 702.
Legal basisPara. 1 of Art. 702 of the Tax Code of the RK
Works performed and services supplied by a non-resident for consideration, where the place of supply is the Republic of Kazakhstan, constitute, when acquired by a VAT payer, that payer's turnover from acquiring works and services from a non-resident and are subject to VAT. The amount of that turnover is determined under Article 463 of the Code. The rate of value added tax is sixteen per cent.
Legal basisPara. 1 of Art. 454, Art. 463 and para. 1 of Art. 503 of the Tax Code of the RK
The Code provides a dedicated procedure: the non-resident files an application for the refund of income tax paid from the budget, the tax authority considers the application and takes a decision, and that decision may be appealed in the established manner. The application of an international treaty to dividends, interest and royalties is regulated separately.
Legal basisArts. 699, 700, 701 and 706 of the Tax Code of the RK
Foreign labour is engaged by employers on the basis of permits issued by the local executive bodies of the relevant administrative-territorial units, within the quota set by the authorised body for population migration. The local executive bodies issue, extend, suspend and revoke such permits or refuse to issue them. A permit issued may not be transferred to another employer and is valid in the administrative-territorial units named in it, except where the employer sends the foreign workers covered by it on a business trip. A fee is charged for issuing or extending a permit in the manner established by tax legislation.
Legal basisPara. 1 of Art. 37 and paras. 1, 2 and 3 of Art. 37-1 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
A limited liability partnership is a partnership established by one or more persons whose charter capital is divided into participation interests of sizes determined by the constitutive documents. Participants are not liable for the partnership's obligations and bear the risk of losses only up to the value of the contributions they have made; exceptions may be provided by the Civil Code and the Law on LLPs. The definition of a partnership itself contains no restriction based on foreign participation.
Legal basisPara. 1 of Art. 2 of the Law of the RK on Limited and Additional Liability Partnerships
The charter capital is formed by pooling the founders' contributions. Its initial size equals the sum of those contributions and may not be less than the equivalent of one hundred times the monthly calculation index established for the relevant financial year by the budget law as at the date the documents are filed for state registration, except for partnerships for which the Law provides otherwise. All participants must pay their contributions in full within the period set by a resolution of the general meeting, which may not exceed one year from the date the partnership is registered.
Legal basisParas. 1 and 2 of Art. 23 and para. 2 of Art. 24 of the Law of the RK on Limited and Additional Liability Partnerships
The provisions of the Law on quotas for foreign labour and on issuing permits to employers do not apply, in particular, to foreign nationals and stateless persons working in autonomous education organisations, their organisations and the Nazarbayev Fund in positions of managers and specialists with higher education; working in state bodies with supporting documents in the manner established by the Government; and working in organisations that have concluded investment contracts for the implementation of a priority investment project, and in organisations engaged by such entities or their contractors. The full list of exemptions is in paragraph 2 of Article 36-1 of the Law.
Legal basisParas. 1 and 2 of Art. 36-1 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
To obtain an entry visa or a temporary residence permit, a business immigrant must be of full age; produce a medical certificate confirming the absence of diseases preventing employment; hold medical insurance covering primary health care and specialised inpatient care in emergency form; and produce confirmation of the presence or absence of a criminal record and of any court-imposed ban on carrying on entrepreneurial activity. Visas for business immigrants are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kazakhstan's foreign missions for up to two years.
Legal basisParas. 1 and 2 of Art. 39 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
Carrying on entrepreneurial activity is a mandatory condition of a business immigrant's stay. Within two months of entering the country they must register a commercial organisation in Kazakhstan or join the participants or shareholders of a commercial organisation operating in Kazakhstan, and deposit with a second-tier bank a sum of money of not less than the minimum amount established by law for forming the charter capital when registering a legal entity. If these obligations are not met, the internal affairs authorities, on the application of the local executive bodies, decide to shorten the period of stay.
Legal basisParas. 1 and 2 of Art. 40 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
Repatriation means crediting to bank accounts with authorised banks the proceeds in national or foreign currency from exports, and the currency transferred by a resident to a non-resident for import settlements where the non-resident has failed to perform or has performed only in part. A resident, other than a branch or representative office of a foreign organisation, must ensure repatriation within the periods provided for by the currency contract. The terms of a contract subject to the requirement must specify the periods for performance by the non-resident, and the servicing bank may require the resident to clarify the repatriation period.
Legal basisParas. 1 and 2 of Art. 9 of the Law of the RK on Currency Regulation and Currency Control
A temporary residence permit is issued on the application of: individuals whom the immigrant has joined for family reunification; individuals and legal entities that have concluded an employment contract with the immigrant; education organisations that have enrolled the immigrant for full-time study; healthcare organisations where the immigrant is receiving inpatient treatment; religious organisations where the immigrant carries out missionary activity; and local executive bodies, for immigrants arriving to carry on entrepreneurial activity. The full list of grounds is set out in Article 6-1 of the Law.
Legal basisArt. 6-1 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
Applications to the internal affairs authorities for a permanent residence permit may be made by foreign nationals and stateless persons temporarily present in Kazakhstan on a permanent residence visa, on a multiple-entry investor visa issued at the request of the authorised body for investments, on a visa issued under the list of occupations in demand, or arriving from states that have concluded visa-free entry and stay agreements with Kazakhstan, or holding refugee status, and by ethnic Kazakhs whatever category of visa was issued to them. While the application is processed, a visa or a temporary residence permit is issued.
Legal basisArt. 7 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
Entry visas for foreign workers are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kazakhstan's foreign missions in agreement with the national security bodies, on the basis of and for the validity period of the permit issued to the foreign worker for employment or to the employer for engaging foreign labour, including under an intra-corporate transfer. Foreign workers from states with a visa-free regime are issued temporary residence permits by the internal affairs authorities under ratified international treaties. Visas and permits are extended by the internal affairs authorities in agreement with the national security bodies.
Legal basisParas. 1, 3 and 4 of Art. 36 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
The permit and notification regimes are governed by the Law on Permits and Notifications, based on the principles of a balance between the interests of consumers, businesses and the state, justification and effectiveness in introducing the regime, transparency of state bodies, mutual responsibility, freedom from corruption and legality. No one may require individuals or legal entities to hold permits or file notifications that are not provided for by that Law. Whether a licence is needed depends on the type of activity, not on the applicant's nationality or country of registration.
Legal basisArt. 4 and para. 3 of Art. 9 of the Law of the RK on Permits and Notifications
In licensing or carrying out permit procedures, the permit body must check within two working days of receiving the documents whether the set is complete. Where it is incomplete, a reasoned refusal to consider the application further must be given within the same period. If the body fails within the prescribed periods either to issue the permit or to give a reasoned refusal, the permit is deemed issued from the date the period expires and is entered in the state digital register of permits and notifications.
Legal basisPara. 1 of Art. 25 and para. 1 of Art. 26 of the Law of the RK on Permits and Notifications
Foreign workers transferred under an intra-corporate transfer, and those who arrived for independent employment, carry out temporary work in accordance with the purpose of their stay and must leave the country once the period stated in the employment contract ends, which may not exceed three years. The procedure and conditions for issuing permits and certificates of qualification compliance are determined in the manner established by law.
Legal basisPara. 2 of Art. 37 of the Law of the RK on Population Migration
The Social Code extends certain types of social security to foreign nationals and stateless persons permanently residing in the Republic of Kazakhstan, unless the laws and ratified international treaties provide otherwise. In particular, the right to a state social disability benefit belongs to citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, foreign nationals and stateless persons permanently residing in Kazakhstan. The key condition of access to such payments is permanent residence, evidenced in the established manner.
Legal basisSocial Code of the RK (provisions on those entitled to state social benefits)
Unlawful acts of officials of state bodies during inspections entail the liability established by law. Harm caused to a business entity by a state body or its official in the course of control and supervision is compensated under civil law. The recoverable losses include the remuneration paid to employees for preparing materials for the inspection, wages for the period of forced suspension of production, and the profit the business would have made from goods, works and services not produced because of that suspension.
Legal basisArt. 322 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the RK