North Macedonia intra-company transfer and posted worker residence

North Macedonia does not use the EU intra-corporate transfer card. Its closest route is temporary residence for posted workers, one of the three work-related purposes in the Law on Foreigners. It covers a foreigner who stays employed by a foreign company and is sent to work for a limited time in that company’s branch or other business unit in North Macedonia, or to perform specific services for a client based in the country.

The request is filed by the foreigner, the legal entity or its authorised representative, at a mission or at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVR). The ministry obtains a positive opinion of the Employment Agency and approves residence when the general conditions and the special conditions of article 91 are met.

The worker must have been in employment with the foreign employer for at least one year and registered for compulsory social insurance by that employer. The foreign company, its branch or other business unit must be entered in the Central Register of North Macedonia. The employer issues an act posting the worker to temporary work in the unit in North Macedonia, and the file includes the contract with the local client for the specific services.

Social security is shown either with the bilingual certificate used under ratified bilateral social insurance agreements, or with proof of social insurance in the home country, or with health insurance that meets North Macedonian rules. The general conditions apply as well: valid passport with a certified copy, accommodation, health insurance, a visa where required, no entry ban and no threat to public order, which the ministry checks itself.

The MVR decides within 30 working days of receiving the request, or 60 working days when it came through a mission, and the time limit can be extended by 30 working days in exceptional cases. The permit form costs MKD 4,000 according to this service’s fee list. Foreign companies sending staff can file the request through their registered branch in North Macedonia; visa-exempt workers only need a visa where the visa regime requires one. Once the work begins, the user of the services must register it with the Employment Agency one day before the work starts when no employment relationship is concluded in North Macedonia.

If the posting continues, the extension is requested from the MVR before expiry and lasts up to one year each time. A posted worker whose residence is approved for one year is among the sponsors who can bring close family through family reunification. Residence as a posted or transferred worker, however, is excluded from the grounds that lead to permanent residence.