Employer of Record in Kazakhstan — Hire Engineers Without a Legal Entity
Kazakhstan has a 10% flat income tax — the lowest in the region — two established tech hubs in Almaty and Astana, and a talent pool shaped by significant post-2022 relocation. NexoStaff structures the engagement: one contract with our EU entity, one EUR invoice.
- Registered in Spain & Germany
- 10% flat income tax — lowest in the region
- KYC + sanctions screening on every developer
- Onboarding in 1–3 business days
- From €500/developer/month
Why Kazakhstan, Specifically
Kazakhstan isn't the first country European companies think of for tech hiring. That's starting to change. The talent pool is larger than most people realize, the cost structure is attractive, and the post-2022 period brought an influx of experienced engineers who stayed.
A talent pool you haven't fully explored
Kazakhstan has roughly 150,000 IT professionals across a population of 19 million. Almaty is the commercial and tech capital — most of the established engineering teams are here. Astana (formerly Nur-Sultan) has the government-backed ASTANA Hub IT park, which incubates startups and hosts over 800 resident companies.
The local success stories are real: Kaspi.kz listed on NASDAQ in 2020 and is now valued at over $17B. Kolesa Group (the dominant automotive classifieds platform) and Chocofamily (the regional e-commerce group) built substantial engineering teams locally. EPAM, Luxoft, and DataArt all run delivery centers in Almaty.
Common stacks: JavaScript/React, Python, Java, .NET/C#, mobile (iOS/Android), plus strong representation in fintech and data engineering. Senior engineers run $1,700–$3,200/month total employer cost — slightly below Armenia for equivalent profiles, with significantly more volume available at mid-level. Junior profiles start at $700–$1,200/month.
Timezone and working overlap
Kazakhstan runs on UTC+5 year-round — same offset, no daylight saving adjustment. That puts Almaty 3 hours ahead of Berlin in summer (CET+2) and 4 hours ahead in winter (CET+1).
The practical overlap: your Kazakh team starts their day at 9am KZT, which is 6am or 7am Berlin time. By the time your Berlin team comes online at 9am, Kazakhstan has already had 2–3 hours of focused morning work. You get a meaningful overlap window of 4–5 hours per day — enough for standups, code reviews, and sprint planning without anyone working unusual hours.
It's comparable to Armenia and better than almost any other timezone outside Europe itself.
The post-2022 situation — and what it actually means
After February 2022, Kazakhstan received an estimated 60,000–100,000 Russian and Ukrainian professionals, a significant share of them in tech. Kazakhstan was one of the preferred destinations: visa-free entry for Russian nationals, Russian language dominant, functional banking infrastructure.
By 2024, a portion returned or moved on to other countries. The engineers who stayed are generally committed to being in Kazakhstan for the medium term — either locals, or people who made a deliberate decision to put down roots. If you're evaluating a Kazakh-based developer with a Russian passport, what matters for compliance is their residency status, not their passport. We run full KYC on every developer before onboarding.
The net effect: the Kazakhstan talent pool in 2025 is deeper than it was in 2021, particularly at mid-to-senior levels.
How Hiring Through NexoStaff Works
You don't need a branch, a Kazakhstan legal entity, or a local bank account. Here's the exact structure.
You sign with NexoStaff
One standard B2B contract with NexoStaff's entity in Spain or Germany. EU law, EUR invoicing, standard GDPR terms. Your legal team has seen this contract before — nothing unusual on your side.
We structure the local engagement
NexoStaff contracts with your developer as a registered individual entrepreneur (ИП). We sign a services agreement, process all payments, and handle tax obligations — the developer pays their applicable taxes as an entrepreneur, and our local representative structure handles required remittances. All four contribution schemes (OPV, SO, OSMS, OPVR) are tracked and remitted correctly.
One invoice per month
You receive a single EUR invoice each month. It covers the developer's compensation, our management fee, and all local employer costs. No transfers to Kazakhstani banks, no KZT exchange rate exposure, no surprises.
Typical timeline
- Day 0 — Discovery call, agree on terms
- Day 1–2 — Contract prep, KYC verification, sanctions screening
- Day 3 — Developer onboarded and ready to start
What Hiring in Kazakhstan Actually Costs — Including the 4 Contribution Schemes
Kazakhstan has a 10% flat income tax — the lowest in the CIS region. But employer costs aren't a single number: there are four separate mandatory contribution schemes. Most EOR providers lump them together or get the remittance wrong. Here's what they actually are.
The 4 contribution schemes — where Kazakhstan compliance gets complex
Every employer in Kazakhstan must handle all four correctly and remit to different state bodies. Missing one creates backdated liability.
| Scheme | Abbrev. | Rate | Who pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandatory pension contributions | OPV | 10% of gross | Employee (employer withholds and remits) |
| Employer pension contributions | OPVR | 1.5% of gross | Employer |
| Social tax | SO | 9.5% of gross (minus OSMS) | Employer |
| Mandatory social medical insurance | OSMS | 3% employer / 2% employee | Both sides |
| Professional pension — hazardous roles only | OPMS | 5% | Employer (standard IT roles: not applicable) |
In practice, the total employer-side burden for standard IT roles runs 12–14% on top of gross (SO + OPVR + employer OSMS). NexoStaff handles each scheme separately, remits to the correct bodies — State Revenue Committee for SO and OPV; FOMS for OSMS — and provides line-item documentation for each. If you're ever audited, the paper trail is complete.
| Kazakhstan | Germany | Netherlands | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income tax | 10% flat | 14–45% progressive | 36.93–49.50% progressive |
| Total employer contributions | ~12–14% (SO + OPVR + OSMS) | ~19.7% | ~18% |
| Employee pension (OPV) | 10% (withheld from gross) | 9.3% | 17.9% |
| Paid vacation | 24 calendar days | 20 working days | 20 working days |
| Probation period | Up to 3 months | Up to 6 months | Up to 2 months |
Kazakhstan's 10% flat income tax means developers take home significantly more than in any Western European country. A developer on $2,000/month gross nets $1,760 after OPV and OSMS deductions. You can offer a competitive net salary at a meaningfully lower gross cost.
Cost example: mid-level backend engineer
Equivalent profile in Germany (salary alone, before social contributions): $6,000–8,000/month.
ASTANA Hub: ASTANA Hub is Kazakhstan's government-backed IT park in the capital. Resident companies pay 0% corporate income tax; their employees pay 0% individual income tax on qualifying income. If your developer's employing entity is a Hub resident, this changes the cost calculation significantly. NexoStaff can advise on whether your specific setup qualifies.
See our full Kazakhstan developer salary guide for detailed benchmarks by level and specialization →
Ready to get started? View our pricing — flat monthly fee, no surprises.
The Compliance Realities — What You Actually Need to Know
The two questions that come up in every conversation about Kazakhstan: sanctions exposure and permanent establishment. Both are manageable. Here's the detail.
Sanctions
Kazakhstan is not sanctioned by the EU, the US, or the UK. Kazakhstani banks — Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Jusan — are SWIFT-connected and process international transfers routinely. This is not a sanctioned jurisdiction.
The nuance is worth being honest about: Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union alongside Russia and Belarus. Some European compliance teams apply enhanced due diligence to Kazakhstan payments, not because of any legal requirement, but because of internal policy triggered by the EAEU connection. This creates occasional friction in correspondent banking chains — not a legal barrier, but sometimes a bureaucratic one.
Working through NexoStaff eliminates that friction. Payments go from your EU entity to NexoStaff — a standard intra-EU B2B transaction. NexoStaff handles the Kazakhstan-side payroll from our established local structure. Your legal and compliance teams never touch a Kazakhstan bank transfer.
We screen every developer and every wallet address against EU consolidated lists, OFAC, and UN sanctions lists before onboarding and before every payout. Documentation of each screening is available for your compliance team.
Permanent Establishment Risk
Kazakhstan tax law follows the standard PE trigger: a foreign company creates a permanent establishment if it operates through employees or dependent agents in Kazakhstan for more than 183 days in any consecutive 12-month period. A PE triggers corporate income tax liability in Kazakhstan on profits attributable to that PE, plus mandatory registration with the State Revenue Committee.
Hiring a developer in Kazakhstan directly — whether as a contractor or as an employee of your foreign entity — is how companies inadvertently create PE exposure. When NexoStaff is the employer of record, the developer is on our payroll, not yours. You have no employees, no fixed place of business, no registered presence in Kazakhstan. No PE.
Misclassification Risk
Kazakhstan labor law is explicit about the distinction between employment and a civil (contractor) contract. The criteria for misclassification are similar to what you'd find in most European jurisdictions: exclusive relationship, defined work schedule, use of company equipment, integration into business operations. If your contractor relationship ticks those boxes, Kazakhstani tax authorities can and do reclassify it.
The practical consequence is back taxes, interest, and administrative penalties for the employer. EOR removes this risk category entirely — the employment relationship is correctly structured from day one.
EOR vs. Your Own Kazakhstani Entity — When Each Makes Sense
| EOR (NexoStaff) | Own Kazakhstani LLP / JSC | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first hire | 1–3 business days | 4–8 weeks |
| Setup cost | €100 one-time per developer | $2,000–6,000 (legal, registration, bank account setup) |
| Ongoing admin | Handled by NexoStaff | Monthly accounting, annual audit, local director requirement |
| Compliance management | Included | Your responsibility |
| PE risk | None | You are the Kazakhstani entity |
| Makes sense when | 1–20 hires, testing the market | 25+ hires long-term, local IP or regulated activity |
Setting up a Kazakhstani LLP isn't especially complicated, and the costs aren't extreme. What gets people is the ongoing overhead — the local director requirement, the monthly accounting, the audit obligation. Most of our clients start with EOR to validate the model, and the entity question comes up again at 20-something people.
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Start Hiring
- 1
Almaty and Astana are genuinely different markets. Almaty has the bulk of established tech teams, higher salaries, and more competition for senior talent. Astana has the ASTANA Hub IT park, government-adjacent projects, and less competition — which can mean faster hires at lower cost. Know which market you're fishing in.
- 2
English proficiency is more variable than Armenia. Russian is the working language across the industry. English is common in companies that deal with international clients, but it's not universal. For roles requiring heavy written English or direct client interaction, a language assessment is worth building into your process.
- 3
The EAEU membership creates a specific dynamic. Kazakhstan hasn't imposed Western sanctions on Russia. Some tech companies here maintain Russian clients or partnerships. If your company has a specific policy on this, it's worth surfacing with a candidate upfront.
- 4
Banking works, but has quirks. Kaspi Bank has a very good consumer banking product and is ubiquitous. For corporate transfers and payroll, the picture is more variable. Using NexoStaff's local payroll infrastructure means your developers receive timely payments regardless of correspondent banking conditions on any given day.
Also hiring in the region?
Frequently Asked Questions
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Book a 30-minute call. Tell us who you're looking to hire, when, and at what rate. We'll tell you exactly what the setup looks like for your situation in Kazakhstan.
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