Illustration: AI
In Kazakhstan, people who register as jobseekers will be matched with vacancies for 13 calendar days. If they cannot find a job, the system will automatically register them as unemployed, subject to exceptions set out in the Social Code (kursiv.media). The procedure is part of a Labour Ministry pilot project that has been in effect since 1 October 2026. It also sets deadlines for responding to job offers and conditions for registering again after being removed from the register.
How to register as a jobseeker
You can apply through the Electronic Labour Exchange or visit your local career centre. To register, you will need to consent to the collection and processing of your personal data.
Once your documents have been checked, you must be registered within one working day. Registration is handled through the Labour Market digital system or a career centre. You are initially registered as a jobseeker.
When you’ll be registered as unemployed
Job matching begins after registration and lasts 13 calendar days. The Electronic Labour Exchange automatically matches you with vacancies, while the career centre helps you find suitable work.
If you do not find a job within that period, the system will automatically register you as unemployed. Under the previous rules, two working days were allowed for job matching.
Who may be refused unemployed status
Automatic registration does not apply to everyone. Under the Social Code, people under 16, people in employment and old-age pensioners, among others, are not eligible for unemployed status.
The restrictions also apply to university and school students seeking to take part in active employment support measures. This is not the full list of exceptions.
You will not be granted unemployed status if you knowingly provide false information claiming that you have no job or income. Restrictions also apply to people sentenced to correctional labour, community service or imprisonment, unless the sentence is suspended.
How long you have to respond to a job offer
If a career centre offers you suitable work, you must accept or decline within three working days. You can respond in person or by mobile phone.
Under the general rules, someone registered only as a jobseeker has one working day to respond. For people registered as unemployed, the deadline remains three working days.
Why you may be removed from the register
The career centre must remove a person from the register within two working days of receiving the relevant information through the Labour Market system. The grounds are:
- turning down three offers of suitable work or failing to respond to offers on time;
- failing, without a valid reason, to report to the proposed workplace or training venue by the deadline;
- failing to attend the career centre when called in to take part in employment support measures;
- withdrawing from those measures without authorisation;
- missing deadlines for career centre visits or for reporting relevant circumstances without a valid reason;
- being sentenced to imprisonment or ordered to undergo compulsory treatment under a court ruling that has taken effect;
- failing to report on time any circumstances that affect further work with the unemployed person;
- submitting documents known to be false or forged.
What changes you must report to the career centre
People registered as unemployed have five working days to report a move or any permanent or temporary work. This includes work under a civil-law contract.
You must also notify the centre if you start a business, establish an organisation, are assigned a disability group or have it changed, or are awarded pension payments.
When you can register again
After certain breaches, you can register again only once 30 calendar days have passed since you were removed from the register. This applies if you turn down three offers of suitable work or fail to attend without a valid reason. The restriction also applies if you withdraw from employment support measures without authorisation or miss deadlines for career centre visits.
The pilot project provides for this restriction with reference to Article 100 of the Social Code.
Put simply: apply through the Electronic Labour Exchange or a career centre and keep track of job offers. You have three working days to respond and must report finding a job within five working days.
