Employment intermediation is a regulated activity that requires special registration under the supervision of the Employment Agency (“EA”) within the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
Who Can Register as an Employment Intermediator
Employment intermediation can be carried out by both natural persons and legal entities. In either case, registration in the designated register, established under the new Chapter Five, Section “a” of the Employment Promotion Act (“EPA”), is mandatory.
Both local and foreign individuals or entities can register. For foreign applicants, whether individuals or companies, the registration requirements detailed below must be considered taking the respective foreign legal system into account. For example, foreign legal entities must provide a certificate of good standing from the relevant national registry, which should be translated. Similarly, individuals must submit their diplomas, translated and legalized. The rules on legalization and apostille vary depending on the country.
Procedure
The application is submitted electronically. It must specify the individuals who will perform the intermediation activities, including:
- The individual applicant, if the application is from a natural person.
- The representative(s) of the legal entity, if the applicant is a company.
- All employees who will carry out actual mediation activities.
A key requirement is that these individuals must have at least a secondary or higher education. If there are multiple managers, at least one must meet this criterion. For diplomas obtained abroad, translation, legalization, and, where applicable, apostille certification are required.
For employment intermediation related to seafarer recruitment, proof of at least three years of professional experience in maritime transport is required for all the individuals mentioned above.
The EPA specifies additional requirements for applicants, which are verified through official inquiries carried out by the EA, including:
- Absence of public debts;
- Absence of administrative penalties imposed;
- The applicant must not be declared insolvent;
- The applicant must not be in liquidation proceedings;
If the applicant is a foreign legal entity, the EA will not conduct an official check, and some of these conditions will need to be proven by the applicant.
If all the necessary documents are provided, the procedure takes approximately 14 days and ends with the Employment Agency issuing a certificate.
