Posted workers between North Macedonia and the European Union
Directive 2018/957 requires equal pay for posted workers, and the North Macedonia posting quota for 2026 stands at 200 permits out of 10,000.
Posting is not employment in the country where the work is done. The worker stays employed by the home employer and works temporarily in another state. Posting into the European Union runs under Directive 96/71/EC as amended by Directive 2018/957, applied since 30 July 2020. Posting into North Macedonia runs under Article 90 of the Law on Foreigners.
Both directions share a core and differ in the authorities involved. The employer does not apply for a labour market work permit in the usual sense; it proves that a service contract with a client exists, that the worker is already employed by it, and that pay and conditions meet the standards of the country where the work is performed.
Posting into North Macedonia
Article 90 paragraph 1 of the Law on Foreigners provides that the Employment Agency's positive opinion for temporary residence for posting is issued within the quota set for posted workers. In the government decision for 2026 that quota is 200 permits, against 9,750 for ordinary employment and 50 for seasonal work. The full allocation is set out in the 2026 quota.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the same article describe the two permitted situations. A foreign legal entity may temporarily post its workers to provide a service under a contract concluded with a client in North Macedonia, and it may post them from their place of permanent employment into a branch or other organisational unit through which it is present on the market.
There is also an exit from the quota. Article 5 paragraph 2 point 4 of the Law on Employment and Work of Foreigners excludes from the quota foreign nationals temporarily posted by a foreign legal entity into a registered branch or other organisational unit in the country to perform managerial or special tasks. The distinction between posting to deliver a contracted service and an intra company transfer of managerial staff has a direct numerical consequence here.
Posting from North Macedonia into the European Union
| Question | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | the gross amount is compared with pay in the host country | Directive 2018/957, Article 3 |
| Posting allowances | count as remuneration unless they reimburse travel, board and lodging | Directive 2018/957, Article 3 |
| Long term posting | after 12 months all host country conditions apply | Directive 2018/957, Article 3(1a) |
| Extension of the threshold | to 18 months on a motivated notification | Directive 2018/957, Article 3(1a) |
| Accommodation | under the rules of the host country | Directive 2018/957, Article 3 |
| Declaration before the start | to the authority of the host country | Directive 2018/957, Article 5 |
The 12 month rule is what surprises employers most. In the first year a posted worker is entitled to the host country's core conditions: pay, working time, annual leave, health and safety. After 12 months, or after 18 where the service provider has filed a motivated notification, all terms and conditions of employment applicable to local workers apply, with narrow exceptions. A project that stretches from ten months to fourteen changes its legal regime mid delivery.
Social security is a separate question, and here a corridor out of North Macedonia does not behave like an internal EU one. The A1 certificate comes out of EU social security coordination under Regulation 883/2004, which does not automatically extend to third countries. For a worker posted from North Macedonia, coverage is determined under a bilateral social security agreement with the specific state, and where no such agreement exists the worker is insured under the rules of the country where the work is done. The first question before a posting is therefore not how long the project runs, but whether a bilateral agreement with that state exists.
What lands on the employer in practice
The declaration is a duty performed before the start, not after an inspection. Member states run national posting declaration systems and inspectorates use them during site checks. A missing declaration does not usually cost the right of residence; it creates misdemeanour liability for the service provider and for the client that received the service.
In the opposite direction, duties on posting into North Macedonia continue after approval. Article 85 paragraph 2 of the Law on Foreigners requires that, on extension of residence for work, it is verified whether the social insurance obligation has been settled, or whether additional proof of social and health insurance has been supplied in the case of posted workers. A file without that proof does not get extended.
The difference between posting and employment is also a difference in the document the worker holds. Employment in a member state means a combined permit under Directive 2011/98/EU, explained in the single permit, while a posting rests on the service contract and the existing employment relationship in the home state. Processing times by country are compared in how long an EU work permit really takes.
Werklist separates these two regimes for employers engaging workers from Nepal, India and the Philippines, since the nationality of a posted worker adds a further layer of questions; the scope is described on the employers page.
Posting is cheaper at the start and more expensive in month twelve. An employer that prices the second year in advance rarely discovers the change of regime through an inspection record.
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