International legal and national regulation of Ukrainian citizens working abroad

Abstract

The intensification of international labor mobility necessitates a deep study of the legal support for the work of Ukrainian citizens abroad. Labor migration affects not only the domestic labor market but also shapes the volume of foreign exchange earnings, transfers, and social ties with recipient countries. It highlights the need to study relevant legal instruments, their effectiveness, and development prospects. The purpose of the study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of international legal and national regulations of the work of Ukrainian citizens abroad, taking into account the current challenges of globalization, labor migration, and integration processes in the European legal space. The study is aimed at identifying gaps in regulatory and legal support, identifying current problems in protecting the labor rights of Ukrainian workers abroad, and developing proposals for their improvement. To solve the research tasks, systemic, comparative, formal legal, and analytical approaches were used. The results of the study showed that Ukraine is an active participant in international labor relations. Still, the existing regulatory and legal mechanisms do not yet provide an adequate level of protection of the rights of labor migrants. Several systemic problems were identified: insufficient harmonization of national legislation with international standards; limited mechanisms for monitoring compliance with working conditions abroad; low awareness of migrants about their rights; difficulties in providing social and pension insurance. The importance of bilateral agreements between Ukraine and labor recipient states was particularly emphasized, which, in some cases, remain a framework and do not have effective implementation mechanisms. To increase the efficiency of labor regulation of Ukrainian citizens abroad, it is necessary to improve the national regulatory framework, taking into account international standards of the ILO, EU and UN, expand the network of intergovernmental agreements with clear obligations of the parties, and create practical information and consulting services for labor migrants. Further research should focus on assessing the impact of digital tools (electronic registries, online consultations) on providing legal support to migrants, as well as on studying the practices of other countries with developed migration policies to adapt successful models in Ukraine.