Intra-Corporate Transfer (ICT)

The intra-corporate transfer (ICT) permit is the route for foreign nationals being temporarily transferred from a foreign group company to its Macedonian subsidiary, branch, or affiliate. The model is borrowed from the EU's ICT Directive (2014/66/EU) and adapted to Macedonian law: the labour-market test is lighter than for standard employment because the move is intra-group rather than a fresh hire from the open market, and the permit is calibrated to the typical assignment durations of multinational groups — up to three years for managers and specialists, and up to one year for trainees.

It is the standard permit category for foreign technology companies opening Skopje engineering centres, foreign banks transferring senior risk officers into a Macedonian subsidiary, and consulting firms staffing client engagements with imported expertise.

Eligibility hinges on three conditions. First, both the sending and the receiving entity must be in the same corporate group: parent-subsidiary, sister companies under a common parent, or a branch of the foreign company in North Macedonia. The group relationship must be documented through corporate register extracts on both ends.

Second, the foreigner must have been employed by the sending entity for a minimum continuous period before the transfer — typically six to twelve months for managers and specialists, longer where the host country imposes a closer test. Third, the role in North Macedonia must fit one of three categories: manager (running the entity or a major function), specialist (uncommon expertise essential to the group's activities in North Macedonia), or trainee (university graduate undergoing structured career development through the group's mobility programme).

The documentary core combines standard residence-permit documents with group-specific evidence. Standard documents apply: notarised passport, apostilled and translated criminal record and non-prosecution certificates not older than six months, apostilled and translated diploma, notarised lease, valid health insurance, and the МВР temporary residence form.

Group-specific additions are: corporate register extracts of both the sending and the receiving entity, evidence of the corporate-group relationship (parent-subsidiary chart, group structure document signed by the group's legal department), the original assignment letter from the sending entity (specifying duration, role, salary continuity, and return obligation), the Macedonian intra-group employment contract or assignment agreement, and a description of the manager/specialist/trainee role and the foreigner's qualifications for it. For specialists, supporting evidence of the uncommon expertise — patents, publications, internal certification, project history — strengthens the file.

Procedurally, the Macedonian receiving entity files the employment-mediation request with АВРМ and flags the file as ICT. АВРМ runs a lighter labour-market test calibrated to the intra-group context: the question is not whether a Macedonian could fill the role on the open market, but whether the foreigner is being genuinely transferred from a corporate-group affiliate with a defined assignment. Where the documentation is clean, the positive opinion is issued within 30–45 days.

The МВР residence track follows the standard temporary-residence-for-work logic: 4–8 weeks for a decision, Visa D from the consulate within three working days for visa-required nationals, address registration within 48 hours of entry, biometrics and card collection within 5 days. The Macedonian residence card is valid for the assignment duration up to the relevant cap — three years for managers and specialists, one year for trainees, with renewal possible up to the cap.

Where multinationals deploy ICT staff to North Macedonia at scale — for example a foreign technology company opening a Skopje engineering centre — the file is often handled by a corporate mobility provider in coordination with a local Macedonian lawyer. The provider batches multiple ICT files, manages the documentation calendar across many candidates, and coordinates the consular collection of Visa D.

Costs are higher than for self-managed standard employment permits, but the throughput and predictability are critical for project-driven deployments where business deadlines drive the immigration calendar rather than the other way around.

Renewal applies the same logic as the initial decision but with a cap. Managers and specialists can renew up to a total of three years on the same ICT assignment; beyond that, the foreigner must either return to the sending entity, transition to a standard employment permit (in which case a full АВРМ labour-market test applies), or shift to a different residence ground.

ICT residence does count toward the five-year continuous residence requirement for permanent residence, so foreigners deployed for the full three-year cap and then transitioned to standard employment can build cumulative time toward permanent residence. After five years, the standard permanent-residence track applies — see the dedicated permanent-residence sub-page for details.