Hiring a Japanese Chef in Mongolia: Work Permit and Fees

Mongolia is one of the smallest Japanese restaurant markets MAFF tracks, but it doubled between 2023 and 2025. Hiring a foreign chef there is governed by a single statute, the Law on Labour Force Migration, which sets out a local recruitment test, a two stage permit and a monthly fee tied to the minimum wage. This guide reads that law as currently published on Mongolia's official legal portal, as of September 2026.

1. A small market that doubled

• MAFF counted 100 Japanese restaurants in Mongolia in 2025, up 50 on 2023.
• 337 Japanese nationals lived in Mongolia on 1 October 2025, down 8.4%. 300 were long term residents and 37 permanent residents (MOFA).

With about 340 Japanese residents in the country, almost all of the demand comes from Mongolian and other international diners, and there is essentially no local pool of Japanese chefs. A restaurant that wants one will bring them in.

2. The law that applies

The Law on Labour Force Migration (Ажиллах хүчний шилжилт хөдөлгөөний тухай хууль) was adopted on 24 December 2021 and has applied since 1 July 2022 (Article 37.1). The consolidated text on legalinfo.mn shows amendments, most recently by a law of 3 July 2026.

It sorts foreign workers' jobs into three types: management, executive and support (Article 21.1). A restaurant chef is most likely to fit the support category for a worker with a certificate, diploma or professional licence proving technical or vocational skills, issued by the competent body of their own country or recognised in Mongolia (Article 21.4.1). Japan's national cook licence (調理師免許) and dated employment letters are the kind of evidence this points to; confirm what the labour authority will accept.

3. Step by step: invitation, then work permit

1. Advertise locally. Notify the district or aimag employment office of the vacancy and its requirements (Article 23.1). The office posts it on the national employment database. The law forbids setting unjustifiably high skill requirements, or refusing a qualified Mongolian without reason, in order to hire a foreigner (Article 23.3).
2. Wait 14 working days. Only if you cannot recruit locally within 14 working days of posting the job and actively searching may you request permission to invite a foreign worker (Article 23.4).
3. Apply for the invitation permit. The application goes to the state body in charge of employment, with a work plan for the foreign positions, the company's state registration certificate, documents proving the chef's profession and skills (certified by the competent body of the issuing country), evidence of the local search, proof of the service fee and a social insurance payment statement (Article 23.5).
4. Invitation permit, valid 3 months. Within that time, sign the employment contract with the chef and obtain the work permit. It can be extended once, by up to 3 months, for good reason (Articles 23.6 and 23.7).
5. Work permit. Submit the signed contract and supporting documents; the authority issues a work permit naming the chef, the employer, the work location and the term, which is up to one year depending on the job and the contract (Articles 24.1 to 24.4). After arrival the chef takes a health examination under rules set by the health and labour ministers (Article 24.6).

The law allows these services to be provided electronically (Article 23.10). Ask the employment authority whether your application can be filed online.

4. The workplace fee, and why restaurants may be exempt

Unless the law says otherwise, an employer pays a monthly workplace fee for each foreign worker equal to twice the monthly minimum wage (Article 32.1), paid in advance for the number of workers and months (Article 32.7). It is not refunded if the permit is cancelled for a breach (Article 32.9).

Mongolia's minimum wage is MNT 792,000 a month, in force since 1 April 2025 (Ministry of Labour and Social Protection). On that basis the fee would be MNT 1,584,000 a month per foreign worker. The national tripartite committee decided in August 2026 to raise the minimum wage to MNT 1,000,000 from 1 January 2027, which would lift the fee to MNT 2,000,000.

5. Quotas, training and the five year limit

• Sector quotas. The government sets the number and share of foreign workers by economic sector each year, by 1 October (Article 22.1). Check the current resolution for your sector before recruiting.
• Apprentices. Employers of foreign workers take on registered unemployed Mongolians as apprentices under an agreement with the employment authority, at a rate of at least 30% of the number of foreign workers (Article 22.4). For a kitchen, that is a natural fit: one Japanese chef, one trainee cook. See training local staff in Japanese cuisine.
• Five years. Apart from the management and executive categories, a foreign worker's continuous work permits in Mongolia may not total more than five years (Article 28.2). Permits can be extended on the employer's request, based on the work done and the contract (Article 28.1).

6. What we could not confirm

• The visa and residence permit. After the work permit, the chef also needs the right visa and residence permit from the Immigration Agency of Mongolia. We could not confirm the current visa category and filing deadlines from an official source in English, so we do not state them here.
• This year's sector quota for food service, which is set by government resolution.
• How the Article 32.3 exemption is applied to restaurants in practice.
• Pay benchmarks for chefs in Ulaanbaatar. We found no official data.

For the offer to the chef, see relocation packages for chefs and the contract checklist. Nearby: China and South Korea.

General information checked in September 2026 against the Mongolian text of the Law on Labour Force Migration on legalinfo.mn, Mongolian government and Japanese government sources, not legal or immigration advice. The article references above are to the consolidated Mongolian text; our reading of it is not an official translation. Confirm requirements with Mongolia's employment authority, the Immigration Agency of Mongolia or a Mongolian lawyer before hiring.