Sixty seamstresses in waves: a video test before permits and a Nepali exit permit

01 / The brief

A new shop and a lesson already learned the hard way

A garment factory near Zhytomyr won a hotel textiles contract and equipped a new shop. There were no experienced seamstresses left in the region, so the factory first went to an agency that obtained permits for twenty people based on CVs. When the women arrived, it turned out half of them had only ever sewn at home on domestic machines. The permits had already been paid for, and that money couldn't be recovered.

The factory came to WORKIN with one request: never again a permit for someone nobody had seen at a machine. Iryna, the chief technologist, gave us a technical sheet of operations, a sample product and a photo of a correct seam. That's where all our work began.

In parallel we checked the factory's own documents, because without them no permit application can be filed. The position of seamstress was already in the staffing schedule under the right title, but HR had no powers of attorney for filing and no documents for the dormitory. We prepared power of attorney forms and requested the staffing schedule extract and the dormitory building documents before the first video was recorded. The full list of what a company prepares is in the company checklist.

Who we're looking for

Seamstresses with experience on industrial lockstitch machines, some with overlock

How many

60 people, three waves of twenty roughly a month apart

Who approves

The factory's chief technologist, based on video and CV

Housing

The factory's dormitory for women, with building documents held by the company

A CV tells you where someone has worked. Only the machine shows how they sew.

02 / The test

Twenty minutes on video instead of promises on a CV

We translated the technical sheet into Uzbek, Nepali and Russian and simplified it to a single page with photos. The candidate is given fabric cut to size, sews a double-seamed pillowcase and finishes an edge on an overlocker in an unedited video. Hands, machine, a clock and the finished product all have to be in shot.

Videos were recorded in our partners' workshops or at local garment businesses where candidates already worked. Iryna reviewed them in batches twice a week and marked each one approved, repeat or unsuitable. A second attempt was given to anyone whose hand was shaky from nerves or who was thrown by an unfamiliar machine.

03 / Waves

Three waves, three separate calendars

Twenty people at a time is as many as the shop can train and house without rushing. For us, a wave also meant a separate deadline calendar. We didn't file permits for all sixty places at once: the 90 days to sign an employment contract start from the permit's issue date, and the third wave simply wouldn't have arrived in time.

So each wave got its own dates: permit filing, issue, the last day for contracts, entry, and the residence permit application. Everything sat in the control-date register, which both we and the factory's HR could see.

For every wave we kept a reserve of candidates who had already passed the video test. If a woman changed her mind or ran into a document problem, the next person in reserve took her place and the wave's date didn't move. The overall sequence from request to first shift is described on how it works.

1. Wave 1

   20 seamstresses from Uzbekistan. Permit applications a week after video approval, visa-free entry, contracts in the first days.

2. Wave 2

   20 seamstresses from Nepal. Permits filed straight away while our partner handles the exit permit, then the D visa.

3. Wave 3

   20 seamstresses from Uzbekistan. Permit applications start once the second wave is on its way.

04 / Nepal

An exit permit without which no one leaves the country

The Nepali wave took the longest. Besides a Ukrainian work permit and a D visa, citizens of Nepal need an exit permit issued by the Nepali side to work abroad. Without it, a candidate won't be let through at Kathmandu airport even with a visa in her passport. That's why the whole route from Nepal takes up to 14 weeks.

Our partner in Nepal handled the exit permit, and we prepared the Ukrainian-side documents for it: a certified copy of the work permit, the draft employment contract, the invitation and proof of housing. The difficulty was that the Nepali side checks the terms in the contract against the terms in the invitation down to the last figure. In one version of the documents the job title differed, and the file was returned. We corrected the documents within a day and the permit was issued without going back to the queue.

After the exit permit came the consular stage. A D visa requires a consulate appointment, biometrics in person and an insurance policy, so we booked appointments as soon as we could see the Nepali permit was about to be issued. That way twenty candidates got through the consulate in two weeks rather than waiting two months for free slots.

1. 01

   Ukrainian permit

   Filed first, because without it there is neither a visa nor a Nepali exit permit.

2. 02

   Documents for the partner

   Permit copy, draft contract, invitation and housing, with identical job titles and terms.

3. 03

   Exit permit

   Handled by our partner in Nepal. We check every document before submission so the file isn't returned.

4. 04

   D visa

   Consulate appointment, biometrics in person, and insurance cover of at least EUR 30,000.

05 / Documents

Two passports that expired too soon

Before filing permits for the third wave, we checked passports. Two candidates from Uzbekistan had passports expiring in less than a year. A permit and residence permit can be obtained on such a passport, but within months the women would get new passports, and the permit would then need updating within 30 days and the residence permit reissuing.

We suggested a simpler route: the candidates renew their passports at home before filing, and two reserve candidates with videos ready take their places in the third wave. Both women travelled with new passports in the next intake, when the factory expanded the shop.

The rest of the documents followed our checklist: passport page copies made only from the original, a Ukrainian translation with a certified translator's signature, colour photos, the application form, a signed candidate agreement and the vacancy information sheet. Work permits were filed under the factory's power of attorney, and the factory paid state fees from its own account against our invoices.

06 / Candidates

What the women wanted to know before leaving

The seamstresses travelled in women's groups, and they had questions of their own. Our female manager held interviews in the candidates' language, and each woman received the terms in writing in the information sheet: position, pay and taxes, working hours, type of housing and address, meals and insurance. Each candidate confirms by signature that she was not charged for placement.

We required of our partner agencies in both countries exactly what we promise candidates: no placement fees, full information before departure, and a skills video with every CV. One partner whose candidates complained about unofficial charges was replaced before the first wave. How workers from that country are recruited and brought over is described on our page about workers from Uzbekistan.

• whether they'd live only with other women and who else lived in the dormitory;
• whether they could travel with a sister or friend if both passed the test;
• whether their passports would stay with them;
• how to send money home and whether they'd need a bank account for that;
• who to call in Ukraine at night if something happened.

We put two sisters from Nepal in the same wave: both passed the test, and together it was easier for them to commit to the journey. For the factory nothing changed, but for the candidates it meant they wouldn't pull out in the final week.

07 / Arrival

From the airport to the shop for every wave

The factory's dormitory passed our check before the first wave: the building documents were in order, and the company as owner provides everything needed for temporary residence permits and registration of place of residence. For citizens of Uzbekistan, the key was not to waste the 90 days of legal stay, so residence permit applications were planned before entry. The Nepali wave entered on D visas, and for them too we booked filing dates in advance so the women weren't waiting in the dormitory without documents.

1. Arrival day

   Meeting, the drive to the dormitory, and a worker's guide covering documents, rights and contacts.

2. Days 1-2

   Employment contracts and orders. We submit copies of contracts within 10 days.

3. First week

   Tax numbers in 3-5 working days, then bank accounts.

4. First weeks

   Residence permit applications in person and registration of place of residence at the dormitory.

5. Handover

   The wave starts in the shop with documents in order. The register holds the extension dates.

That's where our work with each wave ends, and Iryna and her supervisors take over training on the factory's machines. We continue to handle documents through migration support. How WORKIN breaks large-scale hiring into steps is described on our page about mass hiring.

08 / Outcome

Sixty places without a single permit taken on trust

Skills

Every candidate approved by the technologist on video before a permit application

Deadlines

Three wave calendars, with no 90-day contract deadline at risk

Nepal

Exit permit obtained at the first attempt after correcting documents within a day

Passports

Renewed before filing, places filled from reserve without delaying the wave

Housing

Dormitory address checked for residence permits before the first entry

On this route there's nothing WORKIN can't solve: video instead of CVs removes the risk of unskilled hires, wave calendars remove the risk of missed deadlines, and experience with Nepali documents removes the risk of delays at departure. The WORKIN replacement guarantee lasts at least 6 months from the worker's first shift, provided the agreed working, pay and housing conditions are kept: recruitment of the replacement is not charged again. More on such projects on our pages about workers for manufacturing and workers from Nepal. How skills are tested before a permit in another trade is covered in the scenario about welders.

09 / FAQ

Questions and answers