Are pre-employment and periodic medical examinations required for workers in Kyrgyzstan?

Yes, for listed groups of workers. Article 14 of the Law "On Labour Protection" No. 82 of 2026 requires compulsory pre-employment, periodic and unscheduled medical examinations for workers in heavy work, high-altitude work, work with harmful or dangerous conditions (including underground work), transport work and rotation (fly-in fly-out) work, and examinations for food, catering, trade, water supply, health care and child care workers. The employer pays, and nobody may work without a required examination. Workers under 18 are examined before hiring and every year (Labour Code, Article 141).

Short answer

• Legal basis: Law No. 82 of 5 June 2026, Articles 14 and 19; Labour Code No. 23 of 2025, Articles 25, 141 and 189.
• Who decides the lists: the health authority, in agreement with the labour policy ministry and the trade unions (Article 14(4)). The current lists and instruction were approved by Government Resolution No. 225 of 16 May 2011, last amended by Cabinet Resolution No. 418 of 15 June 2026.
• Intervals: set per factor in that list, mostly once a year or once every two years; for example, noise from 81 to 99 dB every two years and 100 dB and above every year.
• Cost and time: at the employer's expense, during working time with average pay kept (Articles 14(3) and 19).
• Admission: the employer must not let anyone work without a required examination or with medical contraindications (Article 19); the labour protection service can demand removal.
• Who examines: state health organisations under a contract with the employer; workers with five or more years in harmful work are also sent to a national specialised centre once every five years.

How the Kyrgyz system works

The 2011 resolution approves separate lists of harmful substances and factors, of types of work, of "decreed" occupations examined to protect public health (food, children, utilities), and of general contraindications, together with an instruction and a regulation on investigating occupational diseases. For each factor, the list gives the interval, the specialist doctors involved, the tests (for example audiometry for noise, chest X-ray and lung function for some dusts) and extra contraindications.

The instruction gives the employer the key tasks: with the state sanitary and epidemiological service, define the contingent and draw up a named list of workers by unit and factor; send it to the health organisation in advance; sign a contract; send workers with a referral naming their factors; and act on the conclusion. The health organisation must tell the employer immediately of any contraindication and send a copy of the conclusion within three days. Where an occupational disease is suspected, the worker is referred to the national specialised centre, which notifies the employer and the sanitary service within three days if the link is confirmed.

Workers must attend (Law No. 82, Article 20), may ask for an unscheduled examination on medical advice with their job and pay kept (Article 6), and the employer must transport a worker who falls ill at work to a medical facility (Article 15).

Common mistakes

• Sending everyone for the same generic check while missing factor-specific tests.
• Letting workers start before the medical conclusion arrives.
• Using intervals from Türkiye or Russia instead of the Kyrgyz list.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Kyrgyzstan: law, authorities and employer duties
• Is a written risk assessment mandatory in Kyrgyzstan, and how often must it be reviewed?
• Must an employer in Kyrgyzstan appoint a safety professional or an occupational physician?
• Are medical examinations required for workers in Kazakhstan?

Standards and further reading

• Law of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 82 "On Labour Protection", 5 June 2026 (Articles 6, 14, 15, 19, 20): official text.
• Government Resolution No. 225 of 16 May 2011 on public health acts (lists of harmful factors and work, decreed occupations, instruction on medical examinations), as amended 15 June 2026: official text.
• Labour Code of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 23, 23 January 2025 (Articles 25, 141, 189): official text.
• Law No. 160 "On industrial safety of hazardous production facilities", 2 August 2016, as amended 10 January 2023, Article 10.
• ILO Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161), as the international reference for health surveillance.

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.