THE STRATIFIED STRUCTURE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL-LEGAL STATUS OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN: TRANSFORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF EURASIAN INTEGRATION

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive study of the stratified structure of the constitutional and legal status of migrant workers in the Republic of Kazakhstan and its transformation under the conditions of Eurasian integration during the period of independence, from the adoption of the 1995 Constitution up to and including 2025. The relevance of the topic is associated with the growing role of Kazakhstan as a recipient country within the Central Asian migration system, the constitutional reform of 2022, the restoration of the Constitutional Court’s activity from 1 January 2023, and the contemporary challenges of Eurasian integration.

The aim of the research is to identify the patterns of transformation of the constitutional and legal mechanism for the protection of migrant workers’ labour rights, to assess its effectiveness, and to substantiate directions for its improvement. The study focuses on three interrelated areas: the evolution of the regulatory legal framework, doctrinal interpretation, and the assessment of the state’s international legal obligations.

The scientific significance of the work lies in the systematisation of the stratified structure of the constitutional and legal status of migrant workers and in establishing the correlation between the stages of Eurasian integration and national constitutional regulation. The methodology is based on a qualitatively dominant mixed-methods design, incorporating formal-legal, comparative-legal, and historical-legal approaches.

The main findings include the periodisation of the transformation into four stages and the identification of systemic gaps in the constitutional and legal protection mechanism, including those related to the ratification of international labour standards. The practical significance lies in the formulation of recommendations for legislators and law enforcement bodies.

Keywords: migrant workers, constitutional and legal status, stratified structure, Republic of Kazakhstan, Eurasian Economic Union.