---
title: "Foreign drivers join Chisinau’s taxi workforce amid labour shortages "
url: https://moldova1.md/p/87405/foreign-drivers-join-chisinau-s-taxi-workforce-amid-labour-shortages
published: 2026-10-11T16:00:00Z
language: en
author: "Dumitru Petruleac"
section: "Social"
source: moldova1.md
---

# Foreign drivers join Chisinau’s taxi workforce amid labour shortages 

> Taxi companies in Chisinau are hiring foreign nationals, including Ukrainians and Uzbeks, as drivers seek immediate income and employers look for reliable staff amid labour shortages.

![](https://storage.moldova1.md/images/bd3c31ab-6f7c-40e4-8e8b-6ae44d338861.jpg)

Taxi companies in Chisinau are hiring foreign nationals, including Ukrainians and Uzbeks, as drivers seek immediate income and employers look for reliable staff amid labour shortages.

**Foreign drivers find work and a way to integrate**

Adrian, the administrator of a taxi company in the Moldovan capital, told Radio Moldova that 15 of his firm's 90 drivers are foreign nationals, mostly from Ukraine, with several others from Uzbekistan.

*“Most of them are from Ukraine. They are trying to integrate into our community. We also have around five drivers from Uzbekistan who came to us to earn some money, considering the difference between salaries here and back home,”* he said.

Taxi work offers newcomers a way to earn money soon after arriving in Moldova, without having to wait until the end of the month for their first salary.

*“They choose taxi driving because, when you arrive in the country, you don't have an established base or spare money. Most arrive here with no money, during a crisis or an emergency. Taxi driving is a job you can get into quickly, with the opportunity to earn money every day,”* Adrian said.

He said the main challenge for employers was not finding applicants but recruiting drivers who could perform their duties reliably.

*“The difficulty is not finding drivers; it is finding competent drivers who do their job well and on time. For foreign nationals, this is an opportunity,”* he said.

**Employment requirements and passenger safety**

Hiring foreign nationals also involves additional administrative procedures. According to Adrian, the process for some workers from Uzbekistan begins with an invitation to come to Moldova, followed by the preparation of the necessary documents and an employment contract.

Foreign drivers are registered to work for the company that employs them. The company also checks their documents and medical fitness, he said.

Language can sometimes be a barrier when communicating with passengers, Adrian acknowledged, but he said drivers can rely on navigation apps to find their destinations.

*“Their main responsibility is to get the passenger safely from point A to point B,”* he said.

The administrator also recalled an incident involving a driver from Azerbaijan and a Moldovan passenger who objected to being driven by a foreign national. The situation was resolved through discussion, he said.

Asked to compare foreign and local drivers, Adrian said foreign employees were *“much more responsible than Moldovan citizens, because they are in a foreign country and behave more responsibly towards their work.”* The assessment reflects the administrator's personal view.

The company plans to continue hiring foreign nationals, subject to checks before employment.

*“Every driver is checked individually, both in terms of documentation and medical fitness, to ensure that passengers are as safe as possible during their journey,”* Adrian said.

**Employers increasingly recruit foreign workers**

Taxi drivers are not the only foreign nationals finding work in Moldova. Recruitment companies say employers are increasingly turning to workers from abroad, including for seasonal jobs.

*“We have brought around 400 workers into the country for various companies. More are arriving because there is a huge labour shortage in Moldova and everyone needs workers. We are already sending them to pick fruit, work in packaging and fill other positions where labour is needed,”* Iurie Postolachi, the administrator of a recruitment company, previously told Moldova 1.

Employers say foreign workers earn an average of at least 8,700 Moldovan lei a month, equivalent to approximately €435 at the National Bank of Moldova's official exchange rate on October 11, 2026. Depending on their qualifications and the work they do, their earnings can reach €800 a month.

According to the figures cited in the source report, nearly 5,600 foreign nationals in Moldova have residence rights for employment purposes.

Translation by **Iurie Tataru**

***
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