Focusing on the regulation of migrant domestic workers with a gender-sensitive perspective, this study critically examines whether regulating labour migrants has been able to legalise and improve the protection of migrant workers in the informal sector in Kazakhstan. The Republic of Kazakhstan has recently transformed into an attractive country for migrant workers, and has become a regional centre for the reception of migrant workers from neighbouring countries. Since the 2000s, the standard of living has increased, leading to a mass of unauthorised labour migration. The service sector, and in particular domestic work, is thriving due to increasing demand from Kazakh households. In order to regulate increasing numbers of migrant workers and legalise unauthorised migrants in the informal sector, the Kazakh government has recently implemented legal and institutional reforms. This study illustrates that, despite the government’s intention to regulate migrant workers in general, migrant women are largely invisible in the seemingly gender-neutral legalisation. In the domestic service sector, migrant workers, who are mostly women, are more likely to suffer from gaps in the legal regulations, increasing their vulnerability to disadvantageous conditions.