When does a foreigner need a permit?

If you want to employ a foreigner who does not have free access to the labour market, it is only possible if:

They hold an employee card or a blue card (or an internally transferred employee card) or have a certificate of compliance with the conditions for issuing such a card. An employee card, blue card and an internally transferred employee card are both a residence permit and a work permits.
They have a valid work permit (if under the Employment Act required) and a valid residence permit (e.g. a valid employee card in the form of a non-affiliated document).

The following persons only may be employed without an employee's card, a blue card, an internally transferred employee card and work permit, together with a valid residence permit (see above):

citizens of EU member states and citizens of Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland
family members of citizens of the CR or of citizens stated in point 1
foreigners for whom the exceptions states in Section 98 and Section 98a of Act No. 435/2004 Coll., on employment, apply

Employee card, blue card or work permit?

An employee card, blue card and work permit are issued for a specific job with a specific employer. In terms of employment arrangements, they are equivalent to each other. Each of these authorisations may be granted under specific circumstances. For example, for blue cards, the law stipulates the conditions pertaining to the job for which the blue card is intended.

The main differences between an employee card, blue card and work permit from the employer's perspective are as follows:

	Employee card	Blue card	Work permit
Differences in qualification	There are no restrictions on the qualification required for job vacancies. A foreigner's monthly wage, salary or remuneration must not be lower than the basic rate of the monthly minimum wage regardless of the extent of work. The weekly working hours must be at least 15 hours. (The condition of a minimum monthly wage, salary or remuneration and a minimum weekly working time may not be fulfilled if a foreigner who already holds an employee's card is employed in that place requests the Ministry of the Interior to consent to employment on the next job. For more details, see the Ministry of the Interior website.)	At least completed tertiary education or higher secondary education with the minimum duration of studies of 3 years is required. The relevant employment contract must be concluded for one year for the weekly working hours specified by the law and the agreed gross monthly or annual wages must be at least 1.5 times higher than the average gross annual wage in the Czech Republic published in a notice of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.	There are no restrictions on the qualification required for job vacancies.
Processing times	An employment card therefore combines both residence and work permits. An employee card should be issued in a shorter time than work permits and residence permits are issued separately.	A blue card is both a work permit and a residence permit. A blue card should be issued in a shorter time than work permits and residence permits issued separately.	A work permit alone does not entitle a foreigner to work - they must have a valid residence permit (e.g. an employee card in the form of a non-affiliated document).
Reporting job vacancies	Reporting the job vacancy to the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office is a general obligation under Section 86 of Act No. 435/2004 Coll., on employment. The employer must grant consent with publishing the vacancy in the central records of job vacancies available to employee card holders (hereinafter referred to as the central records of vacancies available for employee cards). This consent may be granted when reporting a job vacancy or later. The vacancy will be forfeited into the central records of vacancies for the employee cards after 30 days from when the Labour Office issued it and offered it to potential prospects from the domestic labour force.	Reporting the job vacancy to the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office is a general obligation under Section 86 of Act No. 435/2004 Coll., on employment. The employer must grant consent with publishing the vacancy in the central records of job vacancies available to blue card holders (hereinafter referred to as the central records of vacancies available for blue cards). This consent may be granted when reporting a job vacancy or later. In the case that the Labour Office does not have enough suitable labour, the vacancy can be posted in the central records of blue card vacancies immediately after it is notified by the employer.	Reporting the job vacancy to the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office is a general obligation under Section 86 of Act No. 435/2004 Coll., on employment. The employer must declare interest in employing foreigners - work permit holders. The work permit will be issued if the vacancy cannot be filled by a candidate from the domestic labour force (this does not apply to despatch by a foreign employer).
Selection of employee	An employment contract, contract for work or a letter of intent stipulating the parties' commitment to conclude an employment contract or a contract for work within the specified date must be concluded before filing an employee card application. The contract or agreement is one of the attachments to an employee card application. See What happens after a job vacancy has been included in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards?	An employment contract must be concluded before filing a blue card application. The concluded employment contract is one of the attachments to a blue card application. See What happens after a job vacancy has been included in the register of vacancies available for blue cards?	Conclusion of an employment contract, an agreement to perform work or a preliminary contract, in which parties agree to enter into an employment contract or an employment agreement within the agreed period of time, is necessary prior to the work permit application. An employment contract or agreement is one of the appendices to the application for a work permit.
Duration of permit	Depending on the concluded employment contract, but no more than 2 years. Validity may be repeatedly extended by no more than 2 years.	Depending on the concluded employment contract plus 3 months, but no more than 3 years. Validity may be repeatedly extended by no more than 3 years.	No more than 3 years. Validity may be repeatedly extended by no more than 2 years. In the case of seasonal work, the work permit is issued for max. 6 months for a period of 12 months.
Detailed Information	http://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/zamestnanecka-karta.aspx	http://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/modra-karta.aspx	https://portal.mpsv.cz/sz/zahr_zam/zz_zamest_cizincu

How to offer a job vacancy for an employee card

How to include a job vacancy in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards?

In order for a foreigner to submit an application for an employee card for a specific job vacancy, this vacancy must be included in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards. The job vacancy can be listed in this central records if all of the following conditions are met:

The employer reports the job vacancy to the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office. The employer may also report the job vacancy via the Internet, if permitted to do so by the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office.
The weekly working hours must be at least 15 hours (this does not apply if a foreigner who already holds an employee's card is employed in such a place and who requests the Ministry of the Interior to consent to employment in another job).
The offered foreigner's monthly wage, salary or remuneration must not be lower than the basic rate of the monthly minimum wage regardless of the extent of work (this does not apply if a foreigner who already holds an employee's card is employed in such a place and who requests the Ministry of the Interior to consent to employment in another job).
The employer grants consent to publish the vacancy in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards when reporting the vacancy or subsequently and its publication.
The job vacancy has not been filled by a job seeker from the domestic labour force within 30 days of having been reported.

The vacancy is then automatically included in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards. If the employer has granted consent to publication, the vacancy is also published in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards.

The vacancy shall not be entered into the central register of vacancies for the employee cards and is discarded if

filling the vacancy were to threaten the situation on the job market; this is decided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs;
the employer has been finally fined within the last 4 months for allowing illegal work;
the assets of that employer have been declared bankrupt by a final judgment of a court and the bankruptcy has not yet been revoked;
the employer has been finally ordered in the last 3 months to pay a fine exceeding CZK 50,000 for violating an obligation arising from labour regulations or for violating an obligation under other legislation the observance of which is supervised by the State Labour Inspection Office or the Regional Labour Inspectorate.

What happens after a job vacancy has been included in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards?

What is the next stage after the publication of a job vacancy in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards?

Foreigners may submit their applications for a job vacancy as soon as the relevant vacancy is published in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards.

A foreigner may only submit an application for an employee card on the basis of contact with the employer and having concluded an employment contract, contract for work or a letter of intent stipulating the parties' commitment to conclude an employment contract or a contract for work within the specified date. An employment contract or contract for work must be attached to each employee card application.

The Foreigners Residence Act excludes the issuance of an employee card or the granting of consent to the employment of a foreigner to another employer if the employer is unreliable.

The employer is unreliable in the following cases:

it is not a person free of debt;
whose employer has been finally fined for enabling illegal work within 4 months preceding the submission of the application for the work permit;
it does not engage in economic activity;
it has not fulfilled the obligation to register a foreigner for insurance benefits;
it is in liquidation;
its seat is not real.

Further information is available on the Ministry of the Interior's website http://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/zamestnanecka-karta.aspx?q=Y2hudW09Ng%3d%3d.

Obligations of the employer

Once a foreigner commences his employment, the employer will inform the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office of the vacancy having been filled, stating the employee card reference number.
The employer will inform the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office in writing if a foreigner who has been granted an employee card:
1. has not commenced employment (within 45 calendar days of the day on which the conditions for issuing an employee card were fulfilled), or
2. terminated his employment prior to the expiration of the period for which the permit was issued, and, if the employment was terminated for any of the reasons stipulated in Section 52 a) to e) of the Labour Code or by agreement for the same reasons, or by an immediate termination pursuant to Section 56 of the Labour Code, also of the reason for the employment termination (within 10 calendar days of termination of the foreigner's employment).
If the employment was terminated for any of the reasons stipulated in Section 52 a) to e) of the Labour Code, or by agreement for the same reasons, or by an immediate termination pursuant to Section 56 of the Labour Code prior to the expiration of the period for which an employee card was issued for the foreigner, and, for that reason, his/her residence permit issued for employment purposes has been or is to be cancelled, the employer will pay the cost of any healthcare provided to the foreigner in the period between employment termination and the foreigner's travel out of the country, but for a maximum of the period for which the work permit was issued; this will not apply of thee costs are covered by other means.
If an employer wants to change the job position of a foreigner (and also if the foreigner wants to change their employer), they must report a new vacancy and the foreigner must request permission to change the job position to this new job position entered in the central register of the vacancies designated for employee cards. For more details, see http://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/zamestnanecka-karta.aspx?q=Y2hudW09OA%3d%3d.

Employee cards