Employee cards for foreigners in the Czech Republic

What is an employee card

An employee card issued by the Czech Republic is a long-term residence permit for the purpose of employment in the Czech Republic. A foreigner who has an employee card is entitled to:

  • reside in the Czech Republic and
  • work in a job for which the employee card was issued and change that job with the consent of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of Interior, or work in another job or with another employer.

The employment card therefore combines both the residence and work permits.

The issuance of an employee card is conditional on 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, which contains a provision stipulating that the foreigner's monthly wage, salary or remuneration will not be lower than the basic rate of the monthly minimum wage regardless of the extent of work and the weekly working hours will be at least 15 hours.

The employee card is valid for the term of employment set in the employment contract but to a maximum of 2 years.

Who is the employee card for

The employee card is for foreigners from countries that are not members of the European Union and to which exemptions listed in Section 98 and Section 98a) of Act No. 435/2004 Coll., on employment, do not apply, or for foreigners who are required to hold a work permit in accordance with Section 89(2) and 89(4) and Sections 95, 96 and 97 of the Act on Employment.

Notice: Citizens of European Union countries, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland their family members do not need an employee card, blue card or work permit to work in the Czech Republic.

How to get an employee card

1. Find an available job

The employee card is issued for a specific job vacancy in the Czech Republic. Jobs available for employee cards are generally jobs that could not be filled by employees from the Czech Republic or the EU.

Central record of vacancies available for employee cards

Jobs for employee card applicants can be found in the central records of job vacancies available for employee card holders (hereinafter referred to as the "central records of vacancies available for employee cards") accessible on the Internet.

Here you can check whether an employee card can be issued for a job you have found out about somewhere else.

For each of the job vacancies you can find important information about this job. Here you can also find the application form for the employee card.

2. Contact your future employer

A concluded employment contract, an agreement to perform work or a preliminary contract is enclosed with an employee card application. Contact your employer and arrange the conditions under which your employment contract will be concluded.

The employer's contact information can be found by the job vacancy. You can complete a structured CV in the section Job offers and CV. You can also use the link "Job vacancy enquiry" provided for the majority of offers.

3. Submit an application

The application for an employee card is submitted at the relevant embassy of the Czech Republic in accordance with with Decree of the Ministry of Interior No. 429/2010 Coll. (278,86 kB), which defines exceptions from the obligation of a foreigner to apply for a visa or residence permit at the locally relevant embassy. Citizens of countries that are stated in this Decree may submit an employee card application at any embassy of the CR.

In the Czech Republic, the application can be submitted by foreigners directly at the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior, during their stay in the Czech Republic for a visa for a stay of more than 90 days or a long-term residence permit.

  • The application for the employee card can be found on the Internet. You can print out a blank form and complete it by hand or complete it directly on the Internet, print it out, and bring it to the embassy or an office of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of Interior.
  • In the application, you must write the number and description of the vacancy for which you have an employment contract, an agreement to perform work or a preliminary contract concluded. You can find this number in the central records of vacancies available for employee cards, or from your employer in the Czech Republic.
  • You must also submit:
    1. a valid travel document (the validity of the travel document must be at least 90 days beyond the expected duration of the employee card)
    2. 1 photo that matches your current appearance
    3. documentation to demonstrate the qualification required for the selected job (documents on attained education) - These documents must be validated in the case of regulated professions. Validation of documents may also be required for non-regulated professions in certain, justified cases. Submit originals or official copies and also official translations of these documents into Czech. Foreign public documents must be provided with higher certification (Apostille or superlegalization), unless an international agreement stipulates otherwise.
    4. a document showing that accommodation has been secured for the term of your stay in the CR
    5. an employment contract or a 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, which contains a provision stipulating that the foreigner's monthly wage, salary or remuneration will not be lower than the basic rate of the monthly minimum wage regardless of the extent of work; the weekly working hours in each basic employment must be at least 15 hours)
    6. in the case of a regulated profession, a document certifying compliance with the requirements for the relevant job
  • You may also be asked for:
    1. a medical report showing that you are not suffering from a serious illness
    2. a document similar to an extract from the Criminal Register; if you are not asked for this document by the embassy, the Ministry of the Interior is entitled to ask for the document after your entry into the Czech Republic
    A detailed description of these requirements and general information about employee cards is available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior.
Notice:

Physicians, dentists and pharmacists who have not acquired professional qualification in another EU member state and wish to practice their medical profession in the Czech Republic must successfully complete an approbation exam. The same requirement also applies to the practice of a non-medical healthcare profession.

For more information contact the employer or see the Ministry of Health website: www.mzcr.cz, section Professional, Healthcare Professional - Education and Training Recognition.

For the submission of the application at the embassy, you will pay a fee of CZK 1,000 in the equivalent amount in the foreign currency.

Your application will be forwarded to the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior, which will assess it and decide whether to grant it.

4. Come to the Czech Republic

As a rule, the embassy will inform you within 2 months from the submission of your application as to whether your employee card application has been granted. If it has, you will receive from the embassy a visa for residence over 90 days for the purpose of collecting your employee card and you can come to the Czech Republic.

Before the visa is stamped in your passport, you will be asked to submit a valid travel health insurance document.

In the Czech Republic, within 3 business days of entering the country:

  • Visit the agreed office of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior to provide biometric data and to collect your employee card . You will pay a fee of CZK 2,500 for the issued employee card.
  • Register your stay at the Foreigner's Police Inspectorate, Department of Residency Issues relevant to your place of residence in the Czech Republic. When declaring your residence, submit the document securing accommodation (lease, sublease, etc.). If you do not have this document, you must supply it within 10 days of your arrival in the Czech Republic. You may also register at a Ministry of Interior office.
  • You can commence your employment if you have received your employee card or you have a certificate confirming that the conditions for issuing an employee card have been satisfied issued by the Ministry of the Interior.

Once you have received a certificate confirming that you have fulfilled the conditions for issuing an employee card, you can commence work, so report to your employer immediately.

If you want to change your job position with your current employer or change your employer or be employed in another job (with a current or new employer), you must ask the Ministry of the Interior to agree to this change. For more information, visit the Ministry of Interior website.