In general, if a third-country national has a high qualification and if he/she intends to work in the territory of the Czech Republic, he/she has two options essentially:
The first of them is to apply for the Employee Card. The Employee Card is a type of long-term residence permit that entitles its holder to reside in the territory of the Czech Republic for more than three months and, concurrently, to work on the job position that the Employee Card is issued for. The Employee Card is intended for all types of employment, regardless of the required professional qualification level. However, the job vacancy for which an application for the Employee Card can be made must come from the Central Register of Job Vacancies that can be filled by Holders of Employee Cards which works on the employment portal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic.
Detailed information about the Employee Card is presented at the section Employed Workerat this link
The second option is to apply for the Blue Card. The Blue Card is a special residential status designed for a long-term residence involving the performance of a highly-skilled job. Duly completed university education or higher vocational education whose duration was at least 3 years is deemed to be a high level of skills. The Blue Card entitles a third-country national to reside in the territory of the Czech Republic for more than three months, and, concurrently, to work on the job position that this card is issued for. The job vacancy for which an application for the Blue Card can be made must come from the EU Blue Card Database of Vacancies that is available at the employment portal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic.
Thus, this section will present information about the Blue Card.
Where and how to apply
A third-country national who intends to stay in the territory of the Czech Republic for more than 3 months and who intends to be employed at a position requiring a high level of skills is entitled to lodge the application for issuing the Blue Card. However, the work position has to be open to non-EU third-country nationals. There are stated several options of third-country national situations under which is not possible to lodge the application by the Law. The application for issuing the Blue Card has to be lodged in person at the Embassy of the Czech RepublicSearch for available translations of the preceding link abroad. A third-country national is entitled to lodge the application at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in the state of which he/she is a citizen, or that issued his/her travel document or in the state where a third-country national has a long-term or permanent residence permit. Compliance with this condition is waived for a third-country national who is a citizen of a state that belongs to the listSearch for available translations of the preceding link of countries whose citizens are entitled to file the application at any Embassy of the Czech Republic abroad. A third-country national who is already staying in the territory of the Czech Republic based on a long-term visa or a long-term residence permit for another purpose or who already is a holder of the Blue Card issued by another Member State of the European Union (if he/she will lodge the application in one month after entering the territory of the Czech Republic) is entitled to lodge the application in the territory of the Czech Republic at the office of the Ministry of the Interior as well. The application for the Blue Card issuing has to be filled in an official form. Submission of the application for the Blue Card is charged with the administrative fee. As far as the applications submitted at the Embassy are concerned the administrative fee is equal to 5 000 CZK. Administrative fee should be paid generally in the foreign currency. In case of the application lodged in the territory of the Czech Republic the administrative fee is equal to 2 500 CZK. The administrative fee has to be paid in the form of a revenue stamp(s) in that case. | |
| Documents required | To obtain the Blue Card, a third-country national must submit:
In case an employer of the applicant is a job agency and the applicant will be temporarily allocated by this job agency to another employer, it is necessary to submit also a document in which there will be stated his/her name, surname, citizenship, birthdate, birthplace and place of stay. There must be stated a kind of work that the applicant should do, place of work, the name of the employer and its registered office in this document as well. If a third-country national has applied for issuing the Blue Card at the Embassy of the Czech Republic abroad and his/her application has been approved, a third-country citizen is required to present a medical travel insurance document and, upon request, proof of payment of the insurance premium. The applicant must present this document to the Embassy directly. If the application was lodged in the territory of the Czech Republic, a third-country citizen is obliged to submit this proof right away (at the moment of submission of the application). |
| Further requirements | Originals or other officially authenticated copies of all of the attached documents must be submitted. Travel documents must be submitted in original. All submitted documents in foreign languages must be submitted in their original version and with an officially certified translation into the Czech language. The required attachments to the applications must not be older than 180 days, except for travel documents and the photograph of the third-country national, provided that corresponds to his/her current appearance. Upon arrival in the Czech Republic, a third-country national who will be issued a long-term visa for the purpose of collecting the Blue Card has to visit an appropriate office of the Ministry of the Interior in person to provide biometric data that are necessary for the production of a residence card. The residence card will then be issued at latest within 60 days. |
| Duration of validity of permits | The Blue Card is issued with a period of validity that is 3 months longer than the period of time for which the contract of employment was concluded. However, the maximum period of its validity is 2 years. |
| Conditions for renewal | The validity of the Blue Card can be repeatedly extended. The application for an extension of its validity has to be lodged in the territory of the Czech Republic at the office of the Ministry of the Interior. A third-country national is entitled to lodge the application before an expiration of the validity of the previous Blue Card at the latest, but not sooner than 120 days before the expiration of its validity. Detailed information about an extension of validity of the Blue Card |
| Appeals | A third-country national can appeal a refusal to issue the Blue Card by requesting that the Ministry of the Interior reassess his/her application within 15 days of the original decision being delivered to him/her. A special Commission at the Ministry of the Interior will examine and make a decision about this request. |
| Further information |
Change of employment
A third-country national who resides in the territory of the Czech Republic based on the Blue Card is obliged to report the change of employer or the change of professional position. During the first 2 years of his/her residence in the territory of the Czech Republic, these changes are subject to prior consent of the Ministry of the Interior. After this period the changes have to be reported to the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic within 3 working days only (i.e. after the first 2 years of residence a holder of the Blue Card needs not to get a consent for the change of employer of his/her working position). | |
| Unemployment | If the employment of a holder of the Blue Card is terminated during the period of validity of the Blue Card, he/she is obliged to report this fact to the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic within 3 working days. |
| Change of status | A third-country national who is a holder of a long-term residence permit in the territory of the Czech Republic (incl. the Blue Card) who intends to reside in the territory for another purpose than the one that he/she was granted the permit is obliged to apply to the Ministry of the Interior for a new long-term residence permit. If he/she intends to stay in the territory of the Czech Republic for the purpose of business (i.e. if Detailed information about the change of the purpose of residence |
| Family members | Family members of a third-country national who is a holder of the Blue Card are entitled to apply to the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic for issuing a long-term residence permit for the purpose of family reunification. If family members have not resided in the territory of the Czech Republic yet, the application must be lodged at the Embassy of the Czech Republic abroad. Family members who are entitled to lodge this application are specified by the Law. Detailed information about a long-term residence permit for the purpose of family reunification Family members of a third-country national who is a holder of the Blue Card are entitled to apply for a visa for a stay of over 90 days (a long-term visa) for the purpose of family as well. This application has to be lodged at the Embassy of the Czech Republic abroad. Detailed information about a long-term visa for the purpose of family |