This truly historic milestone in bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and Canada awards especially to young generation an opportunity to discover both countries and have a chance, at the same time, to be financially independent. For the text of the Agreement in English, please, click here.

The agreement allows young Canadians to travel and work in the Czech Republic for up to one year. The applicants for temporary work stays of youth in the Czech Republic must meet certain general conditions, namely they must be

• Canadian nationals with permanent residence in Canada and
• between the age of 18 and 35 inclusively on the date the application is submitted.

Applications for this type of visa are to be submitted only to the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ottawa, in person or by mail (in the latter case the Embassy may still request personal attendance). Should applicants who filed their application by mail require that their passport is mailed back to them while waiting for the visa to be decided, they must provide for this purpose a self-addressed prepaid courier envelope.

The list of required documents submitted with the completed visa application form:

• A passport with a validity exceeding the expected duration of stay by at least 3 months;
• a visa application form, downloadable here, completely filled and signed (note: In box 29 requesting the purpose of stay, indicate "other" and fill in "Temporary Work Stay of Youth";
• 2 (two) identical recent photographs (35 x 45 mm, one glued to the application form, the second signed on the reverse);
• a return ticket, ticket reservation (flight itinerary) or sufficient financial resources to purchase such a ticket;
• a proof of financial resources necessary to cover the expenses involved at the beginning of your stay in the territory of the Czech Republic; the minimum amount of CAD 2500 is regarded as sufficient resources to cover the expenses involved at the beginning of your stay and additional 1500 CAD to cover the expenses related to the departure from the Czech Republic; sufficient funds can be proved by presentation of a credit card with the latest account statement proving credit limit (original statement or a copy stamped by the issuing bank is required as well as a copy of the front page of a credit card, a translation of the statement must be provided on a separate sheet), travel checks or bank account statements (in original or a copy stamped by the bank); recommended is a letter from a bank (in original and on a letterhead) confirming the balance on applicant's bank accounts as well as possession of a credit card and its credit limit, translated into Czech language; Czech authorities newly require that applicants submit a copy of their credit/debit card to prove access to their funds from the Czech Republic (credit card numbers need not be visible in the copy).
• a declaration to arrange for health insurance prior to your entry, for the duration of your authorized stay in the territory of the Czech Republic, to cover medical treatment expenses in case of an injury or sudden sickness, including repatriation to Canada, with the minimum insurance coverage of EUR 60 000 (approx. 85 000 CAD); your agreement must be expressed in writing (on a form available in Czech/ English). Applicants must submit the Czech version of the declaration, its English translation is provided for convenience only;
• a self-addressed prepaid courrier envelope for the return shipment of your passport;
• a written confirmation of your intention to stay in the territory of the Czech Republic for vacation with the possibility of obtaining remunerated employment to supplement your financial resources (a template available here in Czech/ English) - applicants must submit the Czech version of the confirmation, its English translation is provided for convenience only; alternatively, applicants can provide a proof of pre-arranged contract of remunerated employment (on a signed letter-head paper of the company or institution that will employ you, with detailed information on the date of the beginning and termination of the employment, the amount of remuneration and the description of work) or a document proving registration at a post-secondary institution in Canada (letter of acceptance) and obtaining of pre-arranged internship or work placement in the Czech Republic.

Processing fee:
The visa processing fee is CAD, but often there may be other fees related to the application, most typically a fee of CAD per page for the authentication of translation of a bank confirmation into Czech. Acceptable forms of payment are cash, money orders or certified cheques (payable to the "Embassy of the Czech Republic").

Processing time:
60 days (please note that the Embassy officials have no means of expediting this period)

Additional notes:
All documents submitted with visa applications that are not in Czech language must be translated into Czech, with passports being the exception. Automatic online translators such as Google Translator usually yield very poor results and they are seldom accepted. While our embassy authenticates (officially verifies the correctness of) translations, it is the applicants' responsibility to have their documents translated. We might, at our discretion, translate upon request only documents proving sufficient funds, and only if these documents are in the form of a letter from a bank not longer than 7 lines of text.
Visas issued within the application of this Agreement may not be extended. Citizens eligible for work stays of youth who have already benefited from the application of the Agreement in the Czech Republic may apply for visas for a second time provided that the purpose is different from that referred to in Article 2 of the Agreement and that there is an interruption between each stay.
In the event a visa application is received by the Embassy after the quota for the visas (950 for 2011) has been exhausted, the Embassy will inform the applicant and will offer him/her the opportunity to have the visa issued in the following calendar year.
Canadian nationals who were granted visas under the Agreement will receive a written confirmation from the Embassy in Czech language that for the duration of validity of the visas they do not need work permits to be employed in the Czech Republic. The information is intended to be presented to potential employers in the Czech Republic.
Canadian nationals remaining in the territory of the Czech Republic under the above Agreement are required to obey the laws and regulations in force in the territory of the Czech Republic, such as the registration of residence with the Foreign Police competent for the place of their residence within three working days following the entry into the territory of the Czech Republic, unless they have done so in their accommodation facility, e.g. hotel, hostel, boarding house, campsite, etc., under Act No. 326/1999 on the residence of foreigners in the territory of the Czech Republic.