Where to apply

You may submit your application at the Consular Office (of the Embassy or Consulates General of the Czech Republic) in accordance with the jurisdiction where you permanently reside.

Important notes

• Please note that sending the application to the wrong Consular Office will automatically result in it being forwarded to the correct one and thus delay the processing time of your application.
• Employment visas are only issued by Czech Embassies and Consulates General located outside of the territory of the Czech Republic, applicants must wait for their applications to be processed.
• An employment visa can only be issued by the same Embassy and Consulate General where the application for it was submitted. Hence, you cannot apply for a visa in the US and pick it up in Europe or the Czech Republic.
• You must be present in the US at the end of the application process when the visa is issued into your passport.

 

Processing time

All visas have to be approved by the Czech Immigration Police. The processing time for the employment visa lasts from 90 to 120 days from the date the Embassy receives the fully completed application. Therefore, the Embassy recommends that applicants submit their applications on time. Please understand that the Embassy is not able to speed up the process or follow up on it as it is handled by the authorities in the Czech Republic.

 

Required documents and fees

• Please read carefully as incomplete applications will immediately be returned and the process will be delayed.
• All documents must be presented in their original form or as a notarized copy.
• No documents (except for your passport or birth and marriage certificates) may be older than 180 days.

1. Completed application form

• The form "Application for Long-Stay Visa" must be filled out completely with a ball point pen or on a typewriter. Do not use red ink to complete the application.
  
  Please do not forget
• to sign the application in the place indicated at the bottom of the fifth page and
• to include your phone number and e-mail address for future communication.

2. Two recent passport photographs

• Please see detailed instructions and examples of photographs here.

3. Passport

You must submit

• your original passport or official travel document recognized by the Schengen countries with a validity exceeding your intended stay by at least 3 months and issued within the last 10 years,
• copy of the data page of the passport (the page with your personal data and photo).
  
  Notes
• Please make sure that your passport has at least two blank pages (for affixing a visa and administrative purposes).
• If you need your passport during the processing time, please send a request with your application as well as a stamped envelope so that the passport can be returned to you. The passport must be resubmitted at the end of the application process for the issuance of the visa after the Embassy has received the approval from the Czech authorities. During this time, you must be present in the US.

4. Proof of sufficient financial means

• Not required if the purpose of the stay is employment.

5. Proof of the purpose of your stay

• The notarized copy of a work permit ("Povolení k zaměstnání") issued by the Employment Administration Office (EAO) in the Czech Republic,
  or
• the original confirmation from the EAO that your employer had applied for your Work Permit.

6. Proof of your accommodation

• A document issued by your employer in the Czech Republic verifying your accommodation for the duration of your stay, or
• an original statement from the owner of an apartment or a house stating his or her ability and willingness to provide the accommodation (private accommodation), or
• a lease agreement for an apartment or a house, or
• a lease agreement and an affidavit signed by the owner of an apartment or a house confirming the sublet.
  
  Important notes
• The original or notarized copy of any of the mentioned documents must be submitted.
• The copies and signature of the owner must be notarized by a Notary Public in the Czech Republic.
• The documents confiming your accomodation must be in Czech language.

7. Criminal History Background

• An Affidavit confirming that you have never been indicted and sentenced for a felony of any kind.
  If you are submitting your application by mail, your signature must be notarized by a Notary Public. If you come to the Embassy in person, you will have to sign the Affidavit here.
  
  In addition:
• US citizens: If you have lived in any other country besides the US for 6 months or longer in the previous three years, you are required to submit a Criminal History Record issued by that country.
• Non US citizens: You need to submit a Criminal History Record from the country of your nationality.

8. Travel medical insurance

9. Visa application fee

• There is a fee assessed for submitting your visa application. The fee must be paid either in cash or by money order made payable to the Embassy of the Czech Republic. We do not accept personal checks. The fee may change without prior notice.

9.  Post delivery

• With your application, please enclose a pre-paid, self-addressed, over-night envelope using mail services Express Mail or Fedex. For future reference, we suggest you keep the tracking number of the envelope.
  
  
• Send the complete application to:
  
  Embassy of the Czech Republic
  Consular Section
  3900 Spring of Freedom, NW
  Washington DC, 20008
  
  The Embassy shall not assume any responsibility for lost or damaged documentation.

 

Other notes

The Consular Section of the Embassy of the Czech Republic

• does not provide translation services
• provides verification of translations of some types of documents (please see consular fees).

 

Useful links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic