Employee Card
Employee card is a new type of permit for long-time residence in the territory of the Czech Republic where the purpose of the foreign nationals’ stay (longer than 3 months) is employment. A foreign national who has an employee card is entitled:
- to reside in the territory of the Czech Republic and, at the same time
- to work in the job for which the employee card was issued, or
- to work in the job for which the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior granted consent (in connection with changing employer, changing job, taking up employment with an additional employer or in an additional job)
General information
What is an Employee Card intended for?
Dual and Non-Dual nature of an Employee Card
Schedule an appointment with a visa officer
Requirements
Processing time
Important acknowledgements
General information
Employee card replaces the visa for a stay of over 90 days for the purpose of employment, a long-term residence permit for the purpose of employment and a Green Card, which will no longer be issued. Blue Cards will continue to be issued. Employee card is most often issued for the duration of the employer-employee relationship but not for more than 2 years, with an option to repeatedly extend its validity.
The job vacancy for which an application for an employee card can be filed must come from the central register of job vacancies that can be filled by holders of employee cards. Subject to the consent of the employer, these vacant jobs can be published on the Internet Integrated Portal of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs where you can find them. Therefore, an employee card always relates to the specific job (there can also be more job positions at the same time) for which it was issued or, if applicable, to a job for which the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior granted its consent in connection with changing employer or job.
For detail information, please see annexed leaflet or visit website of Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic.
What is an Employee Card intended for?
With regard to professional qualifications, an employee card is intended for all types of employment regardless of the level of required professional qualifications.
However, the job vacancy for which an application for an employee card can be filed must come from the central register of job vacancies that can be filled by holders of employee cards. Subject to the consent of the employer, these vacant jobs can be published on the Internet Integrated Portal of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs where you can find them.
Therefore, an employee card always relates to the specific job (there can also be more job positions at the same time) for which it was issued or, if applicable, to a job for which the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior granted its consent in connection with changing employer or job.
Dual and Non-Dual nature of an Employee Card
An employee card is of a dual nature in the sense that it entitles the foreign national to both reside in the territory of the CR and be employed, without the foreign national having to make applications in two places, i.e. to apply additionally to the Employment Agency of the CR – a regional branch office or the branch office for the Capital City of Prague – for an employment permit.
An employee card also exists in the form of a non-dual document, in which case it is basically only a residence permit, and this applies to a foreign national who is still required by the Employment Act No. 435/2004 Coll. to have an employment permit or who has a free access to the labor market pursuant to the Employment Act (i.e. he or she comes under the definition in Section 98 of the Employment Act). You can find more about these cases in the section titled Special Cases / Non-Dual Form of an Employee Card).
If you submit only the number of your employment (work) permit application, please note that you have to submit the approved work permit directly to the Ministry of Interior (Asylum and Immigration Department) as soon as possible.
Schedule an appointment with a visa officer
Long-term visa and residence permit applicants need to schedule an appointment in advance. Please, send us an email to visa.ny@mzv.cz requisting an appointment. In the subject of the email, specify “Employee Card” as a reason for the appointment with a visa officer.
All documents must be submitted in original or notarized copies altogether with copies of all submitted documents.
1. Request for Employee Card
2. Fee
We accept only cash or money order payable to the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York. Personal checks or credit/debit cards are not accepted!
3. Two photographs
Two passport size photos have to resemble to the actual appearance.
4. Original passport
You must submit your original passport. Its validity must exceed the expected length of stay by at least 90 days (after the visa expires). Passport must have been issued within the previous 10 years.
Check if your passport is signed!!
5. Document confirming the purpose of stay
- a contract of employment, an agreement on work activity (or at least an agreement for a future contract where the parties agree to enter into a contract of employment or an agreement on work activity by an agreed deadline)
- the aforementioned documents must contain a stipulation which provides that regardless of the scope of work, the agreed monthly salary will not be lower than the basic monthly minimum wage and that weekly working hours will be at least 15 hours
6. Documents proving the professional qualifications for performance of the desired job,
if this condition follows from the nature of the employment or an international agreement sets such a condition, particularly
- a document proving the required education (such as a diploma); in justified cases, particularly if reasonable doubt exists as to whether you have the required education or whether your education is appropriate for the nature of employment, you will be obliged, at the request of an administrative authority, to prove and submit a document certifying that your foreign education has been recognized by the relevant authority of the CR. The diploma has to be verified by Apostille. The Apostille has to verify specifically the name of the Registrar of the College/ University and all documents have to be officially translated into the Czech language (incl. the Apostille).
- a document proving the required professional qualifications, if such qualifications are required according to other legal regulations (for example, a fork-lift truck operator license or the appropriate driving license for a tram/bus driver, etc.),
- a document proving that you meet the requirements for performing an occupation referred to as “regulated occupation”, if your application concerns this kind of occupation; if you do not already hold such a document, you must apply to the relevant recognition authority of the CR for recognition of your professional qualifications, after filing the application for an employee card. Issuance of the employee card is contingent on your submission of an affirmative decision of the recognition authority,
7. Document confirming accommodation
- an original statement from the owner of an apartment/house stating his/her ability and willingness to provide applicant’s accommodation for the time of stay (signature must be notarized by a Czech notary
or - in the case of a lease for an apartment/house - the original or a notarized copy of the lease contract
or - in the case of a sublet - the original or a notarized copy of the lease contract and an affidavit signed by the owner confirming the sublet (signature must be notarized by a Czech notary
or - if you are an owner of the real property the original record or the notarized copy from the Real Estate Register is requested
8. Criminal History Background/ Affidavit
“Embassy of the Czech Republic in accordance with § 31 (3) para. a) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll. on the Residence permit of the Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic, asks all applicants for long-term visas and long-term residence permit, who will submit applications at this embassy, to also submit together with the application a document similar to an extract from a criminal record issued by the Department of State of which the applicant is a national and the same document issued by the Department of States where the applicant has been continuously residing for more than 6 months in the past 3 years, or a solemn declaration/affidavit if that State does not issue such a document.”
- US citizens
US citizens 15 years and older are required to submit a Criminal History Background/ Affidavit (PDF, 342 KB), confirming that they have never been indicted and sentenced for a felony of any kind.
If the visa application is submitted by mail, a Notary Public must verify the signature on the affidavit; if the application is submitted in person, the affidavit can be signed in front of a consular officer. The affidavit form must state full name including a middle name, if applicable.
If the applicant lived in any other country besides the USA for 6 months or longer in the past three years, an Excerpt from a Criminal History Record issued by that country must be also submitted with the required legalization/apostille along with a certified Czech translation of both documents.
Children under the age of 15 are not required to submit the affidavit or Criminal History Record.
2. Non US citizens
Non-US nationals are required to submit:
a) An Excerpt from a Criminal History Record issued by the official authority of the country of their nationality. The Excerpt from the Criminal History Record must be appropriately certified (Apostille or super-legalization) and both documents, the Criminal Record and the Apostille, must be submitted with a certified Czech translation;
AND
b) The US Criminal History Record issued by the US official authority - FBI only - with the appropriate certification (Apostille) along with a certified Czech translation of the entire document.
The applicant must also submit an Excerpt from Criminal History Record issued by the State in which the applicant has been staying continuously for more than 6 months in the past three years. An Excerpt from Criminal History Record issued by that country must also be submitted with the required legalization/apostille along with a certified Czech translation.
Children under the age of 15 are not required to submit an Affidavit or a Criminal History Record.
9. Medical travel insurance
10. Upon request,
a medical report stating that the foreign national does not suffer from any serious disease.
Processing time
The employee card application shall be processed within 60 days from the date the Consulate receives and records the complete application. In exceptional complicated cases, the procedure can take up to 90 days.
All documents must be presented in their original form or as a notarized copy and may not be older than 180 days, except travel document. Additional copies of all submitted documents are required (one set of the originals or notarized copies and one set off copies including the application and data page of the passport).
All documents (except the travel document) must be in the Czech language. Translations into the Czech language must be officially verified.
If you need your passport during the Employee Card process, you can withdraw it personally or send us a request and a prepaid self-addressed US Postal Service Express Mail envelope (for a price of regular express postage stamp – not purchased in a postal stamp machine - visit https://www.usps.com/). FEDEX or UPS envelopes are NOT accepted. Secure a tracking number of your envelope for the future tracking. Your passport can be returned back to you ONLY upon receiving the written request. The passport must be re-submitted to our Consulate again for the issuance of the visa.
The Consulate does not accept any responsibility for lost or damaged documentation!
The Address of the Consulate General of the Czech Republic:
Consulate General of the Czech Republic
321 E 73rd Street
New York, NY 10021
TRANSLATIONS SERVICES
The Czech Consulate does not provide translation services.
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