Employee Card is issued for a specific job position. Vacancies available to foreign nationals are displayed in a central vacancies database.

To file an Employee Card application, the applicant needs to know the vacancy reference number = the number under which the position is registered in the central vacancies database.

Comprehensive information on foreign employment is available at the website of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic.

 

KINDLY FOLLOW THESE STEPS:

 

1. FIND A CONSULATE WHERE YOU WILL LODGE YOUR APPLICATION.

 

2. SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT.

Consulates schedule their own appointments, mostly by e-mail or phone – refer to consulates´ websites for guidance.

Applications are lodged in person. An interview is held and fingerprints are collected.

 

3. LODGE THE APPLICATION PRESENTING THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:

● PASSPORT

● APPLICATION FORM FOR EMPLOYEE CARD – You are required to indicate, among others, the vacancy reference number, i.e. the number under which the position is registered in the vacancies database. This database displays vacancies for which foreign nationals can apply. The reference number is displayed in the database along with the job title.

● 2 PHOTOS

● BIOMETRIC DATA (FINGERPRINTS)

● SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ON

  ○ PURPOSE OF STAY 

   ◦ *employment contract, work agreement or letter of intent* indicating that the applicant will earn at least minimal wage (regardless of the extent of the work) and work at least 15 hours per week

   ◦ employment permit if required for the position

 ○ ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

   ◦ *documents on COMPETENCE* proving that the applicant has professional competence for the job position, concerning mainly education or professional qualification

   ◦ for a REGULATED profession: applicant who will perform a regulated profession submits a document proving that he/she has the required professional qualification (click on the profession ("regulated unit"))

  ◦ for AGENCY employment: applicant who will employed through an employment agency submits a document containing information about the applicant (name, surname, maiden name (if applicable), citizenship, date and place of birth and residence address), information about the job (type and place of employment, which the applicant will temporarily carry out) and information about the employer (name and residence)

 ○ *ACCOMMODATION*

● CRIMINAL RECORD EXTRACT

● FEE

● TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE – only if visa approved, not when applying

 

***APPLICANTS PARTICIPATING IN A TARGETED ECONOMIC MIGRATION PROGRAM do not have to submit supporting documents marked by the star(*), i.e. they do not submit (1) document on accommodation, (2) employment contract / agreement, (3) documents on competence. These applicants may SUBMIT ONLY EMPLOYER´S DECLARATION containing information on accommodation, conclusion of employment contract / agreement and competence.

Employer´s Declaration Template (DOCX, 34 KB)

 

DO NOT OVERLOOK:

-Supporting documents may not be older than 180 days with the exception of a passport, photo (if reflecting current appearance) and documents on competence.

-Supporting documents must be submitted in Czech. Documents in another language must also be submitted in official translation into Czech.

-Foreign public documents must be legalized, i.e. equipped by an apostille or superlegalized.

-The following documents must always be submitted in their originals: passport and supporting documents on the purpose of stay (in this case employment contract / work agreement / letter of intent and employment permit, if applicable). These originals will be returned to the applicant should he/she wish to keep them. Passport is always returned to the applicant and is submitted again when issuing the visa.

-Other supporting documents may be submitted as originals or officially verified copies.

-We kindly request applicants to prepare a set of copies of all the requirements.

-SUBMIT ONLY COMPLETE APPLICATIONS CONTAINING ALL THE DOCUMENTS.

-INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS CANNOT BE PROCESSED => PROCESSING OF INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUSPENDED UNTIL THE APPLICANT ADDS THE MISSING DOCUMENTS (§ 169i + § 169r.4 of Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals). THIS PROLONGS THE OVERALL PROCESSING!

 

4. AWAIT THE DECISION.

The legal processing time for employment cards is 60 days. In exceptional cases or when requesting a binding opinion of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic, the legal processing time can be extended to 90 days.

 

5. GET TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE WHEN VISA APPROVED – ONLY FOR A PERIOD OF ONE MONTH TO COVER THE TIME PERIOD BEFORE YOU COMMENCE EMPLOYMENT AND BECOME SUBSCRIBER TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE.

Foreign nationals are required to take out a medical insurance for their stay in the Czech Republic. When picking up your visa, do submit an officially verified translation into Czech of the insurance policy and general conditions to prove that you possess such an insurance and in what extent.

Upon request, do submit the proof of payment for the insurance.

 

6. PICK UP YOUR VISA IF APPROVED OR REFUSAL FORM IN CASE OF VISA REFUSAL.

Applicants can pick up their passports themselves or they can authorize someone else to do so on their behalf. A certified power of attorney needs to be presented when picking up the passport on somebody´s behalf. If the applicant notifies the consulate about this arrangement when lodging the application, no power of attorney is necessary.  

 

NOTE: Visa does not automatically grant the right of entry to the Czech Republic or the Schengen Area. Visa holders are required to fulfill entry conditions specified in the Schengen Border Code when crossing external borders and, upon request, present documents related to the planned stay.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON EMPLOYEE CARDS:

Employee Cards are required for employment in the Czech Republic by citizens of the so-called third countries, i.e. states outside of the EU, Island, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Citizens of these countries nor their family members (in the extent of a definition of a family member as per § 15a and § 180f of Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals) have free access to the job market in the Czech Republic and do not require an Employee Card.

The Czech Republic does not issue visas for long-term employment, rather it issues residence permits. In terms of short- or mid-term employment, it issues Schengen visas for the purpose of employment (issued for up to three months) or seasonal employment (issued for up to three months work in specific fields), long-term visa for the purpose of seasonal employment (issued for 3-6 months work in specific fields) and special work visa.

Employee Card applications are lodged at diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic according to the local territorial competence. They forward the applications to the Ministry of the Interior, which examines them and decides on them. If approved, the diplomatic mission, at which the application was lodged, issues a long-term visa for the purpose of collecting an Employee Card. This visa is issued as single entry for 60 days. During this period, the applicant visits the local branch of the Ministry of the Interior according to the place of stay, which subsequently – after collection of biometric data – issues an Employee Card.

If the purpose of stay lasts, the applicant can request – before expiry of the Employee Card – its extension at the local branch of the Ministry of the Interior.

Employee card grants its holder a right of free movement in the Schengen Area for a maximum of 90 days within any 180 days for non-gainful purposes (in this respect, it fulfills the function of a short-term Schengen visa).

 

Legal sources:

○ Act No 326/1999 Coll., on Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic and Amending Certain Acts (available in Czech)

• -territorial competence: § 169g
• -scheduling appointment to lodge application: § 169f
• -lodging application in person: § 169d
• -requirement to submit documents: § 168.2
• -submitting fingerprints: § 55.3
• -employee card: § 42g
• -supporting documents in general: § 31, § 42.6
• -supporting documents for employee card: § 42h
• -supporting documents – requirements (within 180 days, originals, Czech language): § 55.1, § 169.2
• -unacceptability of application: § 169h
• -suspension of processing: § 169i, § 169r.4
• -legal processing period: § 169t.6c)
• -travel health insurance: § 180j

○ Act No 500/2004 Coll., Administrative Code (available in Czech)

• -requirement to submit documents in Czech: § 16.1+2

○ Act No 435/2004 Coll., on Employment (available in Czech)

○ Decree from December 21, 2010, No 429/2010 Coll., on Establishing Exceptions from Foreigner´s Obligation to Apply for a Visa or Residence Permit at a Diplomatic Mission According to Local Territorial Competence (available in Czech)

○ Decree from February 5, 2020, No 35/2020 Coll., on Establishing Territorial Districts of Diplomatic Missions for Purposes of Lodging Visa and Residence Permit Applications (available in Czech)

○ Directive 2011/98/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State

○ Regulation (EU) No 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) – mainly Title II – External Borders, Chapters I and II

 

Useful links:

○ Ministry of the Interior – Employee Card, Contacts, Application Requirements, Submitting Application and on-the-spot Error Removal, Course of the Proceedings, Status of Application, Conditions of Entry and Basic Requirements after Entry to the Czech Republic

○ Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs – Employee Cards, Central Vacancies Database, Foreign Employment

○ Search for Vacancies

○ Labor Office of the Czech Republic

○ Ministry of Industry and Trade – Economic Migration, Economic Migration and Government Programs

○ Ministry of Justice – Court Certified Translators (in Czech)

○ Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports – Recognition of Education

○ Portal - Recognition of Foreign Education and Qualification

○ Portal - Foreigners in the Czech Republic

○ Portal - State Administration – Employment (in Czech)

○ Czech Statistical Office – Employment of Foreigners Methodology

○ Employee Card – information leaflet(in Czech)