IMMIGRATION ISSUES AND WORK PERMISSION

Both the long-term visa and residence permits are issued when the stay on the territory of the Czech Republic is expected to exceed 3 months. In general, the long-term visa is primarily intended for persons who expect to stay in the Czech Republic for several months – for example, study program lasting several months, etc. The long-term residence permit is primarily intended for persons who expect a longer stay in the Czech Republic – for example, a study in a university program, employment, etc. Employment card and blue card are both types of long-term residence permits.

Similarities:

• allow stay exceeding 90 days (3 months)
• allow movement in the Schengen Area – stay in the other Schengen Area States may not exceed 90 days within any 180 days and must be of a non-profit nature
• long-term visas and long-term residence permits can be extended on the territory of the Czech Republic – in case the purpose of stay continues, kindly contact the respective branch of the Ministry of Interior according to the place of residence

Differences:

Long-term visas are issued:

• as multiple visas for a maximum of 1 year
• for the purpose of health, culture, sport, study, scientific research, family, entrepreneurship and other

Long-term residence permits are issued:

• as one-entry visas for the purpose of collecting a long-term residence permit for stay on the territory of the Czech Republic in the duration of 60 days and validity 6 months
• for the purpose of employment (employment card or blue card), study, scientific research, and family unification

Source: Visa vs. Residence Permit | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (mzv.cz)

It is not within our competence to expedite the visa issuance/appointment process. Long-term visa and residence permits processing is solely under the authority of our Embassies abroad and the Czech Ministry of the Interior which follows a rigorous process.

Try to check the status of your application. If you don’t succeed, please contact your local Czech Embassy, its staff will give you more precise information. You can also turn to the Ministry of the Interior´s information hotline.

Registration at the Foreign Police Department is compulsory for all foreign nationals staying in the Czech Republic for more than 30 days. They must register within 3 days from the date of arrival to the country. Read more about this obligation here.

Make sure  you save enough time for this visit, as there is always long waiting time at this office if you don´t have reservation for exact time.

Address:

Foreigners Residence Units Hradec Králové Region

MOI office Hradec Králové
Responsibility for the Hradec Králové, Rychnov nad Kněžnou and Jičín districts
Ulrichovo nám. 810/4, 500 02 Hradec Králové
Phone.: +420 974 801 801 (information and appointment line; Mo – Th: 8.00 – 16.00 and  Fr: 8.00 – 12.00)
Opening hours:   Mo, We: 8.00 – 17.00
Tu, Th: 8.00 – 11.30 and 12.00 – 14.00 (only for clients with an appointment)
Fr: 8.00 – 11.00 (only for clients with an appointment)

MOI office Trutnov
Responsibility for the Trutnov and Náchod districts
Horská 78, 541 02 Trutnov
Phone.: +420 974 801 801 (information and appointment line; Mo – Th: 8.00 – 16.00 and  Fr: 8.00 – 12.00).
Opening hours:   Mo, We: 8.00 – 17.00
Tu, Th, Fr: only for clients with an appointment

Printing of order tickets for unordered clients is completed up to 30 minutes before the end of working hours. In case of full capacity, the printing of order tickets for unordered clients may be terminated early.
The online reservation can be made here – online reservation here. And the status of your application can be checked here – status of application here.

Ministry of Interior offers to the caller the closest term for appointment possible. It is not checked whether offered term falls within the time limit prescribed by the law for respective legal act (i.e. for submission of the application).

Clients are advised to make an appointment in advance of their visit to the Ministry of interior office.
Please note that priority will always be given to booked clients to avoid longer waiting times!
In extreme cases, unbooked clients may not be checked in.
Pracoviště MV odboru azylové a migrační politiky – Královéhradecký kraj – Ministerstvo vnitra České republiky (mvcr.cz)

Is your residence permit for the purpose of studies ready to expire? Extend it properly:

• If you have visa with validity period shorter than one year, you can extend it up to 1 year (which is the maximum duration of this type of visa). You can apply for the extension in person at regional offices on the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic or via post (how to extend a long-term visa). If you was already granted a long-term visa, you can also directly apply for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of “studies”. This new application has to be made in person at an OPC´s office (how to lodge a new application for a long-term visa).
• If you already have long-term residence for purpose of “studies” which validity is expiring soon, you can extend it in person or via post (how to extend a long-term residence permit). This is applied only in case you continue your studies at the same school/university.
• In some cases there is an application fee required. If you send your application via post, please do not forget to attach fee stamps (kolek) of respective value. Overview of fees can be found here. Fee stamps can be bought at the post office and the office directly in the building on the ground floor at Ulrichovo nám. sells them too.

Visit other countries

Both long-term visas and residence permits allow visits to other countries in the Schengen area, provided the stay in the other Schengen Area states does not exceed 90 days within any 180 days and is of a non-profit nature.

Your family members – children,  spouse or registred partner  can apply for a long-term visa or residence permit for family reunification purposes. You can find more information at the website of the Ministry of Interior.

People from EU/EEA countries and Switzerland are exempt from student visa requirements. To enter the Czech Republic, EU citizens only need a valid passport or national ID card.

EU students have, however, a reporting duty after their arrival if the intended stay in the Czech Republic is longer than 30 days. In this situation, within 30 days of entering the Czech Republic, a student is required to report his/her presence to the Foreign Police Department in the location of his/her stay in the Czech Republic. This obligation does not apply if the person providing accommodation submits the registration forms on behalf of the student, i.e. in case of stays in student dormitories.

For more information regarding the stay of EU citizens and their family members in the Czech Republic click here. Information leaflets for EU citizens and their family members are available here.

Students from countries outside the EU have to turn to the local Czech embassy or consulate and apply for a student visa. Please note, that the whole procedure requires some paperwork and can take up to 60 days, so it is recommended to apply for the visa well in advance. The regulations for obtaining visas change from time to time, so the information listed here should be considered as guidelines only. You should always consult your local Czech embassy or consulate or check the website of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic for the latest information regarding visa requirements.

There are short-term visas (for stays up to 90 days) and long-term visas (for stays over 90 days). Students arriving for a period longer than one year should apply for a long-term residence permit for study purposes.

The following documents are mainly required for receiving a student visa or a residence permit:

• application form
• letter of acceptance for studies
• a valid passport and passport photos
• proof of financial resources for the stay (e.g. in the form of a bank account statement or confirmation of being beneficiary of a grant)
• confirmation of guaranteed accommodation
• valid international health insurance
• abstract from the Register of Criminal Records

Please note that some documents (e.g. the abstract from the Register of Criminal Records) must be translated into the Czech language by a translator with an official rubber stamp.

The Foreign Police examines the visa applications and notifies the Czech embassy or consulate to issue the visa.

In case of applying for a short-term language/preparatory courses, students should apply for a short-term visas (for stays up to 90 days), in case of long-term language/preparatory courses, students should apply for a  visa to stay over 90 days (long-term) or a long-term residence – for the purpose of studies (at public higher education institutions) / for the purpose of other (at private higher education institutions). More information can be found here.

Entry & Residence | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (mzv.cz)

Czech Republic – Student (europa.eu)

Missions of the Czech Republic Abroad | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (mzv.cz)

It is allowed to work in the Czech Republic with the work permission only if you are not from EU country.

Citizens of EU/EEA countries and Switzerland or their family members do not need an employment permit, Employee Card or Blue Card to be employed on the territory of the Czech Republic. These nationals have the same legal status as citizens of the Czech Republic, as the country is a member of the European Union.

Foreigners from third countries (except some special categories of employees, such as holders of long-term residency permits, students etc.) need one of the following:

• Work Permit – most common in cases of seasonal work, or applicants for international protection etc.
• Employee Card – for long-term stay in the territory of the Czech Republic where the purpose of the stay (longer than 3 months) is employment
• Blue Card – for a long-term stay involving the performance of a highly skilled job
• Intra-Company Transfer Card – for transfer within a group of companies (from a group company outside the EU into Czech Republic), where the purpose of the stay is work (longer than 3 months) as a manager, specialist or employed intern.

Labour code in the Czech Republic regulates the legal relations arising in connection with the performance of dependent work between employees and their employers, labour relations of collective nature and other aspect related to employment.

The fundamental principles of labour relations are especially legal protection of employee status, satisfactory and safe working conditions for performance of work, fair remuneration and equal treatment of employees and prohibition of their discrimination.

Czech law knows three types of contracts between the employer and the employee. Every type has its own specifications and the rules. It is illegal to work for the company without having a contract. There are two types of regular employment contracts in the Czech Republic – Employment Contract for a definite period and Employment Contract for  an indefinite period.

In regular Czech employment contracts, the probationary period, with the maximum of 3 consecutive months for regular employees and up to 6 consecutive months for managers, may be concluded.

The length of standard weekly working hours shall be 40 hours per week. The basic statutory period of paid leave is 4 weeks regarding the labour law. There are many companies that are giving extra week.

Employee Card – Ministry of the interior of the Czech Republic (mvcr.cz)

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (mpsv.cz)

The aim of the adaptation-integration course is to introduce participants their rights and obligations related to their stay in the Czech Republic. The course also helps with getting familiar with local and cultural aspects and it warns against negative elements.

Who must take this course?

The integration course is compulsory for every holder of:

• a long-term residency permit
• a long-term residency permit due to a change in the purpose of residency
• a long-term residency permit for humanitarian reasons, especially if the foreign national is the spouse of an asylum holder and the marriage date precedes the arrival date of the asylum holder in the Czech Republic, a minor or a dependent child of an asylum holder, unless the child is an asylum seeker, or a foreign national who used to be a Czech citizen in the past
• a permanent residency permit due to reasons of special consideration
• a permanent residency permit if such residency is beneficial for the Czech Republic
• a permanent residency permit for a child of a foreign national who is a holder of a permanent residency permit, if the application was made for the purpose of family reunification in the Czech Republic
• a permanent residency permit after the previous permanent residency permit issued to the same foreign national was revoked due to a continuous six-years’ absence in the Czech Republic or continuous twelve-months’ absence in the European Union
• permanent residency permit after four years of continuous residency in the Czech Republic if the foreign national has completed the international protection procedure.All of the above issued after 1 January 2021.

The duty to take the integration course does not apply to the following cases:

The duty to take the integration course does not apply to EU nationals and their family members and family members of Czech citizens.

• It also does not apply to holders of the following type of Czech residency permits:
• a long-term residency permit for the purpose of studies
• a long-term residency permit for the purpose of protection
• a long-term residency permit for the purpose of investment
• a long-term residency permit issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
• an Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card
• an Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card of another EU member state

The compulsory integration course also does not apply to foreign nationals younger than 15 or older than 61 at the time of the final decision on the residency permit.

Also those foreign nationals who took the integration course after 1 January 2021 do not need to take it again.

Holders of Employee Cards and Blue Cards issued under the government programs “Highly Skilled Employee” and “Key and Scientific Personnel”.

The course costs 1500,- CZK. Here are information how to enrol for the course – How to register (vitejtevcr.cz). A fine of CZK 10,000 is payable for failure to fulfill this obligation.

Source: Adaptation-Integration Courses – Ministry of the interior of the Czech Republic (mvcr.cz)