Free access to the labour market for nationals of selected countries and conditions of residence

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On 1 July 2024, a government regulation comes into force, which introduces free access to the Czech labour market for citizens of the following nine countries:

- Australia,

- Japan,

- Canada,

- Republic of Korea,

- New Zealand,

- United Kingdom,

- United States of America,

- Singapore,

- Israel.

The purpose of the regulation is to reduce the administrative burden on employers and increase the attractiveness of the Czech labour market for foreigners from these source countries.

In summary, citizens of these countries are not required to obtain any kind of employment permit according to Czech law (i.e., work permit, dual employee card, intra-corporate transfer card, blue card) to be employed in the Czech Republic, but only a residence permit. Employers of citizens of the selected countries are then relieved of the obligations associated with reporting vacancies to the Labour Office for the purpose of including vacancies in the central register of vacancies.

ATTENTION!

Free access to the labour market does not provide foreigners with the right to reside in the territory of the Czech Republic. It is still necessary to apply for a residence permit according to standard procedures.  More information on how to apply for a residence permit can be found on the Information Portal for Foreigners in the section Types of visas and residence permits (https://frs.gov.cz/typy-viz-a-pobytu/).

Foreigners who are already legally residing in the Czech Republic and have had to apply for a work permit so far are no longer required to do so.

How to benefit from the new right and at the same time secure legal residence in the Czech Republic?

• If citizens of the selected country are planning to be employed in the Czech Republic for up to 3 months, they must apply for a Schengen visa for employment purposes at the embassy. However, they do not have to submit an employment permit for this purpose.   
• If citizens of the selected country enter the territory of the Czech Republic with the intention to work here for up to 3 months, but during their stay the planned employment is extended so that the maximum 3-month period of validity of the Schengen employment visa is exceeded, the foreigner must leave the Czech Republic and apply for a long-term residence permit at any embassy of the Czech Republic (see below)[1].    
• If citizens of the selected country are to be employed in the Czech Republic for a period exceeding 3 months, they must apply for a so-called non-dual employee card at any embassy of the Czech Republic. This type of employee card can be issued (unlike the so-called dual employee card for foreigners without free access to the labour market) for a job that the employer has not reported to the Labour Office and is not included in the central register of vacancies. The cardholder is then entitled to change employment freely (with an obligation to notify the Ministry of the Interior of the change within 3 days). Please note that free access to the labour market doesn’t prevent citizens from the selected countries to apply for a dual employee card.
• Highly qualified foreigner can apply for a blue card, which gives them advantages over a non-dual employee card for the purposes of mobility within the EU, family reunification or social security. However, this card can only be issued for a vacancy reported to the Labour Office and included in the relevant central register, and the rules for issuing it are therefore unchanged for citizens of selected countries with free access to the labour market.
• When citizens of the selected countries are to be temporarily transferred to the territory of the Czech Republic within a multinational business corporation for a period exceeding 3 months, they must apply for an intra-corporate transfer employee card, which is issued to a manager, specialist or a graduate trainee temporarily transferred to the Czech Republic within a multinational business corporation.
• Citizens of the selected countries who are to be posted/seconded to the Czech Republic by an employer established in a third country to perform work based on a contract will also no longer need a work permit. The same approach will be applied to citizens of the countries specified in the regulation who were previously entitled to enter the Czech labour market under concluded memoranda and working holiday programmes.