As of 1 July 2023, the Amendment to the Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Territory of the Czech Republic and to the Act No. 435/2004 Coll., the Employment Act, entered into force and brought several changes, among others, in the regulation of conditions for granting long-term visas and long-residency permits, and in the area of Blue Cards.

The applicant (older than 15 years) for a long-term visa, long-term residence and other types of residence permits has a new obligation to provide an extract from the criminal register issued by the state of which the foreigner is a citizen, to be filed with the application. This document may be replaced by an affidavit of good character (in particular in cases where the applicant is from a jurisdiction that does not issue criminal register extracts).

For the foreign national applying for a long-term visa, or an Employee Card, Blue Card or ICT Card, the minimum coverage of the travel health insurance has been increased to EUR 400,000 (previously EUR 60,000).

There is also a change in the application process for Blue Cards: it is no longer necessary for a job vacancy reported by an employer to the labor office to remain vacant for a minimum period of 30 days. Following the changes, the job vacancy only needs to be reported and the Blue Card application can then be immediately filled by the employee. The 30-day minimum period during which the job opening must be unoccupied remains in effect for Employee Cards.