EU citizens do not need a work or residence permit to work in the Czech Republic. They are only subject to the registration requirement. Similar treatment applies to citizens of Norway, Lichtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland.

Non-EU foreign nationals can work in the Czech Republic under two different scenarios — either the foreign national is employed directly by the Czech entity or they remain employed by a foreign entity and are only seconded to perform work in the Czech Republic. These two basic options are described in more detail below.

A non-EU citizen staying in the Czech Republic must report: the beginning of their stay; the purpose of their stay; the place of residence; and the expected length of stay to the Foreign Police within three business days after their arrival. If a non-EU citizen stays with a person/entity that accommodates more than five foreign nationals or provides accommodation in return for compensation (e.g., a hotel), registration must then be made by the provider of the accommodation. The preceding rule will not apply if the accommodation provider is a person "close" to the non-EU citizen.

If the foreign national changes their place of residence, they must notify the relevant Foreign Police or Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Czech Ministry of the Interior. Foreign nationals who possess an Employee Card (or other type of long-term residence permit or long-term visa) must also notify of a change of residence within 30 days of when such a change occurred, as long as the change lasts (or is expected to last) at least 30 days.

An EU citizen must register with the Foreign Police within 30 days of the date of their last entry into the Czech Republic if their stay is expected to exceed 30 days. This obligation also applies to their family members staying in the Czech Republic. However, this obligation does not apply to EU citizens who fulfill the obligation through an accommodation provider.

If an EU citizen and their family members change residence, they must notify the appropriate Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Czech Ministry of the Interior, provided that the change will last longer than 180 days.

All foreign nationals (including EU citizens) must report changes regarding their personal data and IDs during their stay in the Czech Republic to the relevant Foreign Police or to the appropriate Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Czech Ministry of the Interior. They must report the changes within three business days (for EU citizens the deadline is 15 business days) from the date such change occurred. Changes that need to be reported include the following:

• Change of travel documents
• Change of marital status
• Change of surname

Foreign nationals are also obligated to do the following:

• Possess a travel document that is valid for three months beyond the intended stay in the Czech Republic (i.e., beyond the applied visa period, if the visa is granted)
• Prove their identity with a valid travel document or a residence permit card, if requested by a competent authority, and prove that their stay in the territory is legitimate
• Return their immigration document to the authority that issued the immigration document if it has expired or if it is contained within official records
• Return their immigration document to the relevant authority that issued the immigration document no later than three days before the termination of residence in the Czech Republic (except their visa and travel identification card, if such documents were issued for the purpose of travel outside of the Czech Republic)
• Report the loss, destruction, damage or theft of an immigration document within three days from the date of such occurrence
• Immediately report the loss or theft of travel documents to the Foreign Police
• Submit to procedures such as taking fingerprints, video recording and medical examination in the manner and to the extent stated in Czech law

In principle, foreign nationals must have valid and effective health insurance for the entire period of their stay in the Czech Republic. If the foreign national is applying for a short-term visa, they must present evidence of travel health insurance with a minimum coverage of EUR 30,000. If the foreign national seeks a long-term visa, or an Employee Card, Blue Card or ICT Card, they must provide evidence of travel health insurance, with a minimum coverage of EUR 400,000, before they can be issued a long-term visa. The foreign national must submit evidence of travel health insurance when inspected by the Foreign Police.

Violation of immigration rules may result in a fine, deportation, prohibition of stay, and in special cases, criminal proceedings.

Employee Card (dual)

Non-EU foreign nationals may be employed directly by a Czech entity provided that they have been granted an Employee Card that contains both a residence and a work permit.

For the purpose of applying for an Employee Card, the employer must notify the labor office of a job vacancy. The foreign non-EU national can only apply for the Employee Card for the respective position if the position remains vacant for at least 30 days (the period may be shortened to 10 days if required by the situation on Czech labor market).

An application for an Employee Card is filed at a Czech embassy or a consular post either in the applicant's country of origin, a country where the applicant's long-term or permanent residence is permitted or a country that issued the applicant a passport.

An Employee Card is valid only for the specific job, site and employer listed on the permit. Generally, the foreign national must notify the Ministry of Interior of the change of employer or their position at least 30 days before the change is effective.

An Employee Card cannot be valid for more than two years but can be repeatedly extended (there is no maximum duration).

Employee Card (non-dual)

In certain cases, in which a foreign national can work in the Czech Republic on the basis of a separate legal title (e.g., they have free access to the Czech labor market or obtained a work permit), it is also possible to issue a non-dual Employee Card that only serves as a residence permit.

A work permit is not required to employ a non-EU citizen in the Czech Republic (however, a non-dual Employee Card is still required) if the foreign non-EU citizen has free access to the Czech labor market.

The immigration laws list groups of foreign nationals that are authorized to freely access the labor market. For example, these are foreign nationals with the following circumstances:

• Have a permanent residence permit
• Have obtained secondary or tertiary professional education, or tertiary professional education at a conservatory or university education in the Czech Republic
• Attend regular daily studies in the Czech Republic (the study program must be duly accredited in the Czech Republic)
• Do not work within the territory of the Czech Republic for more than seven consecutive calendar days or a total of 30 days within a calendar year if the foreign national is a performer, performing artist, pedagogical worker, or an academic worker of a university, scientific researcher or development worker participating in a scientific meeting, a scholar or student up to 26 years of age, an athlete, or a person providing the delivery of goods or services within the territory of the Czech Republic under a business agreement.

Skilled workers — Blue Card

A Blue Card is a type of long-term residence permit in the Czech Republic for citizens of all non-EU countries, which enables the foreign national to perform work that requires a high qualification. Non-EU foreign nationals may be employed in a position requiring a high level of skills, provided that they have been granted a Blue Card that contains both a residence and a work permit. Duly completed university education or higher vocational education, the duration of which was at least three years, or the attainment of higher vocational skills (knowledge, skills and competences evidenced by professional experience comparable to higher education, which are related to the occupation or sector referred to in the employment contract or in the binding job offer) is deemed to constitute a high level of skills.

To apply for a Blue Card, the employer must notify the labor office of the job vacancy. However, following recent changes, there is no minimum vacancy period. Once a vacancy has been notified, the applicant can immediately file for a Blue Card for such position.

A Blue Card application is filed at a Czech embassy or a consular post either in the applicant's country of origin, a country where the applicant's long-term or permanent residence is permitted, or a country that issued the applicant a passport.

A Blue Card is only valid for the specific job, site and employer listed on the permit, but it can be changed as long as the new job, site and employer fulfil the statutory conditions for issuing a Blue Card. The change to this data must be notified to the authorities within three working days.

A Blue Card cannot be valid for more than three years but can be repeatedly extended (there is no maximum duration).

Intracompany transfer

The ICT Card is a type of a long-term residence permit within the Czech Republic where the foreign national's purpose of residence (longer than three months) is to work as a manager, specialist or employed intern where they have been transferred. The ICT Card serves both as a residence permit and a work permit.

In simple terms, intracompany transfer is the temporary transfer of an employee from a functioning section of a multinational company in a country that is not an EU member state to a functioning section of the company located in the Czech Republic.

The ICT Card is issued for the duration of transfer to the territory of EU member states. However, the maximum duration of the transfer is three years for a manager and specialist and one year for an employed intern. The ICT Card validity may be repeatedly extended, while it cannot exceed the duration of three/one year(s).

Secondment

Foreign nationals who are seconded to the Czech Republic by their employer, which is located outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland on the basis of an agreement between their employer and a Czech entity to perform work for the Czech entity (while remaining employed by the foreign employer), need to obtain a work permit and a non-dual Employee Card (as a residence permit) separately. A work permit is issued by the Czech labor office for up to two years.

On the contrary, a work permit is not required to employ (accept secondment of) a non-EU foreign national who was seconded to the Czech Republic within the scope of providing services by their employer residing in another EU member state. However, there are special requirements for such an arrangement.