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Czech Republic General Work Permit/Employee Card - Gama Hora Educational Consultancy Company
Czech Republic General Work Permit/Employee Card
General Work Permit is also known as Employee Card with 2 years validity, it is type of long-term residence permits for the purpose of employment. applied for via the Czech Embassy in your home country or any country (apart from the Czech Republic) in case you are not a national of one of these countries, or in the country of your residence.
Work Permit Processing Time: 4 to 6 Weeks
Visa Validity: 2 Months Single Entry (A visa to collect a residence permit – D/VR)
The visa holder must visit MOI within 3 days after entry to the Czech
Republic to get 2 years Employee Card.
11 Useful Links
About Employee Card
The EMPLOYEE CARD is a permit for long-stay that allows citizens of foreign countries to live and work in the Czech Republic. The Employee Card is always related to the specific job and employer for which it was issued. An employee card is valid for two years, but it can be extended depending on the case.
An employee card issued by the Czech Republic is a long-term residence permit for employment in the Czech Republic. A foreigner who has an employee card is entitled to:
RESIDE in the Czech Republic
WORK in a job for which the employee card was issued
THE EMPLOYMENT CARD, THEREFORE, COMBINES BOTH THE RESIDENCE AND WORK PERMITS
The issuance of an employee card is conditional on an employment contract, contract for work, or a letter of intent stipulating the parties’ commitment to conclude an employment contract or a contract for work within the specified date, which contains a provision stipulating that the foreigner’s monthly wage, salary or remuneration will not be lower than the basic rate of the monthly minimum wage regardless of the extent of work and the weekly working hours will be at least 15 hours.
Czech Work Visa/Employee Card
Employee Card is required for citizens of the so-called third countries who will be employed in the Czech Republic for more than three months.
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 on the website of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic.
Czech Work Visa/Employee Card Appointments
- 01 FIND A CONSULATE WHERE YOU WILL LODGE YOUR APPLICATION.
- 02 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.
Czech Work Visa/Employee Card 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.
- ✓ Photo
- ✓ Biometric Data (Fingerprint)
- ✓ 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
- ✓ Visa Fee
- ✓ Travel Medical Insurance – only if visa approved, not when applying
- PURPOSE OF STAY
Czech Work Visa/Employee Card Documentation
- ✓ 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 super legalized.
- ✓ 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!
Czech Work Visa/Employee Card Processing Time:
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.
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.
Visa Collection, if Approved or Denied. 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 issuance 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 the external borders and, upon request, present documents related to the planned stay.
Additional Information on Employee Card:
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).
Work Permit & Resident Permit Package:
- ✓ Job Offer Letter
- ✓ Central records of vacancy Number
- ✓ 2 Year Official work Contract
Required Documents from Applicant:
- ✓ Scan Copy of Valid Passport
- ✓ Scan Copy of Educational Documents (If Applicable)
- ✓ Scan Copy of Work Experience Certificate
- ✓ Detailed Resume (CV)
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
Czech Work Permit Process Steps
