How can an employee – a foreign national or citizen of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland – have different registration numbers with various institutions?
THE EU AND ENTRY INTO THE LABOUR MARKET - PART I.: Employment of foreign nationals in the Czech Republic – Reporting requirement and Registration Number of the Insured Person (RNIP)
Foreign nationals or citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland have an obligation arising from the law on foreign nationals – the so-called “reporting requirement” – if the duration of their intended stay in the Czech Republic exceeds 30 days. In such case, they are obliged to report within 30 days from the date of entry into the territory of the Czech Republic their presence to the competent Foreign Police Department according to their place of residence in the Czech Republic. This obligation also applies to the foreign nationals not subject to the visa requirement.
The obligation to report the place of residence to the Police does not apply to citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland who fulfilled such an obligation through their accommodation provider.
A citizen of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland shall further be obliged to report any change in:
- Surname
- Marital status
- Data in a travel document
- Data in a document issued for a stay in the territory of the Czech Republic (i.e. certificate of temporary residence or permanent residence permit). In the case of a stay without an issued certificate/permit, any changes shall be reported to the Foreign Police, otherwise to the office of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.
With regard to the fact that EU foreigners fail to comply with this obligation, different numbers are assigned to them by state institutions. For example, the Czech Social Security Administration assigns the so-called Registration Number of the Insured Person (hereinafter referred to as RNIP) at an employer’s request. This number is different from the birth identification number assigned by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. If a foreign national’s application for a birth identification number is submitted late, he/she is obliged to ask the competent institutions to combine such numbers with his/her birth identification number.
An RNIP is recorded for employees for the purposes of communication with the Czech Social Security Administration, which is then self-copied to all documents in order for the incapacity benefits to be paid appropriately in the case of sickness. Employees visit their physicians with a health insurance card, e.g. issued by VZP (General Health Insurance Company), stating a number different from the number registered by the Czech Social Security Administration. It is therefore extremely complicated to search for any such data and to communicate with the authorities in a way to ensure an appropriate process. The information is available on MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC - Entering the Czech Republic, duties, length of stay.
In the case of health insurance, an employer shall automatically register an EU/EEA foreigner not subject to a visa requirement with VZP using the individual’s date of birth in the DDMMYYYY format and the F (female) or M (male) code. Should the employee request any other of the seven health insurance companies, he/she shall be obliged to arrange the insurance with the selected health insurance company by himself/herself.
This obligation arises from Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Territory of the Czech Republic and amending certain acts.
