Would you like to employ foreigners in your company, but you get lost in the forms and permits that are needed for that?
Read what you should not forget as an employer and what your responsibilities are. When employing foreigners, a distinction must be made between EU / EEA citizens and foreigners from third countries.
Employment of an EU / EEA citizen
The employment of citizens of the European Union / EEA and Switzerland is governed by essentially the same rules as the employment of citizens of the Czech Republic.
An EU / EEA and Swiss citizen or their family member do not need an employment permit for the purpose of employment in the Czech Republic. Citizens of these countries are only obliged to report their presence in the Czech Republic in the relevant field of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic if they plan to stay in the Czech Republic for more than 30 days.
The employer's obligations are:
- No later than on the day of entry of an EU / EEA and Swiss citizen or his / her family member, inform the regional branch of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic competent according to the place of work. A sample form in Czech is available on the mpsv.cz website.
- When changing the termination of employment, the employer is obliged to notify the relevant regional branch of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic no later than 10 calendar days after the termination of employment.
- Keep records of EU / EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members and family members of a Czech citizen who employs and keeps copies of documents.
- Other obligations are practically the same as in the case of employing Czech citizens - registration of an employee with a health insurance office and the Czech Social Security Administration, etc.
Employment of foreigners from outside the EU
The employment of foreigners from countries outside the EU is somewhat more complicated and the employer must distinguish between foreigners who have free access to the labor market and foreigners without free access to the Czech labor market.
Employment of foreigners with free access to the labor market
A simpler situation is the employment of foreigners with free access to the labor market. For such foreigners, their employment is governed by the same rules as for the employment of foreigners from EU countries.
Although these foreigners do not need a permit to work in the Czech Republic, they must still have a valid residence permit. Every employer must verify the existence of a valid residence permit of a foreigner and keep copies of documents proving the legitimacy of his stay in the Czech Republic.
Foreigners with free access to the labor market are most often:
- foreigners with a permanent residence permit in the Czech Republic,
- family members of EU citizens,
- foreigners with long-term residence for the purpose of family cohabitation,
- foreigners who are constantly preparing for future occupations in the Czech Republic,
- foreigners who graduated from high school or university in the Czech Republic.
Employment of foreigners who do not have free access to the Czech labor market
Employment of foreigners without free access to the labor market is more complicated for both employers and employees. To put it simply, these foreigners need a residence permit in our territory and a permit to work in our territory. In practice, there may be several forms and procedures for their employment.
An employer may employ a foreigner-only if that foreigner has, in accordance with the Employment Act
- a valid work permit from the relevant regional branch of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic and a valid residence permit, or
- employee card,
- a blue card, or
- the card of the transferred employee and at the same time if he has
- a written employment contract for the period for which the employment is to be performed, a written employment contract, or a written future contract in which the parties undertake to conclude an employment contract or employment contract within the agreed period.
Employee's card
It is basically a permit for the long-term residence of a foreigner in the Czech Republic for the purpose of employment. If the employer plans to fill a vacancy with a third-country national who does not have a residence permit in the Czech Republic, it is necessary to first notify this intention to the Labor Office of the Czech Republic.
The vacancy is reported via a form. The job position reported at the Labor Office is published in the central register of vacancies and is awaiting 30 days. After 30 days, the given job position will receive a special number, which is necessary for submitting an application for the issuance of an employee card at the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. As a rule, a foreigner himself applies for the card itself at the embassy of the Czech Republic abroad.
Prior to the actual application for an employee card, the employer and employee must already have agreed employment conditions and a signed employment contract. The salary must not be lower than the basic rate of the monthly minimum wage and the weekly working time must be at least 15 hours. If the employer is able to provide accommodation for the foreigner and issues him a certificate of accommodation for the purposes of the application, it will certainly simplify the situation of the foreigner.
The procedure for issuing an employee card itself can take 1-2 months in trouble-free cases. The date of commencement of work agreed in the employment contract must take into account the time of the procedure for issuing an employee card.
An employee card is issued to work for a specific employer. Therefore, if a foreigner already has a card, it does not mean that he can change employers at will. In the event that a foreigner wants to change employers, he or she will apply for consent to change employers and may submit the application in the Czech Republic, at the locally competent branch of the Ministry of the Interior.
Blue card
The procedure for issuing a blue card is analogous to the procedure for issuing an employee card. The Blue Card is issued for a job requiring high qualifications, which the applicant must prove when applying for a Blue Card. Employment must require high qualifications and must be arranged for at least one year. The employment contract must be concluded for the statutory weekly working hours and the amount of the agreed wage must correspond to at least 1.5 times the average gross annual wage. The legal deadline for issuing a decision, in this case, is 90 days.
Reporting vacancies
The employer is obliged to notify the relevant regional branch of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic (ÚP ČR) of the vacancy and its characteristics if it intends to employ a foreigner who needs a work permit and residence permit, or an employee card or blue card. A vacancy in a position that the employer has newly created or that has become vacant. The characteristics of the vacancy must be identical to the characteristics of the place where the job will be performed.
Employment of a refugee
Applicants for international protection and recognized refugees may be employed in the Czech Republic under the following conditions, depending on their legal status:
- A person granted international protection - does not need a work permit, an employee card, an internally transferred employee card, or a blue card to perform the employment. Persons granted international protection have the same status as citizens of the Czech Republic in terms of employment.
- An applicant for international protection - may be employed after 6 months from the date of submission of the application for international protection, but such a foreigner must have a valid work permit issued by the regional branch of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic.
- A foreigner who has not applied for or was not granted international protection but has obtained a visa for a stay of more than 90 days or a long-term residence permit in order to endure a stay in the territory may be employed if he or she has a valid work permit issued by a regional branch. Labor Office of the Czech Republic.
Employment of foreigners and Covid
At present, it is also necessary to check in advance whether a foreigner from a given country can come to the territory of the Czech Republic at all, or under what conditions. Government measures in this direction are constantly changing, due to the current epidemiological situation, so we recommend monitoring the current measures in the employment of foreigners during the Covid pandemic at www.mzcr.cz, www.mpsv.cz and www.mvcr.cz
