How to legally work/do business in the Czech Republic in the ASAP mode

The stay of foreigners in the territory of the Czech Republic is regulated especially by Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic as amended, and Regulation (EC) No., 810/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council on the Community Code on Visas and Council Regulation (EC) No. 539/2001, which establishes a list of third countries whose nationals must have a visa when crossing the external borders, as well as a list of third countries whose nationals are exempt from this obligation.

The current practice in the matter of the process of obtaining employment cards/visas/long-term residence permits has changed significantly in the Czech Republic. The current migration policy of the Czech Republic focuses on the migration of qualified workers from third countries in order to give incentives to foreign investors to do business in the Czech Republic and to secure qualified employees for Czech companies in accelerated procedure. The Czech Republic has therefore extended number of programs supporting economic migration with aim to ease the process of obtaining residence and work/business permit.

The government economic migration programs are targeted at investors operating in the Czech Republic with an organizational component in the Czech Republic and abroad. Furthermore, the programs are intended for research organizations, technology companies as well as start-ups and newly founded companies that request the accelerated employment of foreign workers, from top managers to production workers. The process of obtaining residence permit for the foreign workers has been significantly accelerated within the programs supporting economic migration. If all conditions are met, it is possible to receive residence permit within 1 month.

The economic migration programs mentioned above were supplemented with a new Digital Nomads Program with effect from July 1, 2023, Pilot Project with effect from December 13, 2023 and Work Migration from Indonesia Project from June 19, 2024. Each of the economic migration programs is aimed at different group of employees from different countries, all aiming to ease the visa/residence permit process to get the qualified personnel for important investors in the country.

It is highly recommended that you consult each individual case and current legal practice with immigration law specialized law firm.