Obtaining a Czech (EU) Blue Card in the Czech Republic
For whom the Czech (EU) Blue Card is designated
A foreign national from any country in the world with a completed university education or higher vocational education, the duration of which was at least three (3) years.
Max. validity of Czech blue card
A period that is three (3) months longer than the period of time for which the contract of employment was concluded, max. 2 years.
Extension is possible, but application has to be filed within 120 days prior to its expiration, not later.
Where to apply for a Czech Blue Card
You could apply at the Embassy of the Czech Republic within the appropriate territorial jurisdiction: in the state of which the foreigner is citizen OR, if applicable, the state that issued the travel document or in the state where the foreigner has long-term or permanent residence.
Our lawyers can arrange an appointment at the Embassy in advance.
Or you could apply in the territory of the Czech Republic (Ministry of Interior, Department for Asylum and Migration Policy), on the condition that you are already staying in the territory of the Czech Republic on a visa for a stay of over 90 days or a long-term residence permit for some other purpose or a holder of a Blue card, which has been issued by another EU state and you apply within 1 month.
Obligations before the client submits blue card application
The employer is obliged to announce a vacant job position at the Czech Labour Office as soon as possible. The position has to remain published for thirty (30) days without assignment to a Czech/EU citizen. The foreigner is able to submit his/her application for the blue card after this duration of (30) days.
A detailed specification of the job vacancy and the applicant’s CV is required from the employer as soon as possible (this is so that the announcement to the LO can be prepared by our Czech lawyers).
Deadline for making an application
Deadline for application is 90 days.
Administrative fee
Administrative fee is CZK 1,000 (to be paid in cash in the local currency at the embassy); and CZK 2,500 for the plastic biometric card (issued on the territory).
Health Insurance
Health insurance for purposes of blue card is travel medical insurance. Health insurance should cover the employee only for a couple of days before the employment starts (i.e. arriving to Czech Republic with D type visa after the Czech blue card is approved – the employee shall show up at the Ministry of Interior for a biometric appointment within 3 business days after arrival), because after this he/she will be covered by public health insurance like all employees in the Czech Republic. The health insurance can be purchased online, we recommend VZP or Slavia.
The employee has two options with regards to the health insurance:
a) Wait for the blue card to be approved and submit the insurance contract including confirmation of payment after he/she gets a notification of approval i.e. when collecting the D-type visa (see below) this option is more logical and cheaper (because we do not know when the Czech blue card will approved) therefore it is recommended by us and the insurance can be easily bought online with a credit card. The employee will also receive all documents from the insurance company in multiple languages via email; the insurance should be bought for 40 days (at the embassy’s recommendation).
b) Purchase the health insurance (also online) in advance and submit the insurance contract and proof of payment together with the application for an blue card as one of its attachments. The insurance should start approximately thirty (30) days after the BC application is submitted (we expect this to be the soonest date of the BC approval) and this should be purchased for at least three (3) months; this option is preferred by the embassy because the application is complete from the beginning however as the employee does not know when the BC will be approved (between 30-60 days but may take longer in some cases) he/she has to pay insurance even for the period when they are not in the Czech Republic. This second option is however preferred by the Czech Embassies and Consulates in the USA, in case US citizen is applying for the blue card remotely, providing the consulate with original passport.
IMPORTANT: an interview may be conducted with the employee at the Czech Embassy; he/she may be questioned about the employment conditions (working hours, address, salary), employment contract, accommodation and also family relations.
CHECKLIST – application for Czech blue card
Labour Office in the Czech Republic
Estimated process time: 40 days
Reporting the vacant position on the LO (advertisement of the position for 30 days)
Data required from employer:
1) Full name and Czech address of the employer + Identification Code (“IČ”)
2) Person of contact (e.g. HR department – name, telephone, email)
3) Full name of the foreigner’s position, CZ-ISCO code – if available, KKOV – if available
4) Specification of employment: in/definite duration, full-time/part-time job (+ number of weekly hours)
5) Description of the contents and requirements of the job (as detailed as possible)
6) Specification of gross salary (from XXX CZK to XXX CZK – this must correspond with the salary agreed upon in the employment agreement! Minimum salary of approx. 40,000 CZK/month!)
7) Required language skills
The Czech employer announces the job vacancy, which can be assigned to a third-country national, to the regional Czech Labour Office in the territorial jurisdiction in which the employment shall be exercised, including the basic characteristics of the job as regulated in § 86 of Czech Act no. 435/2004 Coll., on Employment. The employer must grant consent with publishing the vacancy in the central records of job vacancies available to blue card holders.
These steps can be taken by our Czech lawyer on the basis of a power of attorney – i.e. from the employer (which can be prepared by us).
Recognition of a foreign university diploma by a Czech university with accreditation (“nostrification”)
(Estimated time process: 40 days – 3 months)
Please note that the university diploma has to be apostilled or authenticated and provided in original or certified copy, including official translation to Czech.
This step can be skipped in case of some jobs (“non-regulated jobs”).
Requirements for submission of application for blue card
(Estimated time process: another 60-90 days)
This is to be done by the employee in person after the 30 day period of vacancy announcement is over (we will let you know the exact date in order to book the appointment at the Czech Embassy).
1) A valid travel document
2) A document confirming availability of accommodation (lease agreement covering the whole period of employment or confirmation of accommodation – a form will be provided)
3) Current photographs (2x)
4) A contract of employment (monthly salary must not be lower than the amount of the agreed gross monthly or annual salary equal to at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary stated in the announcement of the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.and also corresponding to what has been announced at the LO by the employer, weekly working hours of at least 15 hours)
5) Document confirming the high level of skills (documents on attained education – eventually nostrification of diploma, i.e. official recognition of diploma by a Czech public university has to be done; please, note that this process might take a couple of months, depending on the character of the foreign diploma) – the diploma must be therefore provided in the Czech language – we can also assist with the translation), CV
6) If it is a regulated job, a document confirming the compliance with the conditions for performing such a job is required.
7) If, prior to filing for a Blue Card in the Czech Republic as a holder of a Blue Card issued by another EU member state, you are obliged to present proof of the total monthly income of your family (in the case of family reunification).
8) *Travel medical insurance* insurance contract incl. proof of payment
9) Upon request, a document similar to an extract from the Penal Register/Affidavit stating clean criminal history record
10) Upon request, a medical report stating that the foreign national does not suffer from any serious disease (usually not required)
All documents have to be submitted to the Ministry of Interior (event. via the Czech Embassy) in originals or notarized copies (the latter is preferred) and in the Czech language or with official translation in to the Czech language, eventually the Apostille/authentication has to be attached to the official documents!
Granting a long-term visa (D-type, one entry) for the purpose of collecting the blue card
The applicant must visit the embassy again and eventually provide the travel health insurance document and proof of payment of the insurance (if not done before – see above)
IMPORTANT: The employee should let us know as soon as possible (preferably 3 weeks in advance) about his/her planned arrival date, so that we can book the biometric appointment. The appointment has to be booked and there may be a lack of vacant dates if we are informed too late!
Arriving in the Czech Republic
Visit of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy and/or the foreign police department within three working days of arrival in the Czech Republic.
Deadline: within 3 working days after arrival to the Czech Republic, accompaniment recommended (we can provide accompaniment).
1) Visit of foreign police department
2) Visit of the Ministry of Interior: to provide BIOMETRIC DATA – deadline for issuing a card: 60 days
Separate visit of the foreign police is not required if the biometric appointment is done within 3 working day after the arrival! It usually depends on the availability of the appointment dates to be booked.
The foreigner must bring: a valid travel document, proof of health insurance and payment (again)
Leave the OAMP with: Certificate on Compliance with Conditions for Issue of a Blue Card and invitation to collect the blue card on specific date and hour.
The foreigner has free access to the labor market (can start legally working) from the day of issuing the Certificate on Compliance with Conditions for Issue of a Czech Blue Card (i.e. the day of the biometric appointment).
IMPORTANT: The employee cannot leave the Czech Republic for the period between the first biometric appointment after arrival and before collecting the plastic biometric card. Please do not make any plan to travel out of the country. The blue card (plastic card) is usually issued in 2-4 weeks (maximum is 60 days, the exact time and day will be given to the employee after the biometric data is taken). No bridging visas will be granted during this period.
Reporting to the LO that a third-country national starts working in the Czech company.
Deadline: start day of employment (usually the day of biometric appointment or the day after). This can be arranged by a lawyer on the basis of a power of attorney.
Visit of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy to collect the biometric blue card
Within the set deadline but no later than 60 days after the acquisition of biometric data
The foreigner has to pay CZK 2,500 for issuing the card in revenue stamps (‘’kolek’’)
Summary of document requirements for employee:
1. valid passport (no older than 10 years, with at least 2 blank pages)
2. document confirming availability of accommodation (lease agreement covering the whole period of employment OR confirmation of accommodation – a form will be provided by our Czech law firm)
3. 2 passport-size photos
4. employment contract or future employment contract (unless provided by the employer)
5. university diploma including legalization (i.e. Apostille or authentication) to be recognized by a Czech university
6. eventually document confirming the compliance with the conditions for performing a regulated job
7. comprehensive medical health insurance including proof of payment
8. resumé/CV
9. police clearance certificate from the country of citizenship and eventually upon request from the country of the last long-term residence (i.e. Apostille or authentication)
10. power of attorney (draft will be provided by our Czech law firm) for the immigration process (plain signature)
11. power of attorney (draft will be provided by our Czech law firm) for the nostrification of diploma – if necessary (verified signature)
Summary of document requirements for employer (Czech entity):
1. power of attorney (draft will be provided by our Czech lawyers) – to be signed by the company’s representative(s), just for the purpose of announcement of the job vacancy and further communication with the Czech Labor Office
2. employment contract or future employment contract (unless provided by the employee)
3. details required under point (i) No. 1-7 (for the announcement of the job vacancy)
For more information, contact us at:
ECOVIS ježek, advokátní kancelář s.r.o.
Betlémské nám. 6
110 00 Praha 1
e-mail: mojmir.jezek@ecovislegal.cz
www.ecovislegal.cz
About ECOVIS ježek advokátní kancelář s.r.o.
The Czech law office in Prague ECOVIS ježek practices mainly in the area of Czech commercial law, Czech real estate law, representation at Czech courts, administrative bodies and arbitration courts, as well as Czech finance and banking law, and provides full-fledged advice in all areas, making it a suitable alternative for clients of international law offices. The international dimension of the Czech legal services provided is ensured through past experience and through co-operation with leading legal offices in most European countries, the US, and other jurisdictions. The Czech lawyers of the ECOVIS ježek team have many years of experience from leading international law offices and tax companies, in providing legal advice to multinational corporations, large Czech companies, but also to medium-sized companies and individual clients. For more information, go to www.ecovislegal.cz/en.
The information contained on this website is a legal advertisement. Do not consider anything on this website as legal advice and nothing on this website is an advocate-client relationship. Before discussing anything about what you read on these pages, arrange a legal consultation with us. Past results are not a guarantee of future results, and previous results do not indicate or predict future results. Each case is different and must be judged according to its own circumstances.
