New immigration rules offer more options for non-EU nationals in the Czech Republic

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The Czech Republic is preparing an important amendment to the Czech immigration rules relating to the engagement of non-EU nationals as seasonal workers or within intra-company transfers.

New residency permits for the purpose of employment

Intra-company transfers The amendment will introduce a new residency permit for non-EU nationals (also known as third country nationals) in the position of a manager, specialist, or employed intern, who will be relocated within a corporate group to a subsidiary in the Czech Republic. This residency permit will be valid for 3 years, or up to 1 year in the case of interns.  The major advantage of this permit is that it offers the possibility for the relocated employee to perform work in the Czech Republic and other EU member states under less stringent conditions.  In addition, the validity of the new residency permit will be one year longer than the “employee card” issued under the current regime.  Seasonal workers A new residency permit will also be provided for non-EU nationals who will perform work in the Czech Republic as seasonal workers.  The permit will be issued only for positions in industries with seasonal characteristics such as agriculture, horticulture and tourism.  This residency permit will be valid for 6 months and will be issued without the need to perform any labour market test, within which local authorities must try to recruit residents of the Czech Republic and EU member states before non-EU nationals. Other changes In addition to these major changes, the amendment will also seek to remove shortcomings of the “employee card scheme”, which was implemented in June 2014.  In particular, the rules which prevent non-EU nationals from working while they apply to extend their stay.

What does this mean for my business?

The amendment has been submitted for comment and is planned to come in force from 1 September 2016.  It is important to note that these changes will not affect the existing “employee card scheme”.  In fact, employees and non-EU nationals seeking employment in the Czech Republic will now have more options regarding how to organise their future work and stay.

Further information

To discuss how these changes will impact the non-EU nationals you employ, please contact Matěj Daněk,  PRK Partners. Content is for general information purposes only. The information provided is not intended to be comprehensive and it does not constitute or contain legal or other advice. If you require assistance in relation to any issue please seek specific advice relevant to your particular circumstances. In particular, no responsibility shall be accepted by the authors or by Abbiss Cadres LLP for any losses occasioned by reliance on any content appearing on or accessible from this article. For further legal information click here.

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