rutland & partners provides complete legal services and support to individuals who plan to relocate to the Czech Republic, including accompanying them to the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Asylum and Migration. We will gladly adjust our approach to your specific requirements.

Legal experts from rutland & partners law firm are providing their clients with high skilled services in relation to obtaining of work permits in the Czech Republic. We are providing services and have extensive successful experience with mass recruitment or transfers of foreign workers to the Czech Republic from Ukraine, Poland, Korea and US. For such transfers there are several types of work permits that EU and Czech law provides:

Blue card

• An EU Blue Card is a  residential status designed for a long-term stay involving the performance of a highly skilled job. An EU Blue Card entitles a foreign national to stay and perform a job in the Czech Republic, i.e. the foreign national does not need a separate work permit.

• Duly completed university education or higher vocational education, the duration of which was at least 3 years, is deemed to be a high level of skills. There is also a requirement of a minimal salary (CZK 53.000).

• The EU Blue Card database of vacancies is available at the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

• The deadline for a decision of the Ministry of Interior on a Blue Card is 90 days.

Even in the COVID times – Czech embassies are accepting new applications!!!

Employee card

• An employee card is a permit for long-time residence in the Czech Republic where the purpose of the foreign national’s stay (longer than 3 months) is employment.

• An employee card is most often issued for the duration of the work contract, for the validity of recognition authority´s decision about employment permit or professional work, but not for more than 2 years, but with an option to repeatedly extend its validity.

• The employee must be employed directly by a Czech entity and be on its payroll.

• The deadline for making a decision on an application for an employee card is 60 days; or 90 days in especially complicated cases or if the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior (Odbor azylové a migrační politiky ministerstva Vnitra ČR) has requested the Employment Agency of the CR (Úřad práce ČR) – a regional branch office or the branch office for the Capital City of Prague – to issue a binding statement of opinion.

IMPORTANT: Currently these applications are not being accepted due to COVID however there is one exception for participants in a special governmental programme for highly qualified workers – these applications are accepted even now, however one of the requirements is that the employee is hired for at least a year.

Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card

• The Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is a type of authorisation for a long-term residence in the Czech Republic where the purpose of residence (longer than 3 months) of the foreign national is to perform work in the position of a manager, specialist or an employed intern to which the foreign national has been transferred. The employment relationship must be longer than 6 months at the time of submission of application.

• The Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is issued for the duration of transfer to the territory of EU member states, but only to a maximum of 3 years for a manager and specialist and for 1 year for an employed intern. The card may be extended repeatedly to cover the duration of transfer to the territory of member states of the European Union, to a maximum of 3 years for a manager and specialist and for 1 year for an employed intern.

• The deadline for a decision on an Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is 90 days.

IMPORTANT: Unfortunately due to COVID almost all Czech embassies are working in a limited scope and are currently NOT accepting these types of applications!!!

Non-dual Employment Card

• An employee card also exists in the form of a non-dual document, in which case it is basically only a residence permit, and this applies to a foreign national who is still required by the Employment Act to have an employment permit or who has a free access to the labour market pursuant to the Employment Act (i.e. he or she comes under the definition in Section 98 of the Employment Act).

• e.g. a foreign national who had studied in the Czech Republic because of the long-term visa and after getting a Czech university degree got a free access to the Czech labour market. So he does not need a work permit, he needs just a residence permit

WE WILL UPDATE THIS PAGE REGULARLY IN ORDER TO INFORM YOU ABOUT CHANGES REGARDING THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS BY CZECH AUTHORITIES.

A managing director of a Czech company who is a foreign citizen can qualify for a business visa but it is not as simple as it might seem at first. The number of declined business visa applications is increasing every year, and it is no longer sufficient to own a passive share of a Czech company or simply buy real estate in the Czech Republic. Running a legitimate, bona fide business, and having a physical office staffed by contractors or employees are just a few of the conditions that must be fulfilled. Thanks to our comprehensive knowledge of the Czech business environment, our team of lawyers and tax advisors is able to provide a broad range of professional services at all stages of new commercial projects.

Our services include assistance in obtaining:
• long-term visas and long-term residence permits for the purpose of doing business
• investment visas (long-term residence for the purpose of managing investments)

Family members of foreigners with a valid residence permit in the Czech Republic have a right to join their parent, husband, wife and in some cases children or partner in the Czech Republic. Family members of European Union citizens generally have strong rights to maintain their family links. We are able to deal with all the situations of a modern family.

Our services include representation in the following types of processes:

• long-term visas for family reunification
• long-term residence permits
• temporary residence for family of EU citizens

Are you residing in the Czech Republic because of work, family, studies, or just because you love the country? It might be useful to obtain a confirmation of temporary residence as an EU citizen, so that you can open a bank account in the Czech Republic, obtain a parking card for residents and many other reasons. If you are a Czech or EU citizen, but your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend or partner is not, we will lead you through the process of obtaining a five-year temporary residence permit for your family.

Students from countries outside the EU who have been accepted into a Czech university or college can obtain a long-term visa or long-term residence permit in order to reside in the Czech Republic for more than 90 days.

rutland & partners lawyers can provide a step-by-step overview of the immigration process, focused on relocation of individual employees and their family members from abroad, or even relocation of an entire branch of a business. We are experienced in submitting applications for a large number of employees at the same time, without impacting the outcome. Keeping the timeline of your relocation plan is our main focus.

rutland & partners lawyers represent Czech companies, as well as foreign companies that intend to open a branch in the Czech Republic, that wish to employ both EU and non-EU citizens here. We represent companies before the labor offices, provide advice to HR departments and represent each individual employee as an applicant for a blue card or other employment permit.

The scope of services for our corporate clients includes:
• employee cards
• blue cards
• work permits
• opening a new branch of a business, hiring foreign employees
• Fast Track process and special projects

Having difficulties with extending your residence permit due to constantly changing laws is nothing unusual, even for long-term residents in the Czech Republic. Any notification from the Ministry of Interior in connection with a residence permit extension indicates that you should seek professional legal assistance.

rutland & partners provides services to foreigners already residing in the Czech Republic, such as for extension of a residence permit or work permit, a change in the purpose of stay, the cancellation of the temporary residence permit of a family member, and an application for other types of residence permit. We have helped a number of clients to obtain permanent residence in the Czech Republic.

Our service include obtaining:
• extension of visa, residence permit
• permanent residence permit
• appeals of denials
• Czech citizenship

rutland & partners is the leading Czech law firm representing foreigners in the appeals process when a visa, residence permit or its extension is refused. Please note that you have only 15 days to appeal a negative decision from the day it has been delivered to you. The sooner you contact us, the higher are your chances of a successful appeal.

Do you want Czech citizenship? We will get it for you!!!

You can obtain Czech citizenship in two ways: if you have been residing in the Czech Republic for ten years, or if you have Czech ancestors who left the country within the past 100 years. Both types of clients can turn to us for help in obtaining a Czech passport and thereby gaining free access to the countries of the European Union. Even if you don’t qualify for obtaining Czech citizenship through ancestry, your residence status can be upgraded by obtaining a permanent residence permit by being a member of a Czech expatriate community abroad.

• Czech citizenship for permanent residents
• Czech citizenship through ancestry
• permanent residence permit based on membership in a Czech expatriate community abroad
• registration of Czech birth and marriage certificates
• recognition of a foreign divorce of a Czech Citizen

The Czech Government has approved a new immigration programme which enables digital nomads to obtain Czech visas more easily. Digital nomads from certain countries can obtain embassy appointment and subsequently a visa in an expedited manner (45 days). The programme only applies to citizens of certain countries (USA, UK, Canada, Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan) and requires sufficient level of income as well as education or experience within the IT field. The programme also covers family members of the main applicant. The visa is valid for a year and can be extend before expiration.

Rutland & partners provides complete legal service to the digital nomads who plan to obtain this type of visa and their families.