Frequently Asked Questions - Immigration Czech

1. Will foreigners not take jobs for Czechs?

Entry into the preferential procedure is tied to the agreed employment in the Czech Republic and previous work experience acquired anywhere. Agreed employment in the Czech Republic means obtaining a work permit issued by the locally competent labor office with regard to the situation on the labor market. This is a guarantee that there will not be a situation where a foreign expert gets a job that could be filled by a qualified Czech expert.

The project will not endanger the job opportunities of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic, as in other developed countries, a phenomenon known by experts as the so-called employment paradox can be observed. This means that at a time of relatively high unemployment, there are a growing number of job vacancies in the same employment sectors that cannot be filled by domestic workers, either due to insufficient qualifications or insufficient mobility.

According to the Commission Communication to the Council and the European Parliament on Immigration, Integration and Employment No 336 of June 2003, “in terms of employment opportunities, there is almost no evidence that immigration leads to higher unemployment. In the short term, immigration can have a positive impact on domestic employment by This is especially true for temporary migration. In principle, immigrants do not displace the domestic workforce, as their skills and qualifications can complement the skills and qualifications of EU citizens, but negative effects on certain groups of people or sectors are not ruled out. ”

2. Why was only a limited number of countries selected for the first years?

The limited scope of the pilot project is appropriate for several reasons. If it included more countries, only the best of the best would have a real chance to succeed, which would be positive for the Czech Republic, but it would be difficult to predict the situation after the extension of the pilot project to all countries. This solution would also be more costly. The implementation of the planned measures will never arouse enthusiasm in the target countries, and therefore it also reduces the possible negative foreign policy impact of the implementation of the pilot project. The project was limited to a few countries only in its infancy, the ultimate goal is to expand worldwide.

After joining the European Union, European rules for the employment of foreigners apply to us, so it did not make sense to open the project to EU member states.

It was an effort to select countries with different characteristics in order to test the setting of selection criteria.

3. What does the project and the Czech Republic offer to foreign experts?

The main incentive to enter the project is the possibility to apply for permanent residence with the family in a shortened period of time after 2.5 years. According to the current regulation, a five-year period is required to obtain permanent residence in the Czech Republic. From 1 July 2007, a new category of highly qualified participants in a pilot project with a university degree will be introduced, who will be employed in the Czech Republic in a position that requires a university degree and corresponds to their qualifications (education or internship). This category of foreigners will be able to apply for a permanent residence permit after 1.5 years of participation in the project.

In addition, the project participant will be given a 45-day protection period to find a new job, if he or she does not lose his or her previous job during the first year of participation in the project. During the next years of participation in the pilot project, its participants are granted a protection period even in cases of loss of employment due to other reasons, except for termination of employment due to gross breach of work discipline (§52 paragraph 1 letter g) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll. ., Labour Code). Without participating in the project, he would have to leave the Czech Republic immediately after losing his job.

In addition, the Czech Republic can offer – a better residence status, a friendly integration policy, a country with many opportunities and a future in the EU, a relatively non-xenophobic and non-racist public and linguistic and cultural proximity to the Eastern European region.

The fact that over 351,000 of them live here also testifies to the interest of foreigners in the Czech Republic. That is more than in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia combined.

4. Why is there currently no list of required professions?

A specific list of missing professions will not be available in the first phase of the pilot project. For example, according to German or Canadian experience, it is not possible to accurately estimate future labor needs, so the immigration system must be flexible and responsive to population and skills developments in the labor market. Lists of positive and negative professions are not necessary, on the contrary, sometimes problematic, because in the modern world of work all qualifications can be useful.

5. Why is the project currently not open to asylum seekers and illegal workers?

Asylum seekers whose asylum procedure has not reached a final decision and those foreigners whose final decision has already been made and there are no obstacles preventing them from leaving the Czech Republic will not be able to enter the selection procedure from the Czech Republic. However, they may interrupt the asylum procedure, travel and apply to enter the project in their country through consulates.

Rejected asylum seekers are largely recruited from among those who abuse the Czech asylum procedure, mainly for economic reasons. In view of this, it would not be appropriate to give them the advantage of entering the selection procedure from the territory, as they would be unjustifiably favored in comparison with applicants who enter the procedure only after completing the statutory visa procedure. However, if rejected asylum seekers leave the Czech Republic and later obtain a work permit and subsequently a visa for a stay of more than 90 days for the purpose of employment, they will not be prevented from entering the selection procedure.

Foreigners residing and working illegally in the Czech Republic will be sanctioned so that they cannot enter the project.
The project does not exclude people working legally in the Czech Republic, for example in manual professions, moreover, if they have at least a high school diploma and speak Czech, they have a significant chance of success.

6. Why is the project not currently open to entrepreneurs?

The reason for setting up the pilot project only for employees was the foreign experience with similar projects, especially the Quebec. In times of capital mobility, entrepreneurs use similar projects only for the period of profitability, and in the case of a more attractive incentive, there has often been an outflow of capital. The Czech Republic is interested in long-term benefits and therefore prefers employees, and they could be pushed out by entrepreneurs within limited quotas.

Another reason is the risk that members of often fictitious multiple companies and cooperatives who are already abusing a visa for a stay of more than 90 days obtained for the purpose of participating in legal entities would enter the procedure.
Based on the results of the pilot project, the possibility of extending its use to other groups of persons, excluded in the original proposal – for example, entrepreneurs – is not ruled out in the future.

7. Why is the period 2.5 (1.5) years and what are the other conditions?

The standard period for obtaining permanent residence is a continuous stay in the Czech Republic of 5 years. This is therefore a shorter deadline for successful participants in the pilot project.
You can advance to the 2.5-year probationary period if you get at least 25 out of a possible 66 points in the selection procedure. which requires a university degree and corresponds to their qualifications (education or experience). This category of foreigners will be able to apply for a permanent residence permit after 1.5 years of participation in the project. Experience to date from the implementation of the pilot project shows that highly qualified and university-educated professionals do not have problems with integration into Czech society. Many of them start working in the field immediately after their arrival and are thus of maximum benefit to the Czech Republic.

In the preferential procedure, the main criteria are the education and work experience achieved. Age, language skills and previous experience of living in the Czech Republic and the family situation also play an important role as an important factor in the adaptability of immigrants. The selected documents that you have to submit in case you are selected by a computer selection procedure are then examined in the project participants’ countries of origin. If discrepancies or untruths are found in the submitted documents, you will be excluded from the project without the possibility to return to it.

After the trial period, the MLSA will carry out a so-called assessment of the degree of integration of project participants, in which it will ask employers, municipal representatives and possibly other institutions in their place of residence whether these people met the project objectives, ie, were able to integrate as much as possible. into Czech society. If the MLSA reaches a positive decision, it will recommend to the Asylum and Migration Policy Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic to grant the said project participant and his / her immediate family members a permanent residence within a short period of time.

8. Is working in a qualified position a condition of the project?

One of the conditions for entering the project is legal employment in the Czech Republic on the basis of a work permit. A foreigner can work in any position in any field. Inclusion in the project should, among other things, help him as a promising employee to find a job that matches his qualifications.

9. Does my previous stay in the Czech Republic not count towards the 2.5 (1.5) year period?

It does not count, but you will be scored for the previous stay.
Your previous stay in the Czech Republic is scored as a previous experience of living in the Czech Republic and for each documented 6 months spent continuously in the Czech Republic before being selected in the selection procedure, you will receive 1 point, a maximum of 6 points.
You will also receive 1 point for every 6 months of any full-time employment completed before the effective date of the work permit with which you enter the project. Here you can get a maximum of 12 points.

10. Is a Czech exam necessary?

Knowledge of Czech or another language scored by us is not mandatory. You will receive 6 points for proven knowledge of the Czech or Slovak language. For a proven knowledge of English, German or French you have the opportunity to get 3 points for each of them. The maximum score for language skills is 9 points.

You can prove your knowledge of languages either by a certificate of a language exam in the Czech Republic, or by a language exam marked on your high school diploma, or by a language or state language exam as part of your university studies.
If you have studied at a university or high school with teaching in Czech, Slovak, English, German or French, the diploma is considered as proof of knowledge of the language in which the teaching took place.

11. My husband / wife does not have a visa for the purpose of employment, can he / she apply for the project with me?

Your spouse can apply for a pilot project with you, even if he / she is staying in the Czech Republic on the basis of a visa for a purpose other than employment. It will thus be part of your application and after successfully passing the 2.5-year probationary period in the pilot project, you will receive a recommendation from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to grant permanent residence.

12. How will I know that I have been selected in the selection procedure?

You will find out whether you have been selected in the selection procedure by receiving a letter from us asking you to provide documents confirming the information provided in your application. You will arrive with these documents within 2 months from the date of the selection procedure at the administrative office of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs – Vyšehradská street 43, Prague 2.
Office hours are:
Monday, Wednesday: 8.00 – 11.30 and 13.00 – 16.00
Tuesday, Thursday: 8.00 – 11.30.

If you do not submit these documents by the deadline, you will be excluded from the pilot project.
Those applicants who did not receive an invitation to submit documents within 30 days of the selection procedure at the end of each calendar month were not selected in the procedure. If their point gain exceeds 25 points but have not been placed within the set quota for the relevant period, they are automatically included in the next selection procedure.

13. Which documents should be translated into Czech?

The following documents do not have to be translated into Czech: a valid travel document, an employment contract (or other written confirmation of the existence of an employment relationship in the Czech Republic) signed by the employer, a valid visa, proof of completed education if issued by a Czech educational institution, and a valid employment.
Other documents must be in the form of a notarized copy provided with a court translation into the Czech language.

Officially certified translations into the Czech language are performed by certified translators in the Czech Republic. Their list can be found on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic portal.justice.cz/uvod/JusticeEN.aspx

Outside the territory of the Czech Republic, certified translations into the Czech language may be performed in individual countries by certified translators. Information about them can be obtained, inter alia, at embassies of the Czech Republic. At the same time, embassies of the Czech Republic abroad are entitled to verify the accuracy of the translation.

14. Is it my duty to report visa extensions, employment contracts and new work permits?

According to point 4 “Instructions for participants”, which you signed after admission to the project, it is your duty to notify the MLSA administrative office of the changes to the data you entered in the application and to substantiate them with relevant documents within 8 days of the new fact. You must regularly announce the granting of a new work permit, visa, employment contract or extension, change of contact address, etc. If you do not notify these changes, which are essential for inclusion and retention in the pilot project, in time, you will be excluded from the pilot project and will not be able to re-enter in the future.

15. I received a recommendation from you to grant permanent residence, where should I go with it?

If you have received a recommendation for permanent residence from us, you will use it as an attachment to the application for permanent residence. With the completed application and all necessary attachments, go to the Asylum and Migration Policy Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic – at Nad Štolou 3, Prague 7, during office hours Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 3.00 pm, phone 974 833 132 or 974 833 134.