Long-term Visa for the Purpose of Doing Business
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Vizum k pobytu nad 90 dnu za ucelem podnikani as of 2026-06-30[5][7] |
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| Official name (English) | Long-term Visa for the Purpose of Doing Business as of 2026-07-28[1] Page title on the Ministry of the Interior's Information Portal for Foreigners; the MFA's own page for the same instrument is headed 'Entrepreneurship'. |
| Legal basis | Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic, s. 30(1) and (3); documents s. 31; residence funds s. 13(1)(a)(3); extension s. 35; statutory decision period s. 169t(2) as of 2026-06-12[4][7] s. 30(1): the Ministry grants a visa for a stay of more than 90 days on the application of a foreigner who intends to stay for a purpose requiring more than three months, and it may not be granted for the purpose of employment except for seasonal employment or an extraordinary work visa. s. 30(3): such a visa is granted with a validity and permitted stay of at most 1 year. The MFA's own list of the provisions it applies to this visa names s. 169g (territorial competence), s. 169f (appointments), s. 169d (lodging in person), s. 168(2) (documents), s. 55(3) (fingerprints), s. 30 (the visa), s. 31 (supporting documents), s. 55(1) (documents not older than 180 days, originals), s. 169h (inadmissible applications), s. 169t(2) (processing period) and s. 180j (travel health insurance). Amendment search: as for the other two routes, run against e-Sbirka's version list; consolidated text in force since 12 June 2026. |
| Instrument type | national visa as of 2026-06-12[4][7] A type-D national visa affixed in the passport by the diplomatic mission, not a residence card. It also carries Schengen mobility: the MFA states it 'grants its holder a right of free movement in the Schengen Area for a maximum of 90 days within any 180 days for non-gainful purposes'. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2026-08-22[4] MFA: 'Long-term visa applications for the purpose of entrepreneurship can be lodged by citizens of the so-called third countries, i.e. states outside of the EU, Island, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Long-term visa is not intended for family members of EU citizens nor of Island, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland who are holders of residence cards of family members of citizens of the EU/EEA or who have applied for them.' Switzerland is excluded too but by treaty rather than by a bloc in this vocabulary. |
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| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2026-08-22[4] The MFA lists a criminal record extract among the documents to be presented when lodging the application, and states that incomplete applications are inadmissible and will not be accepted for processing under s. 169h of the Act. The Act frames criminality as a ground for refusal rather than as a positive condition; recorded true on the document requirement. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 1 year as of 2026-07-28[1][4][7] s. 30(3): the visa is granted with a validity and a permitted period of stay of at most 1 year. Both ministries state the ceiling: 'For a maximum of 1 year' and 'Long-term visa can be issued for a maximum period of one year.' |
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| How the initial term is set | fixed |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-06-12[4][7] s. 35(1): where the validity and permitted stay are shorter than 1 year, the Ministry will repeatedly extend them on application provided the same purpose of stay continues, for at most 1 year at a time. The MFA adds the alternative: before the visa expires the holder may instead request a change of status to a long-term residence permit – which for this purpose is cz-business-permit. |
| Renewal duration | up to 1 year as of 2026-06-12[7] s. 35(1): 'nejdele vsak na 1 rok'. |
| Work rights | self-employment only as of 2026-06-12[4][7] |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-06-12[7] s. 68(2)(a) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll. counts time on a long-term visa and on a long-term residence permit toward the 5 years of continuous residence that s. 68(1) requires for permanent residence, with no discount for this purpose of stay. |
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Requirements
| Minimum capital | Not established from a qualifying source[4] No capital threshold is stated for this visa by either ministry. The financial condition is a funds test, recorded on own_means_requirement. Recorded unknown rather than not_applicable because no source positively states that no capital requirement exists. |
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| Business plan required | No as of 2026-08-22[4] Read off the MFA's own complete list of what must be presented when lodging the application: passport, application form with 'Business' checked at item 28, two photographs, biometric data, supporting documents on the purpose of stay (a trade licence extract, a company register extract or equivalent), accommodation, financial means, a criminal record extract, the fee and, once approved, travel medical insurance. No business plan appears. Proof of the purpose of stay is a registry extract, which means the trade licence or company registration has to exist before the visa is applied for. |
| Endorsement required | No as of 2026-08-22[4][7] No committee, agency or accelerator vets the applicant. The consulate holds an interview and forwards the file; the Ministry of the Interior decides. |
| Innovation criterion | No as of 2026-08-22[4][7] Neither the Act nor the MFA conditions the visa on novelty, innovation or scalability; any trade or self-employment for which the applicant is registered qualifies. |
| Own means requirement | 50 × subsistence minimum one-off as of 2026-06-12[3][7] |
Process
| Where to apply from | from abroad only as of 2026-08-22[4][7] MFA: applications 'are lodged at diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic according to the local territorial competence', in person, with an interview and fingerprinting; the mission forwards them to the Ministry of the Interior, which decides, and the mission issues the visa into the passport if approved. Territorial districts are set by Decree No. 35/2020 Coll., with exceptions under Decree No. 429/2010 Coll. Extension of an existing visa, by contrast, is applied for in the territory. |
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| Statutory processing time | 90 to 120 days as of 2026-06-12[4][7] s. 169t(2): 'O zadosti o udeleni dlouhodobeho viza ministerstvo rozhodne ve lhute do 90 dnu ode dne podani zadosti, ve zvlast slozitych pripadech ve lhute do 120 dnu ode dne podani zadosti.' The MFA states the same two figures. Extension of the visa is decided within 14 days under s. 169t(4). |
| Observed processing time | Not established from a qualifying source Neither ministry publishes an observed processing range for this visa. |
| Fees |
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| Quota |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-07-28[1][7] No day count, maximum absence or reporting obligation is stated for keeping the visa. The Information Portal states the qualitative condition instead: 'You must fulfil the purpose of your stay for the whole duration of your visa.' The adaptation-integration course of s. 155b(2) is imposed on holders of a long-term RESIDENCE PERMIT and does not reach a visa holder; it bites on conversion to cz-business-permit. A separate registration duty does apply on arrival: registration with the Ministry of the Interior within 3 working days, or 30 days where entry is on a D/VR visa. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | No as of 2026-06-12[7] A long-term visa is not a qualifying sponsor status. s. 42a(7)(a) issues the family-reunification permit only where the person to be joined 'je drzitelem povoleni k dlouhodobemu pobytu nebo povoleni k trvalemu pobytu a pobyva na uzemi po dobu nejmene 15 mesicu'. A business-visa holder holds neither, so the family cannot be brought on this instrument; the route to family reunification runs through conversion to cz-business-permit and then a further 15 months of residence. |
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| Eligible relations | Not established from a qualifying source as of 2026-06-12[7] Empty because no relation can be brought while the principal holds only a long-term visa – a consequence of s. 42a(7)(a), not a statement that Czech law recognises no family relations. The country-level family_inclusion_defaults block records the relations that qualify once the principal holds a permit. |
| Family may apply at the same time | No as of 2026-06-12[7] Follows from allowed = false: there is nothing to apply for simultaneously. |
| Family members' work rights | Not applicable[7] No dependants can be admitted on this instrument, so there are no dependant work rights to record. |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 7 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 7 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-06-12 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-22 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-26 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Long-term Visa for the Purpose of Doing Business
Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic – Information Portal for Foreigners · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-28 · Accessed 2026-08-22 · Archived copy - [2] Fees – Third-country Nationals
Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic – Information Portal for Foreigners · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [3] Proof of Funds for the Stay (Finances)
Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic – Information Portal for Foreigners · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-05-28 · Accessed 2026-08-22 · Archived copy - [4] Entrepreneurship – long-term visa for the purpose of entrepreneurship
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [5] Narizeni vlady o maximalnim poctu zadosti – zamestnani a podnikani (Government Regulation No. 220/2019 Coll., as amended, with the per-mission tables)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-30 · Accessed 2026-08-22 · Archived copy - [6] Visa Fees
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [7] Zakon c. 326/1999 Sb., o pobytu cizincu na uzemi Ceske republiky a o zmene nekterych zakonu – consolidated text
Ministerstvo vnitra CR / e-Sbirka · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-12 · Accessed 2026-08-22