Employee Card
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Zaměstnanecká karta as of 2026-06-12[5] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Employee Card as of 2026-08-21[1] The Ministry of the Interior's own English page heading. |
| Legal basis | Act No. 326/1999 Coll., ss. 42g and 42h; validity s. 44(6); confirmation of compliance s. 44(2); free labour-market access and work-permit exemptions via Act No. 435/2004 Coll. s. 98 as of 2026-06-12[5] Consolidated text of the Aliens Act in force from 12 June 2026. |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-06-12[5] s. 42g(1): a type of long-term residence permit. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2026-08-21[1][5] |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | Not established from a qualifying source Neither s. 42g nor the route page states a minimum age. s. 13(4) contemplates applicants under 18 for the funds test generally, but that is not a statement about this route. |
| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2026-06-12[5] s. 42h(1)(a) requires the applicant to submit the s. 31(1)(g) document – an extract equivalent to a criminal record certificate issued by the state of nationality, for applicants aged 15 or over – as a mandatory item, not only on request. The route page lists a further criminal-record document for other states of residence under 'upon request', which is the separate s. 31(3)(a) item. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 2 years as of 2026-08-21[1][5] s. 44(6): issued for the term of the employment contract or agreement, or the term set in a recognition authority's decision, but for at most 2 years; where the card is issued under s. 42g(3) it runs for the term of the work permit. The route page states the same ceiling. |
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| How the initial term is set | matches the contract |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-21[1] The route page carries an EXTENSION tab; the same 2-year ceiling applies to each extension. |
| Renewal duration | up to 2 years as of 2026-06-12[5] s. 44(6) applies again. |
| Maximum total duration | Not established from a qualifying source No aggregate ceiling is stated. |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-08-21[1][5] s. 42g(1): the card authorises employment in the work position for which it was issued, or in a position notified under ss. 42g(7)-(10). A change of employer, work position or an additional position must be notified to the Ministry at least 30 days in advance, and s. 42g(7) bars a change of employer in the first 6 months after the decision becomes final except where the employment ended for reasons in the Labour Code ss. 52(a)-(e), 56 or in a probationary period, and bars a move to an employment agency. A holder who is separately within Act No. 435/2004 Coll. s. 98 has free labour-market access and is outside that restriction. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-06-12[5] s. 68(2)(a) counts time on a long-term residence permit toward the 5 years of continuous residence that s. 68(1) requires; the employee card is not on the s. 68(3) exclusion list and takes no discount. |
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Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-06-12[5] s. 42g(2)(b): the applicant must have concluded an employment contract, an agreement on working activity, or a preliminary agreement to conclude one. |
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| Salary threshold | |
| Labour-market test | Yes as of 2026-08-21[1][5] s. 42g(6): where the applicant is not within s. 42g(3) or (4), the Ministry issues the card only after the regional branch of the Labour Office has given a binding opinion that further employment of the foreigner can be permitted given the labour-market situation. The test is also built into the instrument at the vacancy stage: s. 42g(2)(a) requires the position to be one listed in the central register of vacancies fillable by employee-card holders, which is itself a labour-market filter. |
| Qualification requirement | degree, regulated profession as of 2026-08-21[1][5] s. 42g(2)(c): the applicant must have the professional competence required for the job where the nature of the job or an international treaty demands it – the required education (with recognition of a foreign qualification on the Ministry's request), the required professional qualification where special legislation requires it, and the conditions for a regulated profession where the job is one. The route page states the route itself is open regardless of education: 'An employee card can be obtained for all kinds of employment regardless of the required education and qualification.' The two are consistent – the requirement tracks the job, not the route – and the vocabulary has no value for that, so both applicable values are listed and the conditionality is stated here. |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-08-21[1][5] The employer supplies the contract, the vacancy number and, in a government-approved programme, a confirmation substituting for several documents (s. 42h(2)). The route page adds that the employer must not be an unreliable employer within s. 178f. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-06-12[5] The card requires an existing job offer. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-21[1][5] s. 42g(5): the application is lodged at a diplomatic mission; a foreigner already residing on a long-term visa or on a long-term residence permit for another purpose may lodge it with the Ministry in Czechia. It cannot be lodged in Czechia by someone residing on a tolerated-stay visa or permit (with a narrow exception) or on a seasonal-employment visa. |
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| Statutory processing time | up to 60 days as of 2026-08-21[1] 60 days for an application lodged in Czechia; 90 days in especially complicated cases or where the Ministry has asked the Labour Office for a binding opinion. The clock stops while the proceedings are suspended. An extension application is decided in 60 days. |
| Fees |
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| Quota |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-06-12[5] s. 42a(1) with s. 42a(7)(b): a spouse or minor child may be granted the family-reunification permit where the sponsor holds a permit issued under s. 42g and has resided in the territory for at least 6 months – six months rather than the fifteen that s. 42a(7)(a) imposes on ordinary long-term-permit holders. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, minor child, parent, other dependent as of 2026-06-12[5] |
| Family may apply at the same time | No as of 2026-06-12[5] s. 42a(7)(b) conditions the spouse's or child's permit on the sponsor having already resided in the territory for at least 6 months, so the family cannot arrive with the principal. |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-07-15[2][6] Act No. 435/2004 Coll. s. 98(l): a foreigner residing on a long-term residence permit for family reunification with a holder of a valid long-term residence permit needs no work permit, employee card or blue card. The Information Portal states the same in plain words on the family-reunification page: 'you can work here without an additional permit (free access to the labour market)'. |
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 | 6 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 6 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-06-12 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-21 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-26 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Employee Card
Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-08-21 · Accessed 2026-08-23 - [2] Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Family Reunification
Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-15 · Accessed 2026-08-23 · Archived copy - [3] 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 - [4] Visa Fees
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [5] 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 - [6] Zákon č. 435/2004 Sb., o zaměstnanosti (consolidated text in force from 1 July 2026)
Sbírka zákonů a mezinárodních smluv (e-Sbírka) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-01 · Accessed 2026-08-23