Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Seeking Employment or Starting a Business
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Povolení k dlouhodobému pobytu za účelem hledání zaměstnání nebo zahájení podnikatelské činnosti as of 2026-06-12[3] Act No. 326/1999 Coll. s. 42(3) describes the permit in these words; the Act gives it no shorter name. |
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| Official name (English) | Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Seeking Employment or Starting a Business as of 2026-07-01[1] The Ministry of the Interior's own English page heading. |
| Legal basis | Act No. 326/1999 Coll., s. 42(3); validity s. 44(4)(b); free labour-market access via Act No. 435/2004 Coll. s. 98(o); exemption from the 5-year bar on the business permit s. 45(1) as of 2026-06-12[3] Consolidated text of the Aliens Act in force from 12 June 2026. |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-06-12[3] s. 42(3): a long-term residence permit. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2026-07-01[1][3] |
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| Minimum age | Not established from a qualifying source No minimum age is stated. In practice the route presupposes completion of a university-accredited programme or of research. |
| Criminal-record condition | No as of 2026-06-12[3] s. 42(3) enumerates the documents required and lists only s. 31(1)(a), (d) and (e) – travel document, proof of accommodation and photographs – together with the completion certificate, the s. 42d(2)(c) means condition and travel medical insurance. s. 31(1)(g), the criminal-record document, is deliberately absent, and this is one of two routes in the family where it is. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 9 months as of 2026-07-01[1][3] s. 44(4)(b): 9 months for a long-term residence under s. 42(3). The route page states 'Up to 9 months with no possibility of extension.' |
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| How the initial term is set | fixed |
| Renewable | No as of 2026-07-01[1][3] 'The validity of a long-term residence permit for the purpose of seeking employment or starting a business cannot be extended.' |
| Maximum total duration | up to 9 months as of 2026-06-12[3] With no extension available, the statutory 9 months is also the aggregate. |
| Work rights | full as of 2026-07-01[1][4] |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-06-12[3] s. 68(2)(a) counts time on a long-term residence permit; s. 42(3) is not on the s. 68(3) exclusion list. Whether the preceding study time counts at one half under s. 68(2)(d)(1) is a question about that permit, not this one. |
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Requirements
| Job offer required | No as of 2026-07-01[1][3] The whole purpose of the permit is to look for work or start a business; s. 42(3) requires a completion certificate, not an offer. |
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| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-06-12[3] None is stated in s. 42(3). |
| Qualification requirement | degree as of 2026-07-01[1][3] s. 42(3): the applicant must be an existing holder of a research permit who has completed the research, or of a study permit under s. 64(a) – studies in an accredited university programme – who has successfully completed the studies. Only the study limb is a qualification in the ordinary sense; the research limb is recorded here because both are gated on completing a defined programme. |
| Employer sponsorship | No as of 2026-06-12[3] No employer is involved. |
| Job-search route | Yes as of 2026-07-01[1][3] This is the Czech post-study and post-research job-search instrument, recorded under the work family per the v1.0 G9 convention and flagged as such here. |
Process
| Where to apply from | in-country only as of 2026-07-01[1][3] s. 42(3) opens the application only to an existing holder of a Czech research or study permit. The route page states it in terms: 'No, you can only apply if you hold a long-term residence permit for the purpose of studies… or… for the purpose of scientific research in the Czech Republic.' |
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| Statutory processing time | up to 60 days as of 2026-07-01[1] 60 days. |
| Fees |
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| Quota |
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-06-12[3] s. 42a(7)(e) names an applicant for, or holder of, a permit under s. 42(3) among the sponsors for whom no residence-duration condition applies; s. 42a(3) allows the family application while the principal's own application is pending. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, minor child as of 2026-06-12[3] |
| Family may apply at the same time | Yes as of 2026-06-12[3] s. 42a(3) with s. 42a(7)(e): the family may apply while the principal's application is still pending. |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-07-01[4] Act No. 435/2004 Coll. s. 98(l). |
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 | 4 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-06-12 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-07-01 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-26 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Seeking Employment or Starting a Business
Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-01 · Accessed 2026-08-23 · Archived copy - [2] 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 - [3] 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 - [4] 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