Special Cases

Employment Permits issued with a view to the labour market situation

A work permit with respect to the labour market conditions is issued to a foreigner

• who is employed for seasonal work, i.e. work dependent on the season, for a period of max. 6 months in any period of 12 consecutive months;
  Work dependent on a season is work which is linked to a specific season depending on the recurring event or type of event based on seasonal conditions during which the labour needs are substantially greater than in the case of common types of events;
  The list of employment areas which include work dependent on the season is stipulated in Decree No. 322/2017 Coll. (331,34 kB);
• who will fulfil the tasks arising from the line of work of the legal person arranged by a partner, a governing body or a member of the governing body or another body of a business corporation for the business corporation;
  Business corporations must report a vacancy first. Then a partner, a governing body or a member of the governing body or other governing body will apply for a work permit (316,16 kB).
  The Employment Permit shall be issued for the performance of tasks arising out of the business of a business corporation for the business corporation (i.e. tasks directly related to the provision of production or provision of services and similar activities carried out by the business corporation in facilities designated for that activity or in places customary for their performance, in their own name and on their own responsibility), not to conduct business management activities;
• who holds a long-term residence permit for business purposes;
• who holds a long-term residence permit for investing purposes;
• who is employed in short-term employment of up to three months.

Employment Permits issued irrespective of the labour market situation

Employment Permits irrespective of the labour market situation are issued to a foreigner

• who will be employed for a time-limited period to improve his or her skills and qualifications in the employment (traineeship) chosen, but the employment will be for no longer than six months. This period may be extended, albeit for no longer than the time required to acquire the professional qualifications pursuant to legislation in force in the Czech Republic;
• up to the age of 26,employed in occasional and time-limited jobs as part of a school exchange or as part of youth programmes in which the Czech Republic participates;
• for whom this is laid down by a promulgated international agreement ratified by Parliament and binding on the Czech Republic;
• who has obtained a visa for the purpose of residence toleration under the Residence Act or has obtained a long-term residence permit for the same purpose, or
• who is an applicant for international protection or who has been issued confirmation of leave to remain in the Czech Republic under the Asylum Act, but no sooner than 6 months after the date of providing data for application for international protection;
• who is sent by a foreign employer to the CR to perform tasks ensuing from a contract concluded with a Czech legal entity or natural person (for more details see the section Despatching a Foreigner to the Czech Republic).

When a work permit cannot be issued

A work permit cannot be issued to a foreigner

• who has applied for international protection in the Czech Republic; for a period of 6 months from the date of providing the details for the application for international protection, or
• who does not meet any of the conditions laid down by this Act for the issue of a work permit;
• whose documents submitted pursuant to Section 91 have been fraudulently obtained, falsified or tampered with or which contain false data;
• whose employer has been finally fined for enabling illegal work within 4 months preceding the submission of the application for the work permit;
• whose employer has been finally ordered, within 3 months preceding the submission of the application for the work permit, to pay a fine exceeding CZK 50,000 for violating an obligation arising from labour regulations or for violating an obligation under other legislation the observance of which is supervised by the State Labour Inspection Office or the Regional Labour Inspectorate; or
• whose employer has had bankruptcy declared over its assets by a final judgment of a court and the bankruptcy has not yet been revoked

Who is not included within the scope of the Employment Act

The scope of the Employment Act does not cover the foreigners who

• work under a trade licence;
• pursue activities in the territory of the Czech Republic as part of exchange traineeships for students and young graduates from higher education institutions if the activities are pursued under the following conditions:
  • the purpose of the exchange traineeship is education, including lifelong learning,
  • the work, if any, is part of that education,
  • the admittance of the foreigner to the territory of the Czech Republic is not contingent on his or her work performance, and the conditions of granting such admittance are based on a contract with a foreign sending organisation (usually as a scholarship or a foundation’s contribution) rather than on an employment contract or other individually arranged employment agreement with a legal or natural entity having its registered office in the Czech Republic.

Compliance with the above conditions can be proved by a contract (usually for international educational cooperation) under which the foreigner has been posted to the territory of the Czech Republic.