Frequently asked questions
1. Won’t foreigners take Czech citizens’ jobs?
2. Why have there only been limited numbers of countries selected for the first years?
3. What does the project and the CR offer to foreign experts?
4. Why is there no list of required professions available at present?
5. Why isn’t the project open to asylum seekers and illegal workers at present?
6. Why is the project not open to entrepreneurs?
7. Why is the trial period two and a half years long?
8. Is working in a qualified position a necessary condition for participating in the project?
9. Will my previous stay in the Czech Republic be recognised as a part of 2,5 years (1,5 year) period?
10.Is it necessary to undergo an examination in Czech ?
11. My spouse does not have the visa for the purpose of employment. May he/she also apply for the project together with me?
12. How shall I be informed of the fact that I have been accepted in the selection procedure?
13. Which documents need to be translated into Czech?13. Which documents need to be translated into Czech?
14. Am I obligated to report the prolongation of visa, employment contract or a new work permit?
15. I have received the recommendation to be granted permanent residence. Where should I present it?
16. Do I need any examination or recognition of qualification if I wish to practise a regulated profession or professional activity in the Czech Republic?
1. Won’t foreigners take Czech citizens’ jobs?
Entry into the selection procedure will only be possible provided employment in the CR has already been arranged and having gained previous working experience somewhere else. In practice employment arranged in the Czech Republic means a work permit has been issued by a local Labour Exchange office with respect to the labour market situation. That should ensure that situations where a foreign expert receives a job which could have been occupied by a qualified Czech expert do not occur.
The project will not endanger the Czech Republic inhabitants’ job opportunities. What is called “employment paradox” is well documented in the CR, as well as in other developed countries, . This means that while there is relatively high unemployment there is, at the same time, an increasing number of vacancies in the same sectors, which cannot be occupied by local employees either due to insufficient qualification or due to lack of mobility.
According to the Announcement of the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament no. 336, on immigration, integration and employment dated from June 2003: „as regards job opportunities, there is nearly no evidence showing that immigration would lead to the increase of unemployment. In a short-term horizon, immigration may have a positive impact on domestic employment due to the fact that it increases flexibility of the labour market. That applies mostly to temporary migration. In principle, the immigrants do not force out domestic labour force as their capabilities and qualifications may supplement the EU citizens’ capabilities and qualifications. Nevertheless a negative impact on certain groups of inhabitants or industries cannot be excluded".
2. Why have there only been limited numbers of countries selected for the first years?
The limited scope of the project is appropriate for to several reasons. Had the project included more countries, only the best of the best would have had a real chance. Of course that would be positive for the Czech Republic but the situation following the project expansion to all countries would be difficult to anticipate. Such a solution would also be more demanding from the financial point of view. The execution of the planned measures never causes great enthusiasm in target countries. In this way, the possible negative political impact of the project implementation is being reduced. The project is limited to several countries only in its initial phase. The final target is to expand it to the whole world.
After the accession to EU, European rules for employment of foreigners have been applied in our country so it would be senseless to open the project to EU member states. We tried to select countries with different characteristics to be able to test the selection criteria set-up also.
3. What does the project and the CR offer to foreign experts?
The possibility to apply together with their family for permanent residence in the CR in shortened period after only two and a half years is the main incentive for applicants joining the project. Starting from July 1st 2007, highly qualified workers category includes the project participants with university level education who are working in the Czech Republic on the positions requiring university level education and corresponding to their qualification (education or practice). This category of foreigners may apply for permanent residence already after 1,5 year of their participation in the project.
Under valid legislation, the period for getting permanent residence in the CR is five years.
Besides that, project participants will be granted a 45 days grace period in order to find a new job if in the first year of their project participation they lose their job through no fault of their own. In the course of following years of their participation in the project the participants are granted the grace period also if they lose their job for other reasons, except termination of employment due to gross violation of working discipline - s. 52 (1) g of Act no. 262/2006 Sb., Labour Code. Foreigners who do not participate in the project must leave the territory of the Czech Republic immediately following the dismissal from work.
CR may also offer: an improved status during stay, a helpful integration policy, many future possibilities within the EU , a relatively non-xenophobic and non-racist society, language and cultural relations with the East-European region.
Foreigners’ interest in life in the CR is made evident by the fact that there are more than 351 thousand foreigners living in the CR. That is more than in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia taken together.
4. Why is there no list of required professions available at present?
There will be no list of particular professions required by the market in the first stage of the project.
According to German and Canadian experience, it is impossible to estimate future labour force needs precisely. That is why the immigration system has to be flexible and able to react to the development in respect of numbers and qualification of people needed in the labour market. Lists of „positive“ and „negative“ professions are not necessary. Quite the contrary . Sometimes they are very problematic as all qualifications may be useful in the modern world of labour.
5.Why isn’t the project open to asylum seekers and illegal workers at present?
Asylum seekers, whose asylum procedure has not yet reached final and conclusive decision, and those foreigners who have been denied asylum and who have no obstacles for their leaving the Czech Republic will not be able to join the selection procedure from the territory of the CR. However, they may interrupt the asylum procedure, leave the country and apply for entry to the project through Czech consular offices in their home countries.
Rejected asylum seekers are mostly people abusing the Czech asylum procedure mostly for economic reasons. That is why it would not be appropriate to provide them with the benefits of entering the selection procedure from Czech territory as that would present an unsubstantiated advantage over applicants who enter the procedure only after passing the required visa procedure. Nevertheless, if rejected asylum seekers leave the Czech Republic, and later-on obtains the necessary work permit and visa for over 90 days for the purpose of employment , nobody will prevent them from joining the selection procedure in the standard manner.
Foreigners staying and working in the CR illegally will be punished by being banned from entering the project.
The project does not exclude persons working legally in the CR, e.g. in blue-collar professions. Furthermore, if they have completed secondary education at least and if they know Czech, they have a great chance of success
6. Why is the project not open to entrepreneurs?
TThe foreign experience from similar projects, namely the one in Quebec, is why the project is only set up for employees. In the age of capital mobility, entrepreneurs only use similar projects when it is advantageous for them, and as soon as a more attractive incentive appears an outflow of capital takes place. The CR is interested in long-term benefit, and so it prefers employees, who could be forced-out by the entrepreneurs because of limited quotas.
There is another risk that members of often fictitious multiple companies and cooperatives, who already abuse visas for over 90 days for the purpose of participation in legal entities, would enter the procedure.
We do not exclude the possibility that, based on the results of the project, the procedure will be expanded also to other groups of people originally excluded from the project, e.g. entrepreneurs.
7. Why is the trial period two and a half years long?
The standard period after which it is possible to obtain a permanent residence permit is five years of uninterrupted stay within the territory of the Czech Republic; obviously, the period is shortened for successful participants of the project. You can enter the two and a half year period provided you obtain at least 25 out of 66 possible points in the selection procedure. Starting from July 1st 2007, highly qualified workers category includes the project participants with university level education who are working in the Czech Republic on the positions requiring university level education and corresponding to their qualification (education or practice). This category of foreigners may apply for permanent residence already after 1,5 year of their participation in the project. Hitherto experience of the project implementation shows that highly qualified experts with university level of education face no problems with their integration into the Czech society. Many of them start to work in the area of their specialization immediately after their arrival to the CR and so they are very appreciated in the CR. Creation of the new category shall allow those people sooner stabilization of their situation and shall motivate them to stay in the Czech Republic.
The main criteria in the preferential procedure include the level of completed education and professional experience. Your age, your linguistic competence and previous experience with life in the Czech Republic is of considerable importance as well as your family situation being an essential factor of immigrants’ adaptability.
Particular documents that must be produced after the applicant is selected in the computerised selection procedure are then verified in the applicant’s country of origin. If any discrepancies or falsehoods are found in the submitted documents, the applicant will be excluded from the project forever.
After the trial period, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will carry out so-called social check-ups; within their framework, employers and representatives of local municipalities and possibly also representatives of other institutions from the place of the immigrant’s residence will be asked whether the person in question has fulfilled the objectives of the project –whether he or she managed to integrate into the Czech society to the greatest possible extent. If the Ministry’s conclusion is positive, it will recommend that the Foreigners’ Dept. of the Police and Border Control of the CR issue a permanent residence permit for the given project participant and his family members in a shortened period.
8. Is working in a qualified position a necessary condition for participating in the project?
Legal employment in the CR based on the work permit is one of the conditions for entering the project. The foreigner may work in any position in any industry. Furthermore, the participation in the project should help perspective employees find jobs corresponding to their qualification.
9. Will my previous stay in the Czech Republic be recognised as a part of 2,5 years (1,5 year) period?
It will not, but you will be given points for it.
Your previous stay in the Czech Republic is rewarded as a previous experience with life in the Czech Republic: for every uninterrupted six months period spent in the Czech Republic before being selected in the selection procedure you will be assigned one point; the maximum is 6 points.
Similarly, you will be given 1 point for every six months of any full-time employment prior to the first day of the validity of the work permit related to employment with which you apply to the project. Again, you can obtain a maximum of 6 points.
10.Is it necessary to undergo an examination in Czech?
It is not obligatory to know Czech or any other language for which points are allotted. You can obtain 6 points for certified knowledge of the Czech or Slovak language; certified knowledge of English, German, or French will be rewarded with 3 points for each language. The maximum number of points achievable for linguistic competence is 9 points.
Your knowledge of a language can be documented by a certificate of an examination passed at a language school in the Czech Republic, or by a certificate of a language examination marked on the secondary school leaving certificate, or by a document of a comprehensive or a state examination in the language passed during university studies.
If you have studied at a secondary school or university where Czech, Slovak, English, German, or French was the language of instruction, the school leaving certificate is considered a document proving the knowledge of the relevant language.
Participants of the government project need not submit a document proving the required knowledge of the Czech language on the basis of section 66 paragraph 1 letter b) of Act No 326/1999 Coll.
11. My spouse does not have the visa for the purpose of employment. May he/she also apply for the project together with me?
Your spouse may apply for participation in the project together with you while staying in the CR based on the visa issued for other purpose than employment. Thus he/she will become a part of your application, and after successful two and a half years’ test period MoLSA shall recommend him/her, as well as you, to be granted permanent residence.
12. How shall I be informed of the fact that I have been accepted in the selection procedure?
We will inform you of the fact that you have been selected in a letter . We shall ask you to present documents certifying the data stated in you application form. You will bring them in person within 2 months following the day of the selection procedure to the Project administrative office of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - Vyšehradská ulice 43, Praha 2.
Working hours are:
Monday, Wednesday: 8.00 – 11.30 and 13.00 – 16.00
Tuesday, Thursday: 8.00 – 11.30.
If you fail to produce the required documents within the determined period, you will be excluded from the project.
Applicants who do not receive the invitation to produce documents within 30 days from the selection procedure, have not been selected in that given selection procedure. If the number of points they obtained exceeds the limit of 25 points but they were not selected in the frame of quota for the decisive period, they will be automatically included in the next selection procedure.
13. Which documents need to be translated into Czech?
Documents which do not have to be translated into Czech are the following: a valid travel document, an employment contract (or other written proof of existing legal employment within the territory of the Czech Republic) signed by the Czech employer, a valid visa, an educational certificate if issued by a Czech educational institution, and a valid work permit.
Other documents must be presented as a notarially certified copy with a certified translation into Czech.
Officially authenticated translation into the Czech language is provided by certified translators in the Czech Republic. A list of them can be found on the Ministry of Justice website http://portal.justice.cz/uvod/JusticeEN.aspx.
Out of the Czech Republic territory, an officially authenticated translation can be done only by translators certified in each individual country. Information about them will be provided at Embassies of the Czech Republic. At the same time, the Czech Republic Embassies are competent to verify the correctness of a translation.
14. Am I obligated to report the prolongation of visa, employment contract or a new work permit?
According to item 4 of the „Guidelines for project participants“ you signed when being accepted to the project, you are obligated to report any changes to the information given in the application form to the Project Administrative Office of the MoLSA and certify them with respective documents submitted within 8 days from the occurrence of the changes. You must report regularly the issuance of new work permits, visas, employment contracts as well as their prolongation, change of contact address etc. If you do not report these changes affecting your participation in the project timely, you will be excluded from the project without a chance to reapply in the future.
15. I have received the recommendation to be granted permanent residence. Where should I present it?
If you have received the recommendation to be granted the permanent residence permit, present it to the Asylum and Migration Policy Department, Czech Ministry of Interior (Оdbor azylové a migrační politiky Ministerstva vnitra ČR) - Nad Štolou 3, Praha 7, in its working hours: Monday - Friday from 08.00 to 15.00, phone number: 974 833 132 or 974 833 134.
16. Do I need any examination or recognition of qualification if I wish to practise a regulated profession or professional activity in the Czech Republic?
Recognition of Professional Qualifications for foreigners
To practise some professions, a foreigner needs recognition of the relevant qualification. In the Czech Republic it concerns 475 professions and activities. The full list can be found at website of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport: Database of regulated professions and professional activities in EU
A regulated profession or activity is a profession/activity which is subject to legislative requirements of an EU member state, the Czech Republic in this case, (e. g. level and field of education, qualification requirements, experience, requirements concerning integrity, physical fitness etc.) which, if not met, do not allow the person to pursue the given profession/activity in the Czech Republic.
Recognition of Professional Qualifications is regulated by Act No 18 /2004 Coll., on the recognition of professional qualifications and other competencies of nationals of Member States of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland.
However in practice the same conditions concerns also other nationals (with only a very few exceptions) and they are valid also for those who have entered the project Selection of Qualified Foreign Workers.
Among regulated professions belong also a medical doctor (physician), a dentist and a pharmacist – more information about recognition of their professional qualification can be found HERE