IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? The Czech Republic has taken steps to make it easier for highly qualified Ukrainian nationals to apply for employee cards to work in the Czech Republic.

What does the change mean? Highly qualified Ukrainian nationals can apply for Czech Republic Employee Cards in person at either the Czech Embassy in Kiev or the Czech Consulate in Lviv. Until this week, it had been almost impossible for Ukrainian nationals to obtain the cards due to extreme difficulty in booking online appointments via the Czech Republic’s electronic VISAPOINT system.

  • Implementation time frame: The Czech government approved the new arrangement Nov. 9, and it took effect immediately.
  • Visas/permits affected: Employee cards.
  • Who is affected: Highly qualified Ukrainian nationals applying for employee cards in the Czech Republic. Ukrainian nationals qualify as highly qualified if they have a post-secondary degree and earn at least 38,529 Czech koruna (about US$1,540) per month.
  • Business impact: The change will significantly benefit a number of multinational companies operating in the Czech Republic, particularly those in the IT sector.
  • Next steps: Highly qualified Ukrainian nationals can now apply in person for employee cards at either the Czech Embassy in Kiev or the Czech Consulate in Lviv.

Background: Employee cards function as a joint work and residence permit for foreign nationals who wish to stay in the country for longer than three months in order to work.

In the past year, it became increasingly difficult for Ukrainian nationals to book the appointments to obtain employee cards through the VISAPOINT system because groups in the Ukraine would book appointments online as soon as they were available and subsequently sell the appointments to Ukrainians looking to work in the Czech Republic. This caused problems for many multinational companies operating in the Czech Republic, particularly those in the IT sector, as they traditionally relied on highly qualified Ukrainian nationals to help meet labor demands.

The recent change will allow highly qualified Ukrainians to bypass VISAPOINT and apply for Czech Republic Employee Cards in person.

BAL Analysis: The change is welcome news to the Czech business community, particularly its IT sector, where it has become imperative to hire a highly qualified workforce.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in the Czech Republic. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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