Free access to the labour market for nationals of nine countries, including the USA and Israel

As of 1 July 2024, an amendment to the Employment Act (and other laws) will come into force, which has the potential to significantly facilitate access to the labour market in the Czech Republic for foreigners from certain third countries. For the purposes of employment, these foreigners will no longer be required to have an employment permit.

The fundamental change lies in the new provision of Section 98 of Act No. 435/2004 Coll., the Employment Act, specifically by adding new provision marked as letter u). This is an extension of the group of foreigners who, for the purposes of employment or performance of work, are not subject to the obligation to hold an employment permit, an employee card, a blue card or an intra-corporate transfer card. The condition is simple – it is necessary to be a foreigner of a country designated by the government by regulation as a country whose citizens are not required to have an employment permit to work or perform work. The regulation was approved by the government on 5th June.  The exemption would apply to foreign nationals from the following countries: Australia, Japan, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel. In the draft of list also Taiwan was included but the government did not approved Taiwan as one of the countries.

The foreigners listed in Section 98 of the Employment Act have simplified access to the Czech labour market because they are not required to have an employment permit (or employment permit incorporated into the cards issued for employment purposes). Thus, they do not have to apply for any form of employment permit, the acquisition of which is subject to several specific conditions. On the other hand, it is important to note that the issue of employment authorization is a purely labour law issue. Foreigners from third countries, even if they are covered by some of the exceptions listed in Section 98 of the Employment Act, still need a residence permit under the Act on the Residence of Foreigners.

Although the amendment mainly changes labour law and does not directly affect the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, the extension of Section 98 of the Employment Act has significant implications in foreigners’ law. Foreigners from the countries mentioned above will feel a major impact, especially in procedures for applications for employment cards.

In the case of an application for an employment card, the foreigner concerned by the extended exemption will no longer have to meet all the conditions pursuant to Section 42g(2)(a)-(c) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners (for the so-called dual employment card). Therefore, applications will not be linked to specific jobs listed in the vacancy register and it will not be necessary to prove the condition of professional competence. The only major condition to be fulfilled is the proof of an employment contract or an agreement on employment (or a future contract by which the parties undertake to conclude such an agreement), while the terms of the contract remain (minimum scope of 15 hours per week and minimum monthly wage regardless of the scope of work). In addition, in accordance with Section 42g(1) of the Employment Act, foreigners referred to in Section 98 of the Employment Act are not subject to the notification obligations under Section 42g(7) to (10) of the Employment Act, i.e. notification of a change of employer to the Ministry of the Interior.

Given that the conditions for issuing an employment card are significantly simplified for foreigners listed in Section 98 of the Employment Act who are interested in working in the Czech Republic, this form of residence permit becomes a rather interesting solution. In addition to the simplified conditions, these foreigners also have considerably greater freedom to change their employment, compared to applicants who are not covered by the exemption – due to the elimination of the obligation to notify changes. At the same time, these foreigners are also not at such a risk of losing their employment card due to failure to report a change of employer pursuant to Section 63(1) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners.

If you would like more information regarding the employment of foreigners, please do not hesitate to contact our Immigration and Visa Law desk or directly its head Mgr. Petr Merta.