Foreign nationals from Australia, Japan, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, Britain and the USA will most likely no longer require work permits or employment cards to work in the Czech Republic from July, according to the draft government regulation prepared by the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry.
In July, an amendment to Czech employment law is to come into force, under which people from the seven countries on the new list should not need a work permit, employee card, blue card or intra-corporate transfer. The cabinet will adjust the list of countries according to the current labour market situation after discussion in the tripartite board (comprising representatives of the government, employers and trade unions).
The measure is intended to facilitate the movement of high-skilled experts and managers from foreign countries, enabling them free access to the Czech labour market. The administrative burden on employers should also be reduced.
“When selecting the countries, particular consideration was given to the fact that it is a priority for the Czech Republic to support the recruitment and employment of highly qualified workers, and from a security point of view, the selected countries are countries with a minimum degree of risk,” the ministry said.
Workers from outside the EU and the European Economic Area currently need permits or cards to work in the Czech Republic. Some employers and investors have highlighted the lengthy procedure that complicates the process of bringing in experts.
According to the Labour Ministry, the countries on the list are among the strongest economically in the world, and the Czech Republic has long been interested in intensive cooperation with them. However, “reciprocal treatment” of Czech workers cannot be demanded from these countries, the draft regulation authors said.
The Czech Republic has agreements with most of the countries on the list (except for the USA and Britain) under which work permits are not required. However, they are not used very much, the ministry noted.
Foreign nationals from the selected countries are not working illegally in the Czech Republic, nor are they seeking asylum here, the ministry pointed out. They usually hold senior positions and perform skilled work, it said.
At the end of March, Czech employment offices registered 9,271 employees from the seven countries on the list. More than half of them had university or doctoral degrees, and more than 80% worked in highly skilled positions. Among all the foreigners employed in the Czech Republic, about one tenth have higher education, and less than one fifth are in highly professional positions.
People from the seven selected countries account for 1.1% of the foreign employees in the Czech Republic, whose total number reached 817,940 at the end of March. There were 4,434 workers from the UK, 2,505 from the USA, 929 from South Korea, 717 from Japan, 389 from Canada, 204 from Australia, and 93 from New Zealand.
