Czech Republic EU Blue Card

You need a signed employment contract or future-employment agreement for at least six months on legal weekly hours, for a position listed in the central database of vacancies for Blue Card holders. Gross monthly or annual pay must reach 1.5 times the average gross annual wage published by the Ministry of Labour; the figure valid on the date of the decision counts.

High qualification means a completed university degree or higher professional education of at least three years. For occupations listed in Decree No. 205/2023 Coll., professional experience comparable to a degree is enough, and people who held a Blue Card in another EU state for more than two years need not prove qualifications except for regulated professions.

Besides the form with the vacancy number, passport and photos you submit the contract, proof of high qualification, proof of accommodation already arranged and a criminal record extract, all in Czech or officially translated. Applicants who lived in another EU state before applying also prove the family’s monthly income.

MPSV communication No. 44/2026 Coll. sets the average gross monthly wage for 2025 at CZK 49,215, giving an average gross annual wage of CZK 590,580 for 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027. At 1.5 times that average, the contract must offer about CZK 73,823 gross a month (CZK 885,870 a year). Until 30 April 2026 the minimum was CZK 69,247 a month.

Blue Card applications are lodged in person at the Czech mission responsible for your place of residence after registering for an appointment, where Blue Card appears among the residence permit purposes, or with a programme appointment if the employer is in the Highly Qualified Worker or Key and Research Staff programme. The Ministry of the Interior decides within 90 days.

After approval the mission issues a single-entry long-term visa valid for 60 days. When collecting it you show travel medical insurance in Czech translation, normally for one month until you join Czech public health insurance through your employer. In Czechia you report your address within three working days and give biometrics at the Ministry of the Interior office for your place of stay, which then issues the card.

Since 1 January 2026 the Ministry may refuse, cancel or decline to extend long-term permits, including employee cards and Blue Cards, if the holder commits three recorded offences within 12 months.

The card is issued for the contract period plus three months, at most three years, and can be renewed between 90 and 14 days before expiry. A change of employer or position must be reported to the Ministry of the Interior within three working days. The card is withdrawn after more than three consecutive months of unemployment or repeated unemployment, unless the job ended for organisational or health reasons listed in the Labour Code.

Appeals against a refused residence permit go directly to the Ministry of the Interior, Department for Asylum and Migration Policy, within the deadline stated in the decision; they are not lodged through the consulate.