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Czech Republic intra-company transfer (ICT) card

Intra-company employee transfer card (ICT card)

In short

Managers, specialists and employed trainees moved from a company outside the EU to a Czech branch or subsidiary of the same group receive the intra-company employee transfer card. You must have worked for the sending company for at least six months, and the card lasts up to three years for managers and specialists and one year for trainees.

Apply on Ministry of the Interior – application status (frs.gov.cz) checked 23 October 2026

Key facts

Maximum stay
Duration of the transfer: at most three years for managers and specialists, one year for trainees.
Validity
Entry with a 60-day single-entry visa to collect the card.
Fee
CZK 5,000Consular fee for the intra-company transfer card in the Czech MFA table.
Processing time
90 days.
Work
Yes, within the receiving Czech entity in the transferred role.
Family
Family members can apply for family reunification permits.
Path to permanent residence
The transfer is temporary; the sending company confirms you return after it ends.
Where to apply
In person at the Czech embassy or consulate responsible for your place of residence, after registering for an appointment as that mission instructs.

Who qualifies

The card is for non-EU nationals employed by a company based outside the EU who are transferred to a Czech subsidiary, branch or another company of the same group as a manager, specialist or employed trainee. You must have been employed by the sending company for at least six months immediately before the transfer. Trainees also need a university degree and a training agreement describing the professional development and supervision.

Transfer letter and group documents

The transfer letter confirms the transfer, role, duration and Czech place of work, states working hours, annual leave and salary, and confirms that you will return to the sending company afterwards. You add proof of six months’ prior employment, documents showing the corporate relationship between the two companies, proof of qualifications or regulated-profession recognition where required, accommodation and a criminal record extract, all in Czech.

Required documents

Identity

  • Application for a long-term residence permit (green form) and two photos

Travel

  • Valid passport (original)

Work

  • Transfer letter from the non-EU company (role, duration, place, hours, leave, salary, return)
  • Proof of at least six months’ employment with the sending company immediately before the transfer
  • Documents proving the corporate relationship between the sending and receiving companies

Insurance

  • Travel medical insurance in Czech translation, shown when collecting the visa

Other

  • Proof of accommodation in Czechia
  • Criminal record extract from your country of citizenship (and, where required, from other countries where you recently lived), with apostille and Czech translation

Supporting documents (where they apply)

Study

  • Trainees: university diploma and training agreement

Where to apply

The intra-company transfer card is lodged in person at the Czech mission responsible for your place of residence after registering for an appointment. The legal decision period is 90 days; the card is then collected in Czechia.

  1. Agree the transfer within the group and prepare the transfer letter and corporate documents.
  2. Check whether the Czech entity will nominate you for the Key and Research Staff Programme.
  3. Register for an appointment with the Czech mission responsible for your place of residence, selecting the intra-company transfer card.
  4. Lodge the green form with Czech-language documents, give fingerprints and pay CZK 5,000.
  5. After approval, collect the 60-day visa with insurance and pick up the card in Czechia.

Faster route for key staff

Transferred managers, specialists and statutory representatives can be included by the Czech entity in the Key and Research Staff Programme, which gives a guaranteed appointment and a decision within 30 days. Programme participants may replace the starred documents, such as accommodation and qualification proof, with an employer’s declaration.

From approval to the residence card

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.

Extension limits

The card can be extended at the Ministry of the Interior office, but the total stay may not exceed three years for managers and specialists or one year for trainees. A two-year transfer can therefore be extended by one more year at most.

Frequently asked questions

Can I be hired directly by the Czech subsidiary instead?

Yes, but then you need an employee card or Blue Card rather than a transfer card, because the transfer card requires a continuing contract with the non-EU company.

I hold an ICT card from another EU state. Do I need a Czech one?

Czechia has a separate card for intra-company transferees of another EU state, which is listed among the purposes accepted at the missions.

How long must I have worked for the company before the transfer?

At least six months immediately before the transfer.

Official sources

Summarised from the official sources above. Rules, fees and processing times change: confirm with the embassy or the official portal before you apply.

Other visa types for Czech Republic

Visits and short stays

Business and self-employment

  • Business visa Maximum stay: Up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area.
  • Self-employed and freelancer visa Maximum stay: Up to one year; extendable or convertible into a long-term residence permit for business in Czechia.
  • Investor visa Maximum stay: Issued for up to two years; renewable in Czechia.

Study and training

Work

  • Job seeker visa Maximum stay: Up to nine months, no extension.
  • Work visa Maximum stay: For the length of the contract, at most two years per card; renewable in Czechia.
  • Skilled worker visa Maximum stay: Depends on the permit obtained (employee card up to two years, Blue Card up to three).
  • EU Blue Card Maximum stay: Contract length plus three months, at most three years; renewable.
  • Seasonal work visa Maximum stay: Long-term seasonal visa: at most nine months in total, extensions included.
  • Digital nomad visa Maximum stay: Long-term visa for up to one year, then a long-term residence permit for the same purpose in Czechia.

Family

  • Family reunification visa Maximum stay: Same validity as the sponsor’s permit, at least one year; two years if the sponsor holds permanent residence.
  • Spouse and partner visa Maximum stay: Residence card for the expected length of the EU citizen’s stay, at most five years.

Residence

  • Permanent residence Maximum stay: Permanent; the residence card itself is renewed periodically.

Faster processing

Protection

  • Asylum and international protection Processing time: Time limits follow the amended Asylum Act and the EU Asylum Procedure Regulation applicable since 12 June 2026; manifestly unfounded claims go through an accelerated procedure.

Czech Republic visa guide