Czech RepublicWork

Czech skilled worker programmes for qualified employees

Government programmes for qualified staff: Highly Qualified Worker and Key and Research Staff

In short

Czechia has no separate skilled worker visa; instead, government programmes run by the Ministry of Industry and Trade let employers register qualified foreign staff, who then apply for an employee card, Blue Card or intra-company transfer card with a guaranteed appointment. The Qualified Worker programme for lower-skilled jobs is limited to citizens of 13 listed countries.

Apply on Ministry of Industry and Trade – Economic migration checked 23 October 2026

Key facts

Maximum stay
Depends on the permit obtained (employee card up to two years, Blue Card up to three).
Validity
Inclusion in a programme is valid for one year.
Fee
CZK 5,000Consular fee for the employee card, Blue Card or intra-company transfer card; inclusion in a programme itself is free.
Processing time
Key and Research Staff: decision within 30 days of submission. Highly Qualified Worker: guaranteed appointment, standard legal time limits.
Work
Yes, under the permit issued.
Family
Closest family members can apply together with the employee in both programmes.
Path to permanent residence
Through the five-year residence route of the underlying permit.
Where to apply
Employer applies to MPO or CzechInvest; the employee then applies in person at the Czech mission responsible for their place of residence.

Key and Research Staff Programme

This programme supports investors, research organisations, technology companies and start-ups bringing in statutory representatives, managers and specialists, both transferred staff and new hires in CZ-ISCO groups 1–3 (medical professions excepted). The Ministry of Industry and Trade assesses investors at klicovypersonal@mpo.gov.cz and CzechInvest assesses research bodies, technology firms and start-ups at programklicovy@czechinvest.org. Participants get a guaranteed appointment for themselves and close family, simplified documents and a decision within 30 days.

Highly Qualified Worker Programme

The programme is meant for newly hired employees in jobs of CZ-ISCO major groups 1–3 (managers, professionals, technicians) in manufacturing, services or the public sector, and for transferred managers and specialists. The employer must have operated in Czechia for at least two years, have no tax, social or health insurance arrears, and have employed at least three people for three consecutive months in the two years before applying. Applications go to vysocekvalifikovani@mpo.gov.cz; health professionals are assessed by the Ministry of Health.

What the employer submits

For the first inclusion the employer sends the programme application form, a statutory declaration, a statutory declaration guaranteeing the salary, and certificates from the tax office and the Czech Social Security Administration. For a posted worker, proof of at least six months’ prior employment with the sending company is added. Further employees can be added during the year with the form and salary declaration only.

Required documents

Travel

  • Employee: passport, photos and the permit application form

Work

  • Employer: programme application form (MPO template)
  • Employer: statutory declaration and statutory declaration guaranteeing the wage
  • Employer: certificates of no arrears from the tax office and the Czech Social Security Administration

Other

  • Employee: criminal record extract and other legally required documents in Czech

Supporting documents (where they apply)

Work

  • Posted workers: proof of six months’ employment with the sending company

How the employee applies

Once included, the employee does not book an appointment: the mission contacts the employer’s contact person with a date taken from the programme quota. The employee then lodges the permit application in person with the documents required by law, but may replace accommodation, contract and qualification documents with the employer’s declaration where the programme allows.

  1. Check with the employer which programme fits: Highly Qualified Worker or Key and Research Staff.
  2. The employer sends the inclusion request to MPO, the Ministry of Health or CzechInvest.
  3. After inclusion, wait for the Czech mission to assign a date via the employer.
  4. Lodge the employee card, Blue Card or transfer card application in person with Czech-language documents.
  5. After approval, travel on the 60-day visa and collect the card in Czechia.

Forms

No legal entitlement

Neither employer nor employee has a legal right to be included. The Qualified Worker Programme for CZ-ISCO groups 4–8 is open only to citizens of 13 listed countries; other workers for such jobs apply for an ordinary employee card through their mission’s registration.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply to the programme myself?

No. Inclusion is requested by the employer; the employee is named in the employer’s application.

Does the programme replace the work permit?

No. It only facilitates submission; you still obtain an employee card, Blue Card or intra-company transfer card decided by the Ministry of the Interior.

Can my family come with me?

Yes. In both programmes the closest family members may lodge their applications together with the employee.

Is a factory worker eligible?

Not under these two programmes, which cover CZ-ISCO groups 1–3. Other occupations use the ordinary employee card, or the Qualified Worker programme for citizens of its 13 listed countries.

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.
  • EU Blue Card Maximum stay: Contract length plus three months, at most three years; renewable.
  • Intra-company transfer visa Maximum stay: Duration of the transfer: at most three years for managers and specialists, one year for trainees.
  • 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