EU Blue Card

Highly qualified workers from non-EU countries can apply for an EU Blue Card, which allows them to live and work in the EU. The card is valid in all EU countries except Denmark and Ireland.

What rights do EU Blue Card holders have?

• enter, re-enter, and reside in the territory of the EU country issuing the Card

• have access to highly qualified employment in the Member State issuing the card

• enjoy equal treatment with nationals in terms of working conditions, education and training, social security, and access to services

• apply for family reunification permits of the same duration as the EU Blue Card

• accumulate periods of residence in several Member States in order to be entitled to an EU long-term residence permit

Requirements

• have a valid work contract or a binding offer for highly qualified work of at least six months

• receive an offer of gross annual remuneration that respects the threshold set by the Member States

• for regulated professions (i.e. for which specific licenses are required to practice the profession): comply with the requirements for practicing the profession, possibly notify any qualifications and/or registration in professional registers

• for non-regulated jobs: have the appropriate professional qualifications

• for IT workers: have the appropriate higher professional qualifications

Changes to the EU Blue Cards effective from July 2023

• Issuance of blue cards: Applicants for asylum, persons benefiting from complementary protection, and seasonal work visa in the Czech Republic may also apply for the blue card. People who are family members of an EU citizen can also apply for the blue card if they have family status in another EU Member State and wish to move to the Czech Republic alone or with an EU citizen.

• Consent of the Ministry of the Interior to a change of employer or professional classification: the holder of the Blue Card no longer needs to apply to the Ministry of the Interior for approval of a change of employer or professional classification. This also applies if the person stays in the Czech Republic for less than 2 years with the blue card. Therefore, all blue card holders are now obliged to notify such a change within 3 working days of the event.
  The new job position for which the blue card holder intends to be employed must continue to be part of the central register of vacancies that can be filled by blue card holders.
  The Blue Card holder must indicate in the notification (preferably in the notification form provided for these purposes) the numerical designation of this position or job vacancy.

• Requirements for applying for a Blue Card: Recently, both a current employment contract and a contract for a future one can be submitted as part of the Blue Card application. In both cases, the conclusion of such an employment relationship for a duration of 6 months will be sufficient.

• Applications submitted by a Blue Card holder in another EU Member State: If a person holding a valid Blue Card issued in another Member State applies for the issue of a Blue Card, he does not need to submit a document similar to the extract from the Criminal Records of the Czech Republic issued by his home country and the State in which he has resided for a total of at least 6 months in the last 3 years. If he can prove that he worked for at least 2 years before submitting the application, he does not even need to submit a document proving his high qualifications.

Digital Nomads

In 2023, the Czech government approved an economic migration program aimed at digital nomads, who will have the opportunity to apply for a residence permit in the Czech Republic. The program called ‘Digital Nomad’ focuses on highly qualified IT professionals, with the aim of facilitating their settlement in the Czech Republic. The aim of the program is to obtain an economic benefit for the Czech Republic and to respond to new trends in the field of international mobility of employees and so-called freelancers, especially in the IT sector. At the same time, other states, both within and outside the EU, are adopting their own approaches to enable the stay of so-called digital nomads, aware of their economic contribution to the national economy.

A digital nomad is a person who can work remotely regardless of the place of origin of the work using telecommunications means, either on the basis of employment with a foreign employer, in their own company with a registered office outside the Czech Republic, or with a Czech business license. Due to the nature of their work, nomads cannot have a classical employment relationship, both because of the one-time performance of the assigned tasks and because of the possible conflicts of multiple employment relationships and the resulting responsibilities. For example, the future of the IT sector lies, among other things, in the recruitment of digital nomads who, after completing a task, move on to other destinations or to other projects within the destination where they currently reside. Over the past 15-20 years, a strong base of multinational IT companies, technology start-ups, and investors has been established in the Czech Republic, who would utilize the services of digital nomads due to the lack of skilled labor in the Czech market.

By exploiting the potential of digital nomads, the Czech Republic gains an influx of foreign know-how by creating an attractive environment for foreign technology teams to develop their activities in the Czech Republic. In addition, the promotion of the Czech Republic abroad, both in general and in the international IT community, will increasingly develop, which could result in support for tourism and flexible forms of employment.

Requirements

Only citizens of Australia, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, the United States or the United Kingdom may apply to be included in the Digital Nomads Programme.

In addition, only the following persons may be included in the Digital Nomads Programme

• an employee of a foreign company who intends to work for more than 3 months from the territory of the Czech Republic using online telecommunication means (the person remains in an employment relationship with his/her foreign company and does not establish an employment relationship in the Czech Republic)

• a self-employed person who is (or will become) a holder of a Czech business license and thus a self-employed person (OSVČ)

• husband or wife, registered partner, and minor child or student under the age of 26 of the person named in either of the above two points

Sources: https://frs.gov.cz/; https://www.mzv.cz/

Sources of images: https://monade.cz/; https://it.mashable.com/

Graphic source: https://storyset.com/