Amendment to the Act on the Stay of Foreigners and related legislation

The most important news in the area of blue cards implemented in the law on the stay of foreigners

• Reduction of the required period of employment – while in the past a blue card could have been granted to an applicant who has concluded an employment relationship for at least 12 months, from 1 July 2023 it will be sufficient if the employment relationship is concluded for 6 months.

• Expanding the possibilities of proving that the conditions for the granting of a blue card have been met – while in the past it was necessary to present an employment contract as the mandatory attachment to the blue card application, now it is possible to present a contract on a future contract concluded between a future employer and a future employee as an alternative. At the same time, next to the previously required university diploma, proof of sufficient qualification can also be demonstrated alternatively by a certificate of professional experience.

• Extending the validity of the blue card – instead of the original two years, the new blue card can be issued with a validity of 3 years.

• Shortening of the legal deadline for issuing a blue card or related residence permits for family members – in the past, if family members of a blue card applicant applied for a related long-term residence permit, the deadline for issuing these permits was 270 days. Newly, if family members apply for their long-term residence permits together with the application for a blue card, the authorities will decide on the granting of these residence permits as a whole within 90 days from the filing of the applications. Furthermore, the deadline for issuing a blue card for an applicant who already holds a blue card issued in another EU member state is shortened - from the original 90 days to 30 days. This shortened period then applies not only for the applicant, but also for his/her family members applying for their residence permits together with this blue card application.

• Simplification of conditions for changing employer or job classification – while in the past blue card holders needed the approval of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic to change employer or job classification during the first two years of their stay, this obligation will no longer apply to them and it will be sufficient to notify the Ministry of the Interior of the relevant change within 3 days (the same regulation that applied in the past for blue card holders staying in the territory for more than 2 years).

As mentioned above, the said transposition of the European directive was also reflected in the Act on Employment. The labor market test is newly canceled for blue card applicants, so a blue card applicant can still apply for a blue card only for a job vacancy notified to the labor office and kept in the central register of job vacancies, but can do so immediately after this vacancy has been published and does not have to wait for a suitable candidate to be found on the domestic labor market within 30 days. The law now also explicitly stipulates that if a foreigner who is a holder of a blue card issued in another EU member state applies for a blue card, he/she can start working in the Czech Republic on the 30th day after submitting the application, regardless of whether his/her application has already been decided or not.

In addition to the transposition of the EU directive on the blue card, the amendment also brings several other novelties in other areas, but this is not always about simplifying the immigration process, in some cases it has rather been tightened. Thus, an extract from the criminal record in the country where the applicant is a citizen is now the mandatory attachment of the application for the visa/residency permit.  At the same time, the authorities may require an extract from the criminal record of the country in which the applicant has spent a cumulative period of 6 months in the last three years, while until now the condition of 6 months referred to a continuous stay in the country in question. The possibility of submitting an application for a visa or residence permit in a country where the foreigner is not a citizen has also been tightened - in order to be able to submit an application there, it is not enough that the foreigner holds a long-term or permanent residence permit in this country, but must have continuously resided there for at least 2 years. Unsupported children over the age of 18 lost the possibility to apply for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of family reunification - they will now have to apply for a different type of residence permit without being linked to their parents' residence permits.

On the contrary, the following changes can be seen as positive: the possibility to present matrimonial documents in electronic form, the extension of the time by which a foreigner must personally appear at the Ministry of the Interior upon arrival in the Czech Republic from the current 3 working days to 30 calendar days, or the extension of the maximum possible period of stay on the basis of seasonal visas from 6 to 9 months.

A separate chapter is the inclusion of children - holders of long-term residence permits, or those born in the territory who apply for a long-term residence permit, in the public health insurance system, while the insurance premiums for these children would be paid by legal representatives (parents) or guardians . This change should come into effect only from January 1, 2024. 

If you are interested in more detailed information on the above issues, do not hesitate to contact the authors of the article below.