Czechia immigration rules are set to change from 1 July 2024 for foreign workers from non-EU countries. The act amendment includes reporting the job vacancies and EU Blue Card eased rules and, labor market testing.
Eliminating labor market test
The “Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs” is further loosening the rules for the labor market test and the job posting process. From 1 July 2024, depending on the current conditions in the labor market, it will be possible to waive the labor market test even in the case of jobs that can be filled by holders of employment cards.
The labor market test generally lasts 10 to 30 days, and during it, candidates without free access to the labor market cannot apply for the position. This means that Czech employers who intend to fill a job with a foreigner from a non-EU country without free access to the labor market are obliged to first notify the relevant regional branch of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic about the vacancy.
In general, the job position undergoes a so-called labor market test before it is offered to foreign nationals. This procedure aims to find out whether the given position cannot be filled by a citizen of the Czech Republic, the EU, or a foreigner from a country outside the EU who has free access to the labor market.
Labor market test exception for EU Blue Card
As of July 1, 2023, the labor market test has been canceled for jobs intended to be filled by EU blue card holders. However, the labor market test remained for holders of employee cards, the labor offices were only authorized to shorten the test to a minimum of 10 days given the current situation in the labor market. However, it is still not possible for foreigners without free access to the labor market to report to these places and submit their residence applications immediately.
Registration of available job posts
The Labor Office will now eliminate vacant jobs after six months from the date of their notification. The exception will be jobs for which the procedure for issuing a residence permit will be conducted at the given time. In addition, the labor office will be entitled to remove from the register jobs for which the employer does not provide the necessary cooperation to the office.
More worker categories with free access to the labor market
The list of exceptions to the obligation to have a work permit or an appropriate residence permit will undergo a very significant change. These exceptions are enumerated in the provisions of the Employment Act, which will be newly supplemented by the category of nationals of countries whose list is established by the government in its decree. Selected nationals will be granted free access to the labor market. The rules for their employment will thus be similar to those of EU citizens.
The new rules will regulate the procedure for notifying the sending of an employee of an employer established in another EU state to the Czech Republic to provide services. It specifies the form and data that the employer must report. In this case, the notification will now be sent to the State Labor Inspection Office, not the labor office. A significant innovation is the obligation to provide the labor inspectorate with documents proving the existence of an employment relationship between the worker and his employer, in the Czech or Slovak language.