As reported by Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Říman, it is about the introduction of 'green cards' for qualified foreign workers, as has been done in a number of other European countries. This document will allow foreigners to immediately obtain a residence permit for two years and after this period to apply for a permanent residence permit.
Today, it is quite difficult for a non-EU foreigner to find a job in the Czech Republic. The entire process of obtaining a work permit and visas can take up to six months or even longer. Moreover, documents are issued only for one year, then they need to be obtained again. Under the new rules, the process of issuing 'green cards' should be reduced to one to two months. The government is going to submit this bill to parliament so that it comes into effect as early as next year.
Of course, not everyone who wants to get a 'green card' will be able to. To do this, several conditions must be met. The first and most important: provide a labor agreement with a specific employer for two years. In addition, the potential worker must prove that they have the necessary qualifications for the position. Furthermore, several indicators will be evaluated: future salary, education obtained in the Czech Republic, and profession. According to Martin Říman, preference in selection will be given to representatives of a number of blue-collar occupations, as well as programmers, doctors, and teachers.
In their desire to attract skilled labor from abroad, the Czech authorities are willing to go far: for representatives of some specialties, they may even cancel the mandatory requirement of knowledge of the Czech language. 'A welder, for example, does not need to know Czech well to do his job well,' the minister reasoned sensibly.
The introduction of 'green cards', according to Říman, could solve a serious problem facing the Czech economy – a shortage of highly qualified specialists. 'Last year, 50 thousand job vacancies were registered in the country, half of which were vacancies for qualified specialists. In the end, employers were forced to attract employees from abroad,' the senior Czech official stated.
'Green cards' could complement or even replace the project of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to attract foreign specialists, which has been in effect for 4 years. As the Czech authorities admit, it proved ineffective: only 600 people participated in it over the entire period.
Martin Říman added that the new project is 90% aimed at specialists from the former USSR, since citizens of EU countries do not need a work permit in the Czech Republic. People from the countries formed on the territory of the former Union have the necessary qualifications and adapt easily in the Czech Republic due to linguistic and cultural proximity.
Today, according to official data, 194 thousand foreigners work legally in the Czech Republic, half of whom are Slovaks and a quarter are Ukrainians. Another approximately 200 thousand foreigners work in the Czech Republic illegally.