Reception at the police for foreigners
– From August 15, 2017, some changes to the law "On the Stay of Foreigners in the Territory of the Czech Republic" come into force. What are these changes, and who do they affect?
– First of all, I would like to note that most of the changes and amendments to the law "On the Stay of Foreigners" concern foreigners who are already in the territory of the Czech Republic and are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. For foreigners who come to the consular departments of our embassies and apply for visas or long-term residence, there have not been so many changes in the law.
However, there are still a few innovations. First of all, new types of visas and long-term residence have been introduced – these are Schengen visas for the purpose of seasonal work and a long-term residence permit for large investors who plan to make investments in the territory of the Czech Republic.
– What exactly type of seasonal work is meant?
– As for this type of visa, we are still waiting for clarifications from other ministries, but it concerns foreign applicants who intend to come to the Czech Republic for a period of no more than 90 days during the season. For example, in the summer to help with agricultural work – picking apples, pears, working in the field, that is, performing work of this particular type.
– Could you tell us a little more about the conditions for applying for long-term visas for the purpose of investment in the Czech Republic?
– As I already mentioned, this provision concerns large investors who want to make significant investments in the Czech Republic. There are two main conditions: the amount of the potential investment must be at least 75 million Czech crowns (2.8 million euros), and the potential investor must provide jobs for at least 25 people. If a foreigner meets these conditions, the rest of the documents are almost the same as for other types of visas – accommodation, finances, criminal record certificate. So this type is focused on large investors with serious intentions.
– What other changes await visa applicants at the foreign missions of the Czech Republic?
– Next, there have been changes that focus on the practice of our consulates. From now on, the rules for submitting visa applications are better clarified, the personal presence of the applicant, in the case when a person comes to apply for a visa but his set of documents is missing something, he is explained the details. When conducting an interview, the improvements are that if a person does not speak either Czech or English, and does not have an interpreter, then the interview can now be conducted by consulate staff in Russian. Moreover, this applies to both long-term visas and long-term residence, for example, in the case of study. These are the practical aspects in visa practice that the new changes in the law bring.
– A new type of long-term residence is also being introduced, called the "intra-corporate transferee work card". Could you tell us more about this?
– Yes, there is such a new type of residence, but it is very specific, there are very clear conditions, and I am afraid that if I started listing them, it would be unclear. I think that there will be very few such cases in practice. Therefore, I would recommend consulting with the staff of the Ministry of the Interior on this issue or looking at their website, where this procedure is described and all documents are listed.
– In accordance with the new changes from August 15, 2017, work cards are abolished for founders of legal entities who perform the duties of executive directors or other functions in companies of which they are founders or co-founders. Please comment on this innovation.
– Yes, that is indeed the case. In accordance with the amendments to the law, these persons can apply not for a work card, but for a long-term visa for the purpose of business. The purpose of this change was to prevent cases of abuse, when people applied for a work card but then did not engage in work activities. Therefore, on the initiative of the Ministry of the Interior, this provision was clarified, and now these persons must apply for a long-term visa for the purpose of business.
Olga VASINKEVICH.
"Radio Prague"