The Czech Parliament has approved a tightening of the law on the stay of foreigners
As reported by Vinegret.cz, the bill was returned to deputies by the Senate after adding its own notes. This means that it will now go directly to the president for signature, after which it will come into force. The document contains the following main innovations.
Accelerated deportation of migrant criminals
It is proposed to deprive a foreigner of documents for long-term or permanent residence (temporary and permanent residence permits) if they intentionally commit three criminal offenses. The severity of these offenses and the punishment imposed by the court will not be taken into account. Today, this limit is four offenses. In addition, according to the current law, a foreigner may lose their permanent residence permit if they commit one serious criminal offense punishable by more than 3 years of actual imprisonment. The new law retains this condition.
A migrant deprived of a temporary or permanent residence permit will be able to challenge this decision in court. The appeal review period will be a maximum of 90 days. The same amount of time is proposed for the Supreme Administrative Court to consider cassation complaints. That is, the entire process will take a maximum of 6 months. Currently, no deadlines are set for this, and the deportation procedure for a migrant criminal can take years.
Mandatory integration course
The bill obliges foreigners from third countries (non-EU) to complete an integration course similar to the one that is currently voluntary. This must be done within one year of receiving the first long-term residence permit (dlouhodobý pobyt – temporary residence permit) or permanent residence permit (trvalý pobyt – permanent residence permit). Violators are proposed to be fined 10,000 crowns.
The main goal of the eight-hour educational program is to teach newcomers the basics of the Czech language, inform them about the customs and culture of the country, provide information about the rights and obligations of migrants, as well as the activities of various agencies and integration centers. In this way, the ministry wants to minimize the risk of the formation of isolated national groups.
"If a foreigner wants to live and work in the Czech Republic, they must know how things work here and understand what we expect from them. They must adapt to us, not we to them. A foreigner is obliged to know the Czech language at a certain level and respect social norms," said Ondřej Benešík, chairman of the parliamentary committee for European affairs, earlier.
The innovation will apply only to recently arrived migrants. The following will be exempt from completing the integration course:
• persons under 15 and over 61 years of age;
• employees of international companies sent to the Czech Republic on a business trip under a special visa (Karta vnitropodnikového zaměstnance);
• persons who have been granted international protection;
• holders of an investor temporary residence permit;
• holders of a temporary residence permit issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic;
• persons who have already completed an integration course.
The course will begin in January 2021. It will be held at Centers for the Integration of Foreigners (Centra na podporu integrace cizinců), which are to be established in all fourteen regions of the republic. Their work will be financed by the government.
Regulation of economic migration
The developed document gives the government the authority to promptly regulate economic migration by setting quotas for issuing visas to entrepreneurs and work cards for representatives of certain professions. This will allow for the priority admission of foreigners in professions that are in high demand by Czech employers. The quotas will not affect migrants who are already in the Czech Republic on other grounds but wish to change their purpose of stay to "employment."
"In practice, quotas will be applied mainly for labor migration, but if necessary, they can also be introduced for foreigners wishing to conduct business activities in the Czech Republic," the document states.
Simply put, the government will be able to regulate quotas for labor migrants from different countries (including under the "Ukraine Regime" program) by a simple decree, without lengthy approvals and delays.
Other important innovations
• Students and scientists (already in the Czech Republic) after completing their studies or scientific research will be able to obtain a long-term residence permit for the purpose of seeking employment or starting a business. Its validity period will be 9 months.
• Third-country nationals who have received a temporary residence permit for study or research in other EU countries will be able to stay in the Czech Republic for up to one year without needing to re-register their documents. For example, a US citizen who has been issued a long-term residence permit by Germany will be able to study and conduct scientific activities in the Czech Republic for 12 months without needing to obtain a Czech temporary residence permit;
• A new type of work visa is introduced – Mimořádné pracovní vízum. It will be inextricably linked to an employment contract and issued for a maximum of 1 year without the possibility of extension or change of purpose of stay.
• Migrants arriving on a work visa will only be registered upon confirmation from the employer of actual employment.