Step 1. Job search. Sit down at a computer with Internet access. On the freely accessible pages of the Ministry of Labour of the Czech Republic www.praceprocizince.cz (there is a Ukrainian version), you can find vacancies from companies that want to hire a citizen of Ukraine or have already received a special permit from the Czech Employment Centre (the so-called Labour Office) to employ workers from abroad. Currently, there are advertisements from almost 1,200 companies, some of which offer dozens of vacancies for foreigners in various specialties - drivers, miners, seamstresses, mechanics, welders, general workers, etc.; there is demand for higher-skilled professions. Salaries range from 8-20 thousand Czech crowns (2,000-5,000 UAH) and higher. You can also find contacts of four hundred licensed private agencies that mediate work for citizens of non-EU countries. The agency has no right to demand payment for services from the worker, only from the company for which it finds him/her. You can also try to search for work on other pages: www.prace.cz, www.jobs.cz.
Step 2. Contact with the employer. Contact the chosen employer - by phone or letter, send him your CV. At the same time, demand from him the future working conditions, ask whether this company has a permit to employ foreigners in your specialty. Do not hesitate to refuse if something does not suit you. The company may invite you to the Czech Republic initially for a short period to participate in a competition for the vacant position, to complete documents, to undergo a probationary period, etc.
Step 3. Determining who arranges the work permit. You should either come to the Czech Republic with a business or tourist visa type "C" for a period of less than 90 days (for example, at the invitation of the employer) to arrange a work permit and other documents, and then go back to Ukraine to apply for a work visa at the consulate of the Czech Republic abroad, or entrust this formality to a representative of the employer or someone else you know in the Czech Republic.
A) If the work permit is arranged by the employer's representative - an HR employee or an employment agency. The employer must send you the details of his representative - full name, date of birth, passport number, etc. Write a power of attorney in his name, have it notarized, and together with certified copies of your professional certificate, the first page of your foreign passport, birth certificate, and a doctor's health certificate, send them by mail, bus, or courier to the authorized person. Wait to receive by mail the work permit, confirmation of accommodation, and other documents.
B) If you arrange the work permit yourself. Demand from the employer an invitation to the Czech Republic, obtain a short-term (preferably multiple-entry) visa for less than 90 days, and with all the documents mentioned in the previous paragraph, come to the Czech Republic. Have a court interpreter certify the translation of your documents into Czech. The employer must issue a confirmation that he will employ you and a labour agreement. Submit these documents and the completed application form for a work permit to the local Labour Office. The filing fee is 500 Czech crowns. Within 30 days, you should receive the work permit (or a refusal). The employer may issue a document guaranteeing accommodation for you. The relevant forms can be obtained at the local police station for foreigners. At the Criminal Record Registry of the Czech Republic in Prague, request a certificate of criminal record in the Czech Republic (cost - 50 crowns). After completing all documents, leave the Czech Republic and apply to the consulate of the Czech Republic in Ukraine (or another country).
Step 4. Submitting documents for a visa. With a completed application for a Czech visa, foreign passport and its copy, work permit (or the application number for such a permit), confirmation of accommodation and an extract from the real estate cadastre, an extract from the Criminal Record of the Czech Republic (or an application for such an extract), and if required by the consulate - a certificate of no criminal record in Ukraine (the translation into Czech can be certified at the consulate), apply to the consulate of the Czech Republic abroad. The filing fee is about €90 (depends on the crown exchange rate). The result is usually within 2-4 months.
Step 5. Obtaining a visa. The consulate will notify you of the result by letter. For employment, you must obtain a visa type D/VC/01 (formerly VC61) valid for more than 90 days. If you receive the visa, take out insurance for €30,000 for emergency medical care for the period from the planned departure abroad to the start of work, show it to the consul and at the border crossing.
Step 6. Starting work in the Czech Republic. The employer must pay for your health insurance. Obtain the corresponding plastic card from him. He must also pay social insurance, which will give you the right to a Czech pension regardless of where you live (agreements between Ukraine and the Czech Republic on social security, legal assistance, and avoidance of double taxation are in force). Within three days of arrival, register with the police department for foreigners; it is advisable also to register temporarily at the consulate of Ukraine.
Step 7. Renewal of the permit and visa. Three months before the expiry of the work permit, apply to the Labour Office for renewal of the existing permit. To renew the visa, you must again obtain a certificate of criminal record in the Czech Republic, confirmation of accommodation, etc. Submit the application for visa renewal (obtaining a temporary residence permit in the Czech Republic) at the local police department for foreigners.
Step 8. If you want to get the right to permanent residence in the Czech Republic faster. Submit an application for participation in the special government project "Selection of Qualified Foreign Workers" to obtain the right to permanent residence in the Czech Republic after two years and six months, and if you have higher education and work in your specialty - even after one and a half years (usually such a right arises only after five years). A participant of the project can freely change employers within 45 days (usually the validity of a work visa is canceled upon termination of employment).
Sample forms and useful links on the Internet
www.portal.mpsv.cz\/sz\/zahr_zam - Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic, job search, application forms for work permits, addresses of Labor Offices, labor mediation agencies, etc.
www.justice.cz - Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic, detailed information about all legal entities registered in the Czech Republic, court translators, extracts from the Register of Penalties in the Czech Republic.
www.mzv.cz - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, sample application for a Czech visa, information about Czech consulates abroad.
www.mv.cz\/rady\/cizinci - Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, addresses of reception offices of the police departments for foreigners, application forms for residence permits, certificates of accommodation, various tips, etc.
www.imigracecz.org - project "Selection of Qualified Foreign Workers", more detailed information, application to join the project. A toll-free hotline in Ukraine: 8-800-5055010.
www.ua.domavcr.cz - various tips in Ukrainian about life in the Czech Republic.
www.slovnik.cz - Czech-Russian online dictionary.
Based on materials provided by
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