Are you an EU or non-EU citizen?

eu

non-eu

Do I need a permit to work in the Czech Republic?

No. As an EU citizen or EU citizen’s family relative, you don’t have to obtain a work permit to start working in the Czech Republic. When getting employed, the same rules apply to you as to any other Czech citizen.

What are my employee rights?

The rights of employees are protected by the Labor code.

Here is a useful handout from the Czech Labor Inspection: Basic information for foreigners on employment in the Czech Republic.

Do I need a permit to work in the Czech Republic?

Generaly yes. If you wish to work in the Czech Republic as an employee you must obtain a work permit (“povolení k zaměstnání”). The work permit may come with an “employee card” combining a work permit and residence permit for the purpose of employment in one card. In case you already have a long-term residence permit for a different purpose (family, business…) and you want to start working, then you and your employer apply only for the work permit.

Note: If you are an EU citizen’s family relative, then you don’t need a work permit. If you have a long term residence permit for the purpose of family reunification (visa code 95) with nonEU citizen, or you are actively studying at Czech university, you don’t need the work permit either.

Note: If you are a holder of “special visa/temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees” you have a free access to the labor market and can start work today.

I already have a residence permit for a different purpose. Do I need a work permit to start working?

That depends on the type of your residence permit. If you have a long-term residence permit for the purpose of business, family (code 17) etc. and you want to start working, you and your employer have to apply for a work permit (“pracovní povolení”) issued by the  Labour Office of the Czech Republic (Úřad práce České Republiky). There are few exceptions where you are not required to obtain a work permit; for example when you are a student or graduate of a Czech high school or university or hold a long term residence permit for the purpose of family reunification (code 95). See the full list of special cases when you are not required to obtain a work permit to start working.

The list of jobs suitable for work permits is available at the Labor Office website > jobs for foreigners.

How do I obtain a work permit?

The work permit or employment permit is always valid only for a particular position with a particular employer. It is not a permit that would allow you to work wherever. Most larger employers will see to the matter of obtaining a work permit for you themselves as part of the process of hiring you. However, if you have to apply for a work permit yourself, the place to go to is the Labour Office of the Czech Republic (Úřad práce České Republiky). In Brno, the main office is at Polní 37. Your employer will have to announce the open position for a foreigner to the Labour office and you will have to wait 30 days for the position to become available. Read the detailed instructions on the process at the official website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

What do I need to obtain a work permit?

Your application has to specify the potential employer, the job position, the place of work, and the length of time the job will last. The folder you have to submit includes your diploma. The original secondary or university degree diploma has to have an apostille or superlegalization – a stamp from the local authority in the country where the diploma was issued and it needs to be translated to Czech by a certified language service. See our guide Authorization, translations and interpreting to find some useful tips. One important detail: the job position stated in the application must have been reported to the Labour Office as being vacant for 10-30 days. This means that the Labour office will first have to try to fill the position by turning to job seekers who have already registered with it. Only when this is unsuccessful will they then issue a work permit to non-EU citizens. Obtaining the Work Permit is described in depth on the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs’ website. Find out more about obtaining an employee card in our guide Visa & residence.

What’s the 'employee card' or the 'blue card'?

An employee card is a type of work permit that includes a residence card. It means you don’t need to go through another administrative process to obtain a residence permit. A blue card is another type of residence permit, similar to employee card, that’s combined with the work permit, but this time, it is aimed at job seekers with more advanced qualifications. The blue cards are issued in connection with positions requiring university education or higher specialized education and higher income. Both employee or blue cards are linked to a special registry of the Labour Office that is restricted to jobs open to applicants for these cards. The procedure for obtaining both Employee card and Blue card is described at the Ministry of Interior website.

What are my employee rights?

The rights of employees are protected by the Labor code.

Here is a useful handout from the Czech Labor Inspection: Basic information for foreigners on employment in the Czech Republic.

General info

How to find a job?

Generally speaking, there is a steady increase in opportunities for foreigners in the city, driven by a growing number of international companies (particularly in the IT and outsourcing sectors) which set up offices here. Major new research centres, being built by the city’s main universities, are also leading to a dramatic increase in the need for research scientists in many fields. These developments have also led to an increase in demand for qualified language teachers (of English in particular) at the city’s language schools.

Labour office

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs manages two employment search portals:

  1. 1) Labour Office – jobs for foreigners – national register for job vacancies managed by the Labour office. Switch to English and in the Advanced search select: 1) REGION > District > “Brno-mesto”,  2) CONSENT OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGNERS > “for the foreigners” or “for the employee card” or “for the blue card”
  2. 2) EURES network The basic role of EURES (EURopean Employment Services) is to facilitate the international mobility of workforce.

Job servers

Besides the Labour Office attempting to accumulate all job vacancies – as listed below – there is no central registry you can go to, to learn about job openings in Brno. Perhaps the most comprehensive is the English version of the jobs.cz server (search for South Moravian Region). Other popular job search servers include expats.cz/jobs, jobspin.cz and acjobs.cz for more multilingual jobs, executivejob.cz for management career opportunities,  itjobs.cz for IT professionals and global monster.cz. Job vacancies for (not only) French-speakers are also available through a project of the French Embassy czechemploi.fr.

Itprace.cz

Recruitment agency. We have 14 years of experience with helping job seekers to find the right job. Every year, we help more than 2,500 applicants to find employment.

Recruitment agencies

What follows is a list of the web addresses of the main agencies, both Czech and international, dealing with job opportunities for foreigners in Brno. The national agencies usually have either links to branches in Brno or search engines on their websites designed to help you narrow your search. Don’t forget, as well, to make yourself visible and available for hire on your LinkedIn profile – local recruiters fish in this professional network frequently.

It is also possible to get free career guidance and counselling in English through a regional public Skill centre (write to skillcentrum@jmk.cz).  It is located in Brno and its main objective is to help foreign nationals understand and efficiently use their skills and professional experience on the Czech labour market.

International companies in Brno

It is also possible to get in touch with individual companies. The obvious problem is that there are many foreign companies in Brno already and more are setting up shop every day. Therefore, there is no comprehensive list of them.

However, checking these companies for a vacancy can prove useful:

Educational and research institutions

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