In the Czech Republic, the government approved amendments to several government regulations concerning the possibilities for Ukrainian citizens to stay in the Czech Republic. Among other things, they expand the possibilities for obtaining work visas and residence permits. UNN reports this with reference to Radio Prague International.
Details
The changes, as stated in the accompanying documents, are aimed at facilitating the arrival of Ukrainian citizens in the Czech Republic and are being adopted following recent restrictions on granting temporary protection to people liable for military service. They also take into account the provision of opportunities for a gradual transition from the temporary protection regime to the regime of standard residence permits for certain groups of people who wish to work in the Czech Republic, including after the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Among such standard residence permits, the most common are precisely those that the current government proposal would make more broadly available to Ukrainians in the Czech Republic. These are, on the one hand, a short-term visa for employment purposes and, on the other, a long-term residence permit for employment purposes pursuant to §42g of the Foreign Nationals’ Residence Act, the so-called "employee card" (zaměstnanecká karta).
Restrictions to be lifted
Access to them is also to be opened to people with temporary protection in the Czech Republic — at present, they do not have it.
"The proposed change returns economically motivated migration to the standard framework appropriate to it, separates it from the humanitarian temporary protection regime, and represents a step toward the systematic and proper targeted use of individual residence permits," the authors of the proposal said.
Currently, long-term migration from Ukraine to the Czech Republic is possible, in particular, for the purpose of family reunification, full-time study at a university, or employment. Applications are accepted at Czech consular offices in Kyiv and Lviv.
Ukrainian citizens who are staying in Ukrainian territory (and are entitled to leave it), as well as those staying in other countries, including with temporary protection in other EU member states, may apply at these consular offices for an "employee card" (zaměstnanecká karta), a "blue card" (modrá karta — a long-term residence permit for employment in positions requiring a high level of qualification), and special work visas (mimořádné pracovní vízum) within government migration programs and the established annual quotas, which are fully sufficient.
However, the current rules do not allow Ukrainian citizens who have or previously had temporary protection in the Czech Republic to apply for an "employee card" at Czech consular offices in Ukraine. This restriction is now to be lifted.
"The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic and the shortage of workers in a number of sectors of the national economy are currently, despite the presence of approximately 150,000 people with temporary protection who are employed at this time, at the same level as before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2021, almost 27,700 "employee cards" were issued to Ukrainian citizens. In addition, Ukrainian citizens also actively used short-term work trips on the basis of short-term employment visas, of which more than 185,500 were issued in 2021," the document says.
Humanitarian housing to be halved
Another proposed change concerns halving the number of places allocated for the temporary humanitarian accommodation of newly arrived refugees. People who have nowhere to stay may receive such state-funded housing for up to 90 days after obtaining temporary protection.
There are currently 20,000 such places reserved; there will be 10,000. However, as noted in the cover letter, this will not worsen the actual situation of refugees.
As the authors of the proposal noted, in 2026 approximately 300 people are staying in such accommodation in the Czech Republic; on average, 17 people are placed there each week, representing 1.3% of all those who received temporary protection during the week. In 2024–2025, as of the end of those years, around 500 people were staying in humanitarian accommodation; such accommodation was provided to an average of 45 people per week, which accounted for about 3% of all newly arrived people with temporary protection.
Therefore, the document states, the number of 10,000 reserved places is also expected to be entirely sufficient in the event of an unexpected increase in the number of newly arrived applicants for temporary protection.
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