Your Residence Permit
Employee Card
- The employee card is linked to your job, which means that if you lose your job, you have 60 days to find a new one in order to continue fulfilling your purpose of stay, i.e. working on the territory of the Czech Republic.
- If you are pregnant and have lost your job (e.g. your employment contract has expired and your employer did not extend it) and you are not likely to find a new one within 60 days, you should apply for a change of the purpose of stay as soon as possible, e.g. apply for a residence permit for the purpose of family reunification (the procedure is described below).
- If you were employed and are on maternity or parental leave now, you are still fulfilling the purpose of stay. If, however, your employment contract (which is linked to your residence permit) expires during your maternity or parental leave, you must apply for a change of the purpose of stay.
Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Self-Employment
- If you have a long-term residence permit in the Czech Republic for the purpose of self-employment, interrupting your self-employment activity due to your pregnancy will not be considered as non-fulfilment of the purpose of stay.
Residence Permit for the Purpose of Family Reunification
- If you have a husband or a partner in the Czech Republic, you can apply for this type of residence permit.
- In this case, the purpose of your stay is linked to your husband/partner. If you divorce from him, proceedings will be launched in order to end the residence permit for this purpose. However, if you have been staying in the Czech Republic for at least 2 years and your marriage lasted for at least 5 years, you can apply for a change of the purpose of stay.
- Important! If you are a victim of domestic violence, it is possible to make the residence permits of the partners independent on each other. In this case, you need to contact a social worker (see the "Contacts" section).
How to apply for a residence permit for the purpose of family reunification:
1
Get a certified translation of your marriage certificate into Czech.
2
Buy an administrative stamp ("kolek") at the value of 1500 CZK at a branch of the Czech Post Office (Česká pošta).
3
Go to the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy (OAMP), fill in the application form for family reunification and attach the stamp bought at the Post Office. Also bring a proof of accommodation (and your lease agreement), the certified translation of your marriage certificate, yours and your husband's payrolls in order to prove your financial resources (e.g. for two adults without children, the required amount is 5 970 CZK of net monthly income plus housing costs, i.e. the rent including all fees as stated in the lease agreement.) You have to go to the OAMP in person and bring your passport and photograph.
- Important! If you change the purpose of stay from employment to family reunification and are not employed on the basis of an employment agreement, do not forget that you have to start paying your health insurance yourself!
Illegal Stay in the Czech Republic and the Birth of a Child
- Giving birth to a child will not make your stay in the Czech Republic legal. The child acquires the citizenship of its parents, not that of the country of birth.
Residence Permit for a Child
By being born in the Czech Republic, a child does not automatically acquire a residence permit. You have to file an application for the residence permit for your child within 60 days since its birth.
The type of residence permit you can apply for your child depends on your own residence permit and on that of the child's father (as stated in the child's birth certificate). If, for example, you have an employee card and the child's father has a permanent residence permit, you can apply for a permanent residence permit for the child. If you both have an employee card, apply for family reunification.
The type of residence permit you can apply for your child depends on your own residence permit and on that of the child's father (as stated in the child's birth certificate). If, for example, you have an employee card and the child's father has a permanent residence permit, you can apply for a permanent residence permit for the child. If you both have an employee card, apply for family reunification.
How to apply for a residence permit for a new-born:
1
Go to your embassy and file an application for the issuance of a passport for the child. Bring your child's birth certificate and your ID documents. Ask the embassy to issue a proof of the filing of the application for a passport for the child and, if possible, to give the expected date of issuance of the passport.
2
Go to the OAMP and apply for a residence permit in the Czech Republic for your child. Bring the child's birth certificate, your ID documents, the proof of the filing of the application for a passport and a proof of health insurance policy for the child.
