Effective January 23, 2012 non-EU foreigners intending to work in the Czech Republic must submit their foreign diplomas for nostrification prior to applying for a work permit. Diplomas issued at educational institutes outside of the Czech Republic must be submitted to a specific Czech university (as identified by the Ministry of Education), which must certify that the degree has a Czech equivalent. Labor authorities will only consider a foreigner’s work permit request if such certification is submitted with the application.

The recognition process will greatly extend the already lengthy Czech immigration procedure. While the official processing time of diploma nostrification is set at 30 days, in some universities this may even take up to three months to complete. Moreover, prior to nostrification a diploma must be legalized/apostilled and in case it does not clearly show the subjects studied, the applicant must submit an outline of the courses, which requires additional time to prepare.

Companies intending to hire foreign workers must take into account the new requirements when planning a foreigner’s assignment and are advised to calculate an employee’s start date accordingly.

Local Labor Office Notification Required

Czech authorities confirmed that the new requirement to notify a labour office about employment start date must be completed not only for new employees who received a work permit after January 1, 2012 but for already employed non-EU foreigners as well. Labor office notification must be completed by April 1, 2012 the latest for those foreigners who are already working in the Czech Republic based on valid work permits.

In short, due to the change, labour office must be notified about the employment of all foreigners. This notification is applicable for those employed before and after January 1^st of 2012.

The government may announce additional work permit requirements during the course of this year.‎ Move One is closely monitoring the changes and will provide updates as necessary.

Our articles are for informational purposes only. Should you have any further questions regarding matters related to Czech immigration procedures, please feel free to contact your global Move One immigration specialist, or send an e-mail to immigration@moveoneinc.com .

Related posts:

1. Czech Republic: Immigration Bulletin – Companies Must Notify Labour Office About Employment Start Date of Work Permit Holders
2. Business Etiquette Tips – Czech Republic
3. Kazakhstan: Immigration Bulletin – Close to 50,000 Work Permits Available for Foreigners in 2012
4. Tips for Expats Relocating to the Czech Republic
5. Kazakhstan: Immigration Bulletin – Work Permit Categories and Quota System to Change in 2012