Job Discussion Forums

[Shalana]

Are there any Americans currently working in CZ that would be willing to share their experience with visas?

Here is my situation. I have been working for a month now. Before leaving the states, I started the paperwork at the CZ embassy in Los Angeles to get a long-term stay visa which would allow me to work legally and not have to do a border run every 90 days.

A couple of weeks ago I had a discussion with my employer via an English speaking Czech employee about working here legally. I was told there were two ways for me to work. One was to become a regular employee and that would require some kind of approval from the Czech Department of Labor and would involve a lot of red tape. The other and supposedly better way was for me to work as an intern. I was led to believe that both of these ways were legal.

I contacted the embassy in LA yesterday to inquire about the status of my long-term stay visa and was told it had been denied because they did not have proof of accomodation or permission from some branch of the police force or government. I was told my employer had taken care of this last year before my arrival.

I will be discussing it with him this coming week, but I am wondering if maybe he did not do the permission paperwork because that was the red tape route.

So, my questions are - is a long-term stay visa the same as a work visa?
Can I legally work here as an intern? My understanding is that if I have to make a border run every 90 days, I am working illegally. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance.

[spiral78]

I don't have all the answers you need, but you are corect in assuming that if you are required to make a border run, you are not legal. Or at least not yet!

I don't know anything about intern status, but a long-term stay visa usually carries work permission as well.

When you meet with your employer next week, you might ask what paperwork has been filed on your behalf. It can take many weeks for paperwork to be completed after filing, so it is possible that everything's actually in the works. However, the fact that your embassy in LA says it's been denied isn't a good sign!

Do you have housing arranged through your employer? You need a letter from your landlord, which your employer should get for you.

Hopefully, some people with more specific information for you will respond to this post, but I'd suggest you might try to find someone to advise you in the city. There are plenty of resources for Americans in Prague.

Good luck -

[Chris Westergaard]

Getting legal here takes a LOT of paperwork. Don't expect to become legal during your first 6 months abroad. Your school might do the paperwork for you... or they may not. You need a lot of different stamps and everything is in Czech. There is simply no way to do any of it from The States (or at least I don't know what it would be)

Here's some of the things you need. Please note that all of these forms have to be notorized by a Czech.


1. translated copy of your birth certificate
2. Czech Criminal report
3. Signed papers from your landlord with a copy of a lease
4. Reason of stay
5.Health insurance/physical from a czech doctor

..... The list goes on.

[ITTP]

Hi Shalana.

If applying for a long term visa, your reason to stay will be your work permit (provided by your employer).

Here is a bit more further info for you regarding what's needed for the visa, if your employer requires that you have to have one (plus additional info on obtaining a business license):

Passport
Two (2) passport-sized photos
Application form
Czech criminal record report
Home country criminal record report
Third country criminal record report (1)
Rental contract or other document proving accommodation
Document from Housing Authority that landlord owns the property in question
Document showing a reason for stay (2)
Recent bank statement showing sufficient means for stay (3)


Required documentation for the business license (zivnostensky list):

Passport
Application form
Czech criminal record report
Home country criminal record report
Third country criminal record report (if applicable)
Rental contract or other document proving accommodation
Letter from landlord giving permission to use the property as a business address (if such a clause is not included in rental contract)
Document from the Housing Authority that landlord owns the property


Required documentation for Czech criminal record report:

Passport
Original birth certificate, translated into Czech by a court-certified translator (4)

NB: The criminal record reports and the document from the Housing Authority should not be more than 180 days old at the time you go to apply for the visa and/or the zivnostensky list.

Footnotes:

(1)If applicant has lived in another country for at least six months in the past three years.
(2)A work permit, letter from a business license office, or other official statement proving reason
(3)For one year, at least 116,000Kc. A major credit card (Visa, MasterCard) can often substitute for the bank statement. Not required if applying for a work visa.
(4)Birth certificate may require an apostille in some circumstances

[Shalana]

Thanks for all the information.

Just to clarify, I started the paperwork process for a long-term stay visa while still in the states. The people at the consulate knew I would be arriving in CZ before the process was completed.

My application was turned down because of 2 pieces of missing paperwork that I was told my employer was providing prior to my arrival in CZ.

No, my employer does not require that I have a long-term visa. This is my personal requirement as I do not wish to work illegally or make a border run every 90 days.

Currently, I have contacted the recruiter that placed me with my CZ employer and he is contacting the employer to have him get me the missing paperwork. So, now I wait awhile and see what happens.

[Fledermaus]