Czech Republic prolongs temporary protection and extends residence permits for applicants in Ukraine
The Ministry of the Interior has launched a system for the extension of temporary protection, allowing Ukrainian refugees to prolong their legal stay until 31 March 2025. At the beginning of the year, the range of residence permits that can be applied for at Czech embassies in Ukraine was also significantly expanded. Czech employers will be pleased to hear that the previous restrictions on residence cards with work permits have been relaxed.
Extension of temporary protection
Similarly to last year, temporary protection will be extended in two steps. First, the foreigner must register through the portal of the Ministry of the Interior. This will automatically extend their temporary protection status until 30 September 2024 even though visa stickers state to be valid only until 31 March 2024. It is therefore advisable for foreigners to always carry a registration certificate that can be generated via the portal. The latest deadline for this step is 15 March 2024, which is shorter than last year.
Subsequently, it is necessary to obtain a new visa sticker in a personal visit to the Asylum and Migration Policy Department of the Ministry of the Interior. Applicants must make an appointment and present a valid travel document and proof of accommodation. The new sticker will extend the validity of the temporary protection until 31 March 2025.
Employers of foreigners must not forget their obligation to notify the relevant branch of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic of any extensions (including both the above mentioned) of their employees’ temporary protection status.
Extension of the residence permit and visa agenda at embassies in Ukraine
From 1 January 2024, further residence permits and visas can be applied for at the consulate in Lviv and the embassy in Kiev. As regards residence permits allowing foreigners to work, in addition to the blue card, i.e., a work permit for highly skilled workers, it is now also possible to apply for an intra-company transferred employee card, and for a classic employment card. The foreigners no longer have to be holders of temporary or international protection in another EU member state or to have at least applied for it. However, foreigners who have been granted temporary or international protection in the Czech Republic cannot apply. Also, for the employment card, the applicant must be a participant in one of the government's economic migration programmes. Several conditions must be met to be included in the programme: for instance, applicants residing in Ukraine must prove that they are legally allowed to leave the country.
The range of visas that can be applied for this year has also been expanded to include, e.g., an extraordinary work visa. It is only available to applicants residing in Ukraine and allowed to leave the country.
Annual quota for accepting applications
All applications submitted in Ukraine that are included in government programmes are subject to annual quotas (500 applications in the Highly Skilled Employee and Key and Scientific Personnel programmes in both Kyiv and Lviv; 11,000 in the Skilled Employee programme in Lviv and 1,100 in Kyiv; and 1,500 exceptional work visas in Lviv).
The application numbers have been spread evenly throughout the year, so the embassies will not accept more applications than set for the given month.