What’s new in immigration law?
Discussions concerning immigration law have recently been fairly lively. While the Chamber of Deputies is currently deliberating an extensive amendment to the Act on Foreign Nationals’ Residence, in November, the Constitutional Court cancelled a number of provisions of this act and the Act on Asylum for their unconstitutionality. What has or what will change in the future?
The Constitutional Court sided with a group of senators and repealed, among other things, a provision disadvantaging the family members of Czech citizens compared with the family members of citizens of other EU member states, which is a paradox, as the provision prohibited the legalisation of residence of a foreign national who is a family member of a Czech citizen (but not of a foreign national who is a family member of a citizen from another EU member state) when the foreign national resided in the CR unlawfully at the time an application for residence was submitted.
The Constitutional Court also repealed a provision under which proceedings to review the lawfulness of restricting foreign nationals’ personal freedom are discontinued once they have already been released or deported. In such cases, the foreign nationals could not later claim compensation for damage incurred despite the fact that statutory conditions for the restriction of their personal freedom had not been met. The reason is that to claim compensation, the unlawful decision would have to be cancelled first, which is impossible if the proceedings have been discontinued.
Major changes to the Act on Foreign Nationals’ Residence are expected with the amendment currently being discussed in the chamber. The EU directive’s transposition should significantly improve the situation of university students and scientific personnel who, after they finish their studies or scientific work, will be allowed to stay in the CR for a period of up to nine months to search for employment or commence business activities. Moreover, holders of long-term residency permits for the purpose of studying or scientific research issued by another EU member state will be allowed to stay in the CR for a year without a visa.
The amendment introduces the duty of non-EU foreigners to attend an eight-hour adaptation and integration course within one year of the date they receive their permanent or long-term residency permit. The course should help them gain a better understanding of their new environment and acquaint them with rights and duties associated with residence in the CR as well as with local habits and values.
To regulate the movement of workers, the amendment proposes the introduction of quotas. The government will regularly determine these quotas by means of government decrees, for specific countries of origin, sectors of the Czech economy and type of work. Simultaneously, if there is a labour shortage on the Czech labour market, the government will be able to activate the granting of extraordinary work permits for a temporary period of time by means of decree, allowing certain categories of workers to obtain work permits for a period of up to one year on an accelerated basis.
Right now, it is hard to predict what the amendment to the Act on Foreign Nationals’ Residence will look like or whether the amendment will actually be passed. However, it is quite evident that frequent changes are to be expected in this area in the upcoming months and year.