Intra-company Employee Transfer Card

An intra-company employee transfer card is a long-term residence permit that enables third countries nationals to be transferred from their country of origin to work as managers, specialists or employed interns in the Czech Republic.

GENERAL INFO

TO APPLY FROM OUTSIDE CZECHIA

EXTENSION

What is an intra-company employee transfer?

It is a temporary transfer of a multinational company’s employee from a facility or branch situated in a country that is not an EU Member State to a spin-off facility or branch in the Czech Republic.


Who can apply for this residence permit?

An intra-company employee transfer card is intended for third countries citizens.

You can apply for an intra-company employee transfer card if you are transferred to work as a:

  1. Manager
    • A manager is a foreign national working at a leading position who, primarily, manages a business company or a spin-off and whose work is generally supervised or instructed, in particular, by a statutory, supreme or control body. A manager manages a business company or a spin-off or a part thereof, supervises the work of other employees who carry out supervising, professional or managing activities and control thereof, including hiring or dismissing employees, recommending that employees are hired or dismissed, or recommending other staffing measures.
  2. Specialist
    • A specialist is a foreign national with specialised knowledge essential for the given field of work, processes or management of a business company or a spin-off, and who further has the necessary level of formal qualification and professional experience, or is a member of a professional association, if specific legislation stipulates these requirements.
  3. Employed intern
    • An employed intern is a foreign national with a completed university education who is transferred to a business company or a spin-off with a business address or location in the Czech Republic for the purpose of developing his/her career or training in the field of business techniques and methods, and who receives a salary or remuneration during such transfer.

You cannot apply for an intra-company employee transfer card if:

  • you are applying for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of scientific research,
  • you have been transferred by your employer located in another EU Member State to work under a cross-border provision of services in the Czech Republic,
  • you reside in the Czech Republic for the purpose of doing business,
  • an employment company arranged the job for you,
  • you reside in the Czech Republic for the purpose of studies (at a secondary school, conservatory, higher vocational school or a language school authorised to hold state exams or full-time university studies),
  • you work at a business company that has its business address in a country bound by an international treaty closed with the EU which gives the country’s nationals the same right to free movement as EU citizens have, or in a country bound by the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

How long is an intra-company employee transfer card valid for?

For the time of the transfer to the EU Member States, but for a maximum of:

  • 3 years for managers and specialists,
  • 1 year for employed interns.

Example: A foreigner employed at a company with its business address outside the EU is transferred within the company for two years to a position of a manager in the company’s branch located in the Czech Republic. He/she will be issued an intra-company employee transfer card valid for the time of his/her transfer to the Czech Republic, that is for two years. Before the expiration date of this card, the foreigner-manager agrees with his/her employer to extend the time of the transfer for another four years. The foreigner can apply for an extension of the validity of his/her card, however he/she will only be able to extend the validity of the card for a maximum of one year. The total duration of residence in the Czech Republic (the total duration of transfer to the EU) is limited in this case to three years.


What does an intra-company employee transfer card look like?


What obligations and restrictions does this residence permit mean?

You must fulfil the purpose of your stay for the whole duration of your residence permit. You must also follow the obligations for foreigners stipulated by law.


What does this residence permit enable you to do?

You can stay and work legally in the Czech Republic for the duration of your residence permit. If you meet the given conditions, you can also apply for an intra-company employee transfer card in another EU Member State.


Can you apply for this type of residence even if you have no visa or residence permit in the Czech Republic?

Yes, if you apply at a diplomatic mission.

If you or the business company to which you are going to be transferred participate in a government-approved programme and if the conditions of the programme allow that, based on a power of attorney, the business company can apply in the Czech Republic for you. The application must be submitted at a Ministry of the Interior office.