Free Access to Czech Labor Market - Everything you Need to Know in 2026/2027

Short summary: Free access to the Czech labor market is a very buzzing word these days. Very few expats know what it actually means for your daily life in the Czech Republic. Or who qualifies for free access to the Czech labor market. Immigration and relocation experts from Move To Prague cover everything you need to know about this topic in this article.

What it means to have free access to Czech labor market

Having free access to the Czech labor market means that you do not need any special authorization or a permission to get employed in the Czech Republic. You still need a valid long-term visa or a residence permit to exercise that right. Simply put, you have the right to work in the Czech Republic freely as long as you have a valid long-term visa or a long-term residence permit.

We share a lot of real-life examples in the below sections.

How do you get free access to Czech labor market

Before we get into the examples, let's cover the topic of how one actually gets free access to the Czech labor market. Honestly, there are so many different ways that we can not cover them all here. Let's look at the most common ones though.

Free access thanks to your nationality

There are a few countries specified in "Government Regulation No. 158/2024 Coll. Government Regulation on the establishment of a list of states and independent jurisdictions whose citizens do not require a work permit, employee card, intra-corporate transferee card or blue card for employment or work" whose citizens have free access to the Czech labor market just because of their nationality.

The list of countries is not fixed forever and it can change in time (it already happened once). As of August 2026, the list looks like this:

• the Commonwealth of Australia,
• Canada,
• the State of Israel,
• Japan,
• the Republic of Korea,
• New Zealand,
• the Republic of Singapore,
• Taiwan,
• the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
• the United States of America. (If you are an American, read our Everything You Need to Know as an American moving to the Czech Republic guide)

 We could technically also include all EU citizens (plus citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) into this list. The same goes for British citizens who obtained their Article 50 residency in the Czech Republic and hence are still considered EU citizens.

Free access to Czech labor market gained during your stay in the Czech Republic

 There are quite a few ways you can get free access to the Czech labor market while already legally residing in the Czech Republic. These are the most common examples we work with in our daily immigration practice. From most common to least.

Permanent residence permit holders

 Free access to the Czech labor market is one of the many benefits of obtaining a Czech Permanent Residence Permit. And it does not really matter how you obtain the permanent residence permit - through your EU partner or spouse, after five years of continuous stay or for example as a child of a parent who already has the permanent residency. The free access to the Czech labor market is always there. 

Students of accredited programs of Czech universities

Act No. 435/2004 Coll., the Employment Act, grants free access to the Czech labor market to foreign students who meet this definition:

"who is systematically preparing for their future profession in the Czech Republic".

This definition is then explained further in a different part of the Employment Act as:

"systematic preparation for a future profession means the period of full-time study at a secondary school, conservatory, higher vocational school and language school with the right to a state language exam and the period of full-time study at a university, including holidays that are part of the school or academic year,". 

It is a bit of a mouthful, but in real life it mainly means that you have free access to the Czech labor market if you study an accredited program (Bachelor's, Master's or Ph.D.) at some Czech university. For most people, it means having 23 or 24 codes in their visa or a residence permit.

Foreigners who were awarded a Czech University diploma 

This kind of naturally follows the previous category. You have free access to the Czech labor market during your studies. If you successfully graduate and get a Czech diploma (again from accredited programs), you keep this advantage forever. 

Family members of EU citizens

If you are married to an EU citizen living in the Czech Republic, you also have free access to the Czech labor market. This right also extends to unmarried partners who applied for the"partnership visa". 

Holders of Family Reunification Residence Permit

If you are a non-EU citizen holding a long-term visa or a long-term residence permit, your spouse can potentially also get free access to the Czech labor market.

Good thing is that the Ministry of the Interior started including the information about having or not having free access to the Czech labor market on all the residence permit cards issued by them. If you look at the "Poznámky" field ("notes") in your card, you will usually find there either "Volný přístup na trh práce - ANO" (which means "Free access to labor market - YES") or "Volný přístup na trh práce - NE" (which means "Free access to labor market - NO").

Having "ANO" in the card does not always 100% mean you actually have free access to the Czech labor market (see the real life examples below) but it is generally a good indicator and we are happy the MOI started issuing cards with this information included.

A few real life examples from Move To Prague's daily practice

Let's now look into real-life examples we have seen in our daily immigration practice at Move To Prague relocation services. We list these examples again from the most common to the least common ones.  

Americans, British, Canadians and other nationalities with free access to Czech labor market

There is a lot to cover in this group. We are dividing the topic into a few most common scenarios. 

Visa-free stay

The most important thing is to understand that free access to the Czech labor market does not apply to tourists using their 90-day visa-free stay. If you come here under the so-called "Schengen visa", or more accurately under the visa waiver, you are considered a tourist and you cannot get employed in the Czech Republic. 

Employee Card

There are two types of Employee Card in the Czech Republic. Standard (so-called dual) combines two rights - the right to live in the Czech Republic and the right to work in the Czech Republic. This one is meant for expats without free access to the Czech labor market.

Then there is the so-called non-dual employee card which is issued to expats with free access to the Czech labor market (i.e. Americans or British citizens, or foreigners with Czech university degree). The non-dual employee card is easier to get since your employer does not need to advertise the position you will be hired for with the Labor Office (which is otherwise a standard practice for the dual employee card). You also usually do not need to prove any education, qualification, or experience to the MOI. The non-dual employee card is also usually approved faster.

Read more about the employee card in this detailed guide. 

Free access under various different visa types

Having free access to the Czech labor market thanks to your nationality means that you can work even under a visa which would normally not allow you to work. But this is where it gets tricky. The thing is that even though you can technically get employed, you still have to fulfil the purpose of your stay. Let's use this common example. 

Say you are an American who got his business/freelance/zivno visa as an English teacher. This visa would normally not allow you to get employed in the Czech Republic. Since Americans have free access to the Czech labor market thanks to the Government Regulation No. 158/2024 Coll., you can get employed even under this type of visa. 

The tricky part is that you still have to fulfil the purpose of your stay - in this case, freelancing. If you for example accept a full-time employment, stop freelancing but stay under the business visa, you will technically be working legally, but you are at risk of getting your business visa canceled (or not extended) due to not fulfilling the purpose of your stay. You have a business visa but you do not do any business. 

If you want to accept the full-time employment offer, it might be safer to switch from the business visa to a non-dual employee card. 

If, on the other hand, you still have your freelance work as the main activity (which makes you most money) but you also accept a part-time employment offer, this might be completely sustainable. 

Get in touch if you have any questions about your specific situation! 

Students (who quit studies)

Students are unfortunately those who make the most mistakes in this field and where a lot of denials happen. Let us explain the two most common scenarios.

First scenario is working under the student visa or student residence permit. That alone is completely fine. Students of accredited programs can work freely. There is no 20-hour-a-week limitation or anything similar. If you are under a student visa or a student residence permit, your primary focus should be studies.

So, there is no problem working even 40 hours a week if you fulfil all your student obligations - i.e. you have the required attendance and pass all the exams. If you for some reason stop studying (say you are expelled or you simply stop going to school), you also lose the free access to the Czech labor market. The free access is not given by your student visa but by the fact that you are an actual student. This might potentially lead to you working illegally and also having your student visa or residence permit canceled.

Second scenario is students who switch to an employee card while still studying. This is appealing to many students since switching to an employee card is way easier with free access to the Czech labor market (you basically need no support from your employer's side). This only works if you continue your studies and you successfully graduate. If you at some point stop being a student or do not graduate, you also lose the free access to labor market. And if you are on the non-dual employee card, this can mean serious risks to your immigration status. 

Job Seekers

If you have successfully graduated from a Czech university program and got a Czech diploma, you can apply for a special Job Seeker Residence Permit. This residence permit gives you 9 extra months after graduation to stay in the Czech Republic and either find a job or start your own business. 

You should apply for the Job Seeker residence permit within 30 days of graduation otherwise you could get in trouble for not fulfilling the purpose of your stay. This means that if you graduate in May and your student residence permit expires in September, you should not wait until September to apply. You should ideally apply in June, to stay on the safe side. Although the immigration law does not specifically state this, we have seen this too many times in our daily practice - people come to us saying that their application was denied because they thought they had enough time to apply. This is a mistake that is very hard to fix and it is better to prevent it.

What is important to mention is that you can work during the whole Job Seeker residence permit approval period, as well as during the whole 9 months of its validity. When switching to an employee card, you apply for the non-dual version of it. 

Frequently Asked Questions - free access to Czech labor market

What Does Free Access to the Czech Labor Market Actually Mean?

In simple words, having free access to the Czech labor market means that getting employed in the Czech Republic is significantly easier for you than for people who do not have this advantage. What exactly it means depends on your situation. In some cases it means you can start working the same day you successfully pass a hiring interview. Sometimes it means you apply for a special type of residence permit (i.e. non-dual employee card). 

Can Non-EU Citizens Get Free Labor Market Access?

Yes, 100%. There are many ways non-EU citizens can gain free access to the Czech labor market. For example by having the right nationality (see Government Regulation No. 158/2024 Coll.), by studying an accredited program of a Czech university, by marrying an EU citizen or by obtaining a permanent residence permit. Contact us to discuss your specific situation. 

Which Non-EU Countries Get Czech Labor Market Access?

Generally, any nationality can get free access to the Czech labor market if they meet the conditions (i.e. studying an accredited program of a Czech university). Government Regulation No. 158/2024 Coll. also lists ten nationalities that get free access to the Czech labor market without further conditions. These countries are Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Do Americans Have the Right to Work in the Czech Republic?

Yes, Americans do have free access to the Czech labor market and hence the right to work in the Czech Republic. However, this right only applies to long-term visa or residence permit holders, not to tourists visiting the Czech Republic under the 90-day visa-free stay.  

Can British Citizens Work in the Czech Republic?

Yes, British citizens can work in the Czech Republic. It is important to distinguish between British citizens residing in the Czech Republic under Article 50 (who are still considered EU citizens and hence have unlimited access to the Czech labor market) and British citizens moving to the Czech Republic after Brexit. Those moving after Brexit can only work in the Czech Republic if they hold a valid long-term visa or a residence permit. The right to work does not apply to tourists under the visa waiver. 

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