Zivno is a short version of Czech “Živnostenské oprávnění”. That means a trade license/business license allowing you to freelance in the Czech Republic. You can get your zivno if you are an EU citizen or a non-EU citizen holding a long-term visa or long-term residence permit. Zivno is also one of the documents needed for a business visa for English teachers, software developers and other freelance positions. Read further to find out more.
The word zivno actually appeared not that long ago. Because of all the accents in the original words of “Živnostenské oprávnění” many of our clients living in the Czech Republic were not able to pronounce it correctly so they started using the short (and tongue friendly) version of it – Zivno. Whatever word you use though, it still stands for the same thing – trade license, business license, freelance license. A paper that allows you to freelance in the Czech Republic.
We describe zivno in details in our other blogs (what is a trade license, how to get a trade license) but since you came to this page, let us explain the basics.
Zivno for EU citizens
EU citizens have basically the same rights as Czech citizens when it comes to the zivno, even without holding the Registration Certificate (Formerly Temporary Residence Certificate). That means that you can get the trade license even without permanently living in the Czech Republic. It is relatively simple and takes up to 3-5 business days once you collect all the required documents (see below).
Registering you with the social security, income tax and health care offices can take another up to 30 days after you get the actual zivno. No worries though, you can start running your business even before the registrations are completed.
In general, these documents are needed to get the zivno:
- your passport/national ID,
- proof of business address,
- criminal check from the country of your origin (not needed physically),
- list of trades you want to include into the zivno,
- 1 000 CZK administrative fee,
- Power of Attorney – if you want us to run to all the offices (social, health, income tax) on your behalf.
Do you have any questions? Fill in the form below or call us at +420776495655 and we’ll be happy to answer them 🙂
Zivno for non-EU citizens (USA, Canada, Australia, India etc.)
When it comes to people from non-EU countries, the most important thing is if you already hold a long-term visa or long-term residence permit. If you do (i.e. you are here under a student visa and you just want to get the zivno as a side activity to your studies), getting the zivno is pretty simple. You just need to collect the required documents (see below), take them to the Trade License office and you will get the zivno in 3-5 business days. It will be valid for the same period of time as your visa.
If you do not hold any visa or residence permit yet, you can still get the zivno but it will not be active until you get your visa approved. That means that you will not be able to freelance legally. The only way to activate the trade license is to obtain a visa or residence permit. If business/freelancing is the main purpose of your stay in the Czech Republic, you have to apply for a long-term visa with the purpose of business, based on the zivno. We describe the process in details in our blog called “Zivno visa“.
Documents needed for the zivno
In general, these documents are needed to get the zivno:
- your passport (+ visa/residence permit),
- proof of business address,
- criminal check from the country of your origin,
- list of trades you want to include into the zivno,
- 1 000 CZK administrative fee,
- Power of Attorney – if you want us to run to all the offices (social, health, income tax) on your behalf.
Do you have any questions? Fill in the form below or call us at +420776495655 and we’ll be happy to answer them 🙂
What services do we provide? Read more here: Trade License (Zivno).
Move To Prague – your expert on zivno!
