Working So you’ve fallen in love with the Golden City to the extent that you actually want to stay here for a while and work. Depending on where you’re from and what you want to do, the level of difficulty varies. You’re bound to experience the Kafkaesque horrors of Czech bureaucracy eventually – there’s really no way of escaping it. Hopefully our guide below will make the journey to the castle go a bit easier – or at least give you an idea of what to expect. WORKING BLACK These days, everyone living in Prague falls under one of two categories: EU citizen or non-EU citizen. EU citizens naturally have an advantage in the job marketplace here – they simply cost employers’ less time, worry, and paperwork. Non-EU citizens must apply for a variety of permits and visas in order to live and work here legally, which can be quite a headache. The easiest way to go about it is to pay a reputable company to do all the leg work for you. Alternately, a lot of non-EU citizens decide to work in Prague illegally. We by no means recommend doing this – if you’re caught, you can be deported and barred entry from the Czech Republic in the future, while your employer risks losing their business license. What’s more, you have no legal rights as an employee and, as a non-tax payer, receive no social benefits, which leaves you vulnerable to all sorts of horrible situations. If you’re from the USA, you’ll have to leave the country every 90 days in order to get a stamp on your passport confirming that you’re just here on a tourist visa; if you’re from another non-EU country, it might even be a shorter period. In short, if you’re planning on taking more than just a short holiday in Prague, it’s much wiser to go legal. THE WORK PERMIT If you’re coming from the USA, you can apply for a work visa beforehand through the Czech Embassy: http://www.mzv.cz/wwwo/default.asp?ido=15863&idj=2&amb=87&ParentIDO= Otherwise, a work visa is usually provided by your employer. In order to apply for it, they will need a copy of your passport, your birth certificate number, and proof of education and/or qualifications. They apply through their local employment office. Regulations change all the time. If you’re a non-EU citizen, you may also have to have a Residency Permit in order to get the Work Permit, or vice versa. It’s incredibly confusing, but you will have to have both in order live and work here legally, so it’s best to start the paper trail as early as possible. THE TRADE LICENSE ROUTE If you plan on working for yourself or going freelance, the best option is the živnostenský list, or trade license. It allows you to work independently and file your own taxes, but also gives you a lot of tax breaks that you wouldn’t get otherwise. Applying for a trade license is a fairly complicated process. If you’ve got the extra cash, you might prefer to pay a company to do all the heavy leg work for you. But if you’re feeling brave enough to weather the storm of Czech bureaucracy on your own, you’ll have to start by going to your local trade license office (živnostenský odbor) and asking which kind of license is right for you. They have a bunch of different kinds for different professions, with different requirements. Some trade licenses, for example, require proof of education and relevant experience in a particular field – often a copy of your university degree and C.V. will do. In general, as specifications can vary from office-to-office and even person-to-person (see our Kafkaesque section for more info), it’s always a good idea to bring notarized translations of any documents that you think might help your case. Next, you have to provide proof that you have a clean criminal record in both the Czech Republic and your home country. For obtaining a copy of your criminal record in the Czech Republic, read this: http://www.prague.tv/articles/relocation/criminalrecord. If you’re from the USA, where there is no centralized criminal record base, you only have to sign an affidavit confirming that you haven’t committed any crimes in the past. If you’re from the UK, you’ll have to contact your local police office and ask for a copy of your criminal record under the Freedom of Information act. You’ll also have to prove that you owe no outstanding tax or social security payments to the Czech Republic. Obtain a declaration from your local finanční uřad (financial office) and your local social security office; in Prague, it’s the Územní pracoviště PSSZ. Next, you’ll have to prove that you have a place from which to base your business. Thankfully the Czechs are flexible on this one, and allow you to declare your place of residence as your business base. You need only hope that your landlord is as flexible as the government on this one, as you’ll need his/her signature on a notarized statutory declaration stating that they agree to allow you to use their property as your place of business. Once you’ve gathered all these documents together, including a completed application form, take everything down to your local trade license office. They will either tell you you’ve forgotten something (again – K for Kafkaesque) or give you your trade license. But wait! If you’re not an EU citizen, then you’ll have to get a Residency Permit also in order to live and work here legally. You apply for this at your local foreigners’ police station (for a list of stations, see http://www.mvcr.cz/kontakty/policie.html#cizina.) You will need a completed application, your passport, two passport-sized photos, and proof that you aren’t staying in the Czech Republic illegally. Once you’re granted your trade license, you will have to register for two identification numbers in order to start paying taxes. The first is the IČO. If you’re an EU citizen, then the IČO number will appear automatically on your trade license; if you’re not, then you have to register with the Commercial Court, which is located at Slezská 9 in Prague 2. The second ID number, the DIČ, is obtained from your local financial office – you’ll have to apply separately for this regardless of whether you’re an EU citizen or not. Remember – none of your submitted documents should be older than 180 days.
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