Česky

Basic information

What is a European Union Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card?

The European Union Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is a new type of authorisation for long-term residence in the territory of the Czech Republic where purpose of residence (longer than 3 months) of the foreign national is to perform work in the position of manager, specialist or employed intern to which the foreign national has been transferred.

This residence permit (unlike the standard Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card) is issued to foreign nationals (with citizenship of third countries) who already hold an intra-company employee transfer residence permit issued by a different EU member state. This must concern foreign nationals who are employed in a country that is not an EU member-state, were transferred to a certain EU member-state where they were issued intra-company employee transfer residence permits and then have subsequently been transferred intra-company to the Czech Republic where they intend to remain for longer than 90 days.

A foreign national to whom the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic has issued an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is entitled to:

• stay in the territory of the Czech Republic and also

• perform work in the position of a manger, specialist or employed intern to which he/she has been transferred.
   

If the holder of an intra-company employee transfer residence permit issued by a different EU member state is transferred to a management, specialist or employed intern position for a period shorter than 90 days, he/she is not required to apply for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card because he/she would entitled to stay in the territory of the Czech Republic in accordance with Section 18(d)(5) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll. and would be entitled to perform work in the Territory on the basis of Section 98(s) of Act No. 435/2004 Coll., on Employment, as amended.

The EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is a plastic card with biometric components.

The EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is issued for the duration of transfer to the territory of EU member states, but only to a maximum of 3 years for a manager and specialist and for 1 year for an employed intern. The card may be extended repeatedly to cover the duration of transfer to the territory of EU member states, to a maximum of 3 years for a manager and specialist and for 1 year for an employed intern.

The deadline for making a decision on the issuance of an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is 90 days.

Who is the EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card intended for?

The EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is intended for intra-company transferred managers, specialists and employed interns who hold an intra-company employee transfer residence permit issued by a different EU member state.

In simple terms, intra-company transfer is the temporary transfer of an employee of a multinational company from a functioning section of a multinational company in a country that is not an EU member state to a functioning section of the company located in an EU member state.

According to Section 42k(3) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., a manager means a foreign national working in a management position which primarily runs a commercial corporation or subsidiary or part thereof, whose activities are monitored by and who follows the instructions of the governing body, supreme body or control body; a manager runs the commercial corporation or subsidiary or part thereof, oversees other employees performing supervisory, professional or running activities and monitoring thereof, including the power to hire or dismiss such persons or to take different personnel-related measures.

According to 42k(4) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll. a specialist means a foreign national who has specialised knowledge that is fundamental for the area of operations, procedures or management of the commercial corporation or subsidiary and who also has the required level of qualification and professional experience and, if applicable, is a member of a professional association, if special legislation so stipulates.

According to 42k(5) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll. an employed intern means a foreign national who has duly completed higher education, is transferred to a commercial corporation or subsidiary based in the Czech Republic for the purpose of career development or training in the field of commercial techniques and methods and who receives payment of a salary or wage for the duration of his/her transfer.

The EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is intended for foreign nationals of all states of the world, with the exception of

• citizens of EU/EEA member states and Switzerland and a

• their family members who are citizens of other states and hold residence cards for family members of an EU citizen (or, in the case of the family members of a citizen of an EEA state or Switzerland, a foreign national’s residence card) or have applied for such.

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Lodging an application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card

An application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card must be lodged in person either with an Embassy or with the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy, as the foreign national chooses. If the foreign national intends to lodge his/her application with the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy, he is required to do so while he/she is still entitled to stay temporarily in the territory of the Czech Republic [in the situation in hand, the foreign national will most often be entitled under Section 18(d)(5) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., i.e. during the validity of a residence permit issued by a different EU member state, or under Section 18(a), i.e. under visa-free stay, a maximum of 90 days from the date of entry by the foreign national into the territory of the Czech Republic].

If the foreign national or commercial corporation within which or to which the foreign national is to be transferred is participating in a government-approved programme and if expressly allowed according to the conditions of such government-approved programme, the commercial corporation to which the foreign national is to be transferred may lodge an application on behalf of the foreign national with the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy on the strength of power of attorney.

An application for the intra-company employee transfer card may be lodged using the "Application for Long-Term Residence" form.

Please present the following to support your application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card:

• a valid travel document,

• 1 photograph corresponding to the current appearance of the foreign national,

• proof of arranged accommodation in the territory of the Czech Republic,

• the transferred employee’s residence permit issued by a different EU member state,

• transfer letter containing

  • confirmation by the commercial corporation based outside the territory of EU member states stating that the foreign national will be transferred intra-company to perform work in a commercial corporation or subsidiary based in the territory of the Czech Republic in the position of manager, specialist or employed intern, with specification of the duration of the intra-company transfer and the place of employment in the territory of the Czech Republic,

  • specification of terms and conditions of employment as to the length of working hours, length of holiday per calendar year and rate of salary or wage; these terms and conditions must be no worse than those stipulated in the Labour Code, which also applies to conditions concerning health and safety in the workplace, the working conditions of pregnant women and women shortly after giving birth, equal treatment of men and women and other provisions concerning non-discrimination, and

  • confirmation that, at the end of the duration of intra-company transfer, the foreign national will be transferred back to the commercial corporation based outside the territory of EU member states,

• a document demonstrating manner in which the entities between which the foreign national is to be transferred are related, i.e. one of the following documents:

  • a document proving that the subsidiary to which the foreign national is to be transferred is a subsidiary of the commercial corporation within which the foreign national is being transferred, or

  • a document proving that the commercial corporation within which the foreign national is being transferred are a controlling and controlled entity in relation to each other, or that these two commercial corporations are controlled by the same controlling entity,

• a document proving the required level of professional qualification, if required by special legislation,

• a document proving satisfaction of the conditions for performing a regulated profession, if such profession is concerned,

• upon request, a document similar to an extract from the records of the Penal Register,

• upon request, a document confirming satisfaction of the requirements of measures for preventing the introduction of infectious disease.
   

All supporting documents must be presented either in the original, or as an officially certified copy. The original of the following is always required: your travel document and your intra-company employee transfer residence permit issued by a different EU member state. All submitted documents must be presented in their original version with an officially certified copy into the Czech language. Supporting documents must be no more than 180 days old, with the exception of the travel document and the foreign national’s photograph, if it corresponds to his/her real appearance.

If the foreign national or commercial corporation to which the foreign national has been transferred is participating in a government-approved programme the conditions of which allow certain supporting documents of the application to be substituted, the following items supporting the application may be substituted by a confirmation issued by such commercial corporation:

• proof of arranged accommodation in the territory of the Czech Republic,

• transfer letter,

• a document proving that the entities between which the foreign national is being intra-company transferred are related entities,

• a document proving that the foreign national holds the required professional qualification, if required by special legislation,

• a document proving satisfaction of the conditions for performing a regulated profession, if such profession is concerned.

 Česky

Course of application proceedings for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card

Application proceedings

An application for issuance of an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card must be lodged in person either with an Embassy or with the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy, as the foreign national chooses. If the foreign national intends to lodge his/her application with the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy, he is required to do so while he/she is still entitled to stay temporarily in the territory of the Czech Republic [in the situation in hand, the foreign national will most often be entitled under Section 18(d)(5) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., i.e. during the validity of a residence permit issued by a different EU member state, or under Section 18(a), i.e. under visa-free stay, a maximum of 90 days from the date of entry by the foreign national into the territory of the Czech Republic].

Lodging an application for issuance of an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card during the validity of the transferred employee’s residence permit issued by a different EU member state results in the residence permit issued by a different member state being considered valid until a decision is made on the application lodged in the Czech Republic.

In the case of an application lodged with an Embassy, the Embassy works as a go-between between the applicant and the authority responsible for the decision, i.e. the MoI CR. In the course of the proceedings, the Embassy communicates with the applicant, at the beginning of proceedings it summonses the applicant to eliminate any flaws in the application, summonses the applicant to interview or to have a visa for stay longer 90 days for the purpose of collecting a permit for residence in the territory of the Czech Republic affixed in his/her travel document. Applicants also receive correspondence from the MoI CR via the Embassy.

Application proceedings conducted under the regime of the Residence of Foreign Nationals Act, the Administrative Code with stipulated exceptions and also other related acts.

If the required supporting documents were not presented with the application or if the application suffers from other flaws, the administrative authority shall summons the foreign national to eliminate such flaws and proceedings may be suspended by ruling. The MoI/Embassy may in the course of proceedings invite the foreign national to interview, request him/her to submit missing supporting documents, take his/her fingerprints or capture his/her photographic image.

Submission of supporting documents

You may provide documents to support your application in person, through an agent or by post. Always submit the supporting documents you are summonsed to provide within the deadlines set.

A document issued by a foreign state must fulfil the conditions of a higher level of certification (superlegalisation), or apostille, unless this involves documents issued by a state with which the Czech Republic has a relevant bilateral treaty on legal assistance specifying public instruments that are exempt from the requirement of superlegalisation.

Documents drawn up in a foreign language must be submitted in the original, accompanied by a certified translation into Czech.

If, during the proceedings, you are summonsed to provide certain documents to support your application and the application was lodged with an Embassy of the Czech Republic, you may submit everything to the embassy in question, but you may equally send additional documents by registered mail direct to the Ministry of the Interior.

If your application was lodged inside the territory of the Czech Republic (the application was lodged on your behalf by a commercial corporation participating in a government approved programme), provide documents to support your application by registered mail to the address specified in the summons or to the office where the application was lodged.

Always supply your application reference number in communications.

Failure to provide supporting documents within the deadlines set constitutes grounds for termination of proceedings. During proceedings you may provide additional documents which you consider to be important for assessing your application.

Deadlines for processing the application

The legal deadline for processing your application for issuance of an intra-company employee transfer card is 90 days from the date of lodging the application.

For processing an application for extension of an intra-company employee transfer card, the general deadlines contained in the Administrative Code apply.

Deadlines for processing an application will be suspended or extended in cases stipulated by law, for instance if the applicant is summonsed by the administrative body to eliminate flaws in the application or if proceedings are suspended by ruling.

Legal fiction of validity of an intra-company employee transfer residence permit issued by a different EU member state

If you lodged your application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card while your intra-company employee transfer residence permit issued by a different EU member state was still valid, but no decision is made on your application before your intra-company employee transfer residence permit issued by a different EU member state expires, your intra-company employee transfer residence permit issued by a different EU member state shall be considered valid inside the territory of the Czech Republic until a decision on issuance of your EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card becomes legally effective.

Approval of an application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card

If you application is approved (if you comply with the conditions for issuance of the card), the Ministry of the Interior or the Embassy of the Czech Republic where you lodged your application will contact you to invite you to one of its offices to record the biometric data necessary for producing your EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card.

Once your biometric data has been recorded, you will be issued with a "Confirmation of compliance with conditions for issuance of an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card". On the strength of this confirmation, you may be employed from the issuance date of this confirmation until the date of completion of application proceedings (issuance of the biometric card).

Within the deadline set, but no later than 60 days after your biometric data was recorded, report in person to an MoI CR office to collect your Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card and, in order to confirm the unique connection between you and the card, to verify your identity, or whether the data specified in the card is correct and the data carrier with your biometric data is functional. Failure to report to collect the residence card constitutes grounds for termination of application proceedings.

The EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is most frequently issued for the duration of intra-company transfer to EU member states, to a maximum duration of 3 years of overall transfer to the EU for a manager or specialist, or to a maximum period of 1 year of overall transfer to the EU for an employed intern. The card may be repeatedly extended up to a maximum duration of 3 years for a manager or specialist, or 1 year for an employed intern.

During your stay in the Czech Republic, do not forget to any changes in your data. You are required to report any change in the conditions on the basis of which the intra-company transfer card was issued to you within 3 days of such change taking place.

Rejection of an application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card

The MOI CR will reject an application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card if, for instance,

• the MOI CR discovers that the commercial corporation or subsidiary to which the foreign national is to be transferred was established solely for the purposes of intra-company transfer,

• the commercial corporation within which the foreign national is to be transferred is not debt-free,

• during the 4 months prior to lodging the application, a legally effective fine for allowing the performance of illegal labour has been imposed on the commercial corporation within which or to which the foreign national is to be transferred,

• bankruptcy has been declared on the assets of the commercial the commercial corporation within which or to which the foreign national is to be transferred,

• the foreign national does not satisfy the condition of criminal integrity,

• the foreign national does not satisfy certain conditions for issuance of this card (e.g. university education has not been proven in the case of an employed intern),

• despite the request of the Embassy, the foreign national fails to report for interview or to submit documents corroborating information specified in the application by the deadline set, or if, despite conduction of an interview or evaluation of submitted documents, such information proves impossible to verify,

• the foreign national provides false information in the application,

• the foreign national appears on the list of undesirable persons,

• the foreign national appears in the Schengen Information System,

• the foreign national submits forged or altered supporting documents or the data provided, essential for assessing the application, does not correspond to reality,

• reasonable grounds exist to believe that during his/her stay in the Territory the foreign national could present a threat to state security, seriously disrupt public order or jeopardise the international relations of the Czech Republic,

• reasonable grounds exist to believe that during his/her stay in the territory of another Schengen state the foreign national could present a threat to state security, seriously disrupt public order or jeopardise the international relations of Schengen states,

• facts come to light indicating that after the end of his/her period of residence specified in the intra-company employee transfer card, the foreign national does not intend to leave the territory of the Czech Republic or that he/she intends to misuse this card for a purpose different to that indicated in the application,

• the foreign national has circumvented the Foreign Nationals Residence Act.
   

If your application is rejected, you will receive a written copy of the MoI CR decision to reject your application.

Appeal against a decision to reject an application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card

In the event of rejection of an application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card you may make an appeal against such decision to the Commission for Decision-Making in Matters of Residence of Foreign Nationals within 15 days of the date of delivery of the decision to reject your application. You must however lodge your appeal with the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy.

The deadline for lodging an appeal is deemed to be met if it is lodged with the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy on the last day of the deadline or if a postal consignment containing the appeal and addressed to that authority is entrusted to a holder of a postal licence or special postal licence or to a person with similar status in another country by this last day of the deadline. The Embassy of the Czech Republic is not an authority with subject-matter jurisdiction for accepting appeals, i.e. making an appeal with an Embassy of the Czech Republic has no influence on meeting the deadline for lodging an appeal until the appeal is delivered to the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.

It must be clear from the appeal who is making it (name, surname, date of birth, residential address and correspondence address, if applicable), what it concerns and what is proposed and also must contain explanation of which decision the appeal is raised against, to what extent it refutes the decision and in which respect the decision or the proceedings preceding it are contrary to legislation or incorrect. It must contain the name of the administrative authority to which it is addressed and the signature of the person making the appeal. If the appeal contains flaws, the administrative authority shall summons the appellant to eliminate such flaws.

If the Ministry of the Interior (Department of Asylum and Migration Policy) fails to find any reason to cancel or change its own negative decision (to perform an “autoremedura”), within 30 days of taking receipt of the appeal it shall pass on the case file to its superior administrative authority for decision. The superior administrative authority to the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy for proceedings on matters relating to residence of foreign nationals is the Commission for Decision-Making in Matters of Residence of Foreign Nationals. The Commission then decides on the appeal and delivers the written decision on the appeal to the applicant.

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Extension of an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card

An EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card may be extended repeatedly on condition of satisfaction of basically the same conditions for issuance of this card for the permitted duration of intra-company transfer to the territory of EU member states, which is a total of 3 years for a manager and specialist and a total of 1 year for an employed intern.

An application for extension of the EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card must be lodged with an office of the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy. The application must be lodged while the current EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card is still valid, but no sooner than 120 days before it expires.

If you were prevented from lodging an application to extend the EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card for reasons beyond your control, you are entitled to lodge your application within 5 days of such reasons desisting. Your residence and work permit shall remain valid until such entitlement ends. It is up to the foreign national to inform the administrative authority of and substantiate the reasons that prevented him/her from lodging an application within the stipulated deadline. The obligation to claim and to prove of such reasons lies with the foreign national. The foreign national is required to state the reasons of late lodging of the application at the very latest at the moment of lodging the application.

Required documentation for an application for extension of an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card

An application for extension of the intra-company employee transfer card may be lodged using the “Application for Long-Term Residence” form.

To support his/her application for an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card, the foreign national must present the following:

• a valid travel document,

• photographs if the applicant‘s appearance has changed since lodging his/her application for the currently valid card,

• upon request, a document similar to an extract from the records of the Penal Register,

• upon request, a document confirming satisfaction of the requirements of measures for preventing the introduction of infectious disease,

• proof of arranged accommodation in the territory of the Czech Republic,

• confirmation by the commercial corporation within which the foreign national has been transferred that the information contained in the transfer letter continues to apply, while stating the duration of intra-company transfer and the place of performance of work in the Territory,

• proof that the foreign national still has the required professional qualification, or that he/she satisfies the conditions for performing a regulated profession, if such profession is concerned,

• a residence permit for intra-company employee transfer issued by a different member state of the European Union.
   

If the foreign national or commercial corporation to which the foreign national has been or is to be transferred is participating in a government-approved programme the conditions of which allow certain supporting documents of the application to be substituted, the following items supporting the application may be substituted by a confirmation issued by such commercial corporation:

• proof of arranged accommodation in the territory of the Czech Republic,

• confirmation by the commercial corporation within which or to which the foreign national has been transferred that the information contained in the transfer letter continues to apply, while stating the duration of intra-company transfer and the place of performance of work in the Territory,

• a document proving that the foreign national continues to comply with the required professional qualification, if required by special legislation,

• the transferred employee’s residence permit issued by a different EU member state.
   

If you satisfy the conditions for extension of your EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card, when summonsed you will be required to report to an office of the Ministry of the Interior Department of Asylum and Migration Policy for processing of data essential for issuance of the residence permit (known as the "EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card"), as well as provision of biometric data. Failure to report at the summons of the MoI CR constitutes grounds for termination of proceedings on the application.

Within the deadline set by the MoI CR, but no later than 60 days after providing your biometric data, you are required to report to the MoI CR to collect your residence permit. Failure to collect your residence permit constitutes grounds for termination of proceedings on the application.

Legal fiction of validity of an intra-company employee transfer card issued by a different EU member state

As in other cases of application for extension of a long-term residence permit, even in the case of an application for extension of an intra-company employee transfer card, on condition of satisfaction of the conditions stipulated by Section 47(6) of Act No. 326/1999 Coll. so-called legal fiction applies, extending the validity of the hitherto valid residence permit which, at the request of the foreign national, may be corroborated by a so-called bridging sticker.

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Cancelling an intra-company employee transfer card

The MOI CR may cancel an intra-company employee transfer card by decision if, amongst other reasons:

• its holder so requests,

• the documents submitted to support the application for issuance are forged or altered supporting documents or the data provided, essential for assessing the application, does not correspond to reality,

• the holder has been convicted of committing an intentional crime,

• the holder is not performing the purpose for which the card was issued,

• the commercial corporation or subsidiary to which the foreign national is to be transferred was established solely for the purposes of intra-company transfer,

and furthermore if, amongst other things:

• certain conditions for issuance of this card are not satisfied,

• the holder does not have arranged accommodation in the Territory,

• other European Union state or a party state applying a common procedure in matters of deportation has issued a decision to deport the holder from its territory because he/she has been sentenced to at least 1 year imprisonment, or for reasonable suspicion that he/she has committed a serious crime or intends to commit such crime in the territory of some state of the European Union or of a party state applying a common procedure in matters of deportation,

• reasonable grounds exist to believe that during his/her stay in the Territory the foreign national could present a threat to state security, seriously disrupt public order of the State,

• the holder might threaten public health by staying any longer in the territory, due to suffering from a disease listed in the requirements of measures against introduction of infectious disease,

• the commercial corporation within which or to which the foreign national is to be transferred ceases to be debt-free,

• a legally effective fine for allowing the performance of illegal labour has been imposed on the commercial corporation within which or to which the foreign national was transferred,

• bankruptcy has been declared on the assets of the commercial the commercial corporation within which or to which the foreign national was transferred,

under condition that the consequences of such decision are adequate to the reason for cancelling the EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card. When assessing adequacy, the Ministry of the Interior concentrates mainly on the impacts of this decision on the private and family life of the foreign national.

The remaining reasons for cancelling an intra-company employee transfer card can be found here.

In its decision cancelling an EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card, the Ministry sets a deadline for departure from the Territory and issues a departure order to the foreign national; the foreign national is then required to depart from the territory of the Czech Republic within the deadline set.

The Ministry will also inform the commercial corporation within which or to which the foreign national has been transferred about issuance of the decision to cancel the EU Member-State Intra-Company Employee Transfer Card and of the reasons for such decision.