The new program would allow IT specialists and other skilled people to live in Czechia with their families.
The Czech government approved one economic migration program that is aimed at digital nomads, who will get the opportunity to apply for a residence permit in the Czech Republic.
Digital nomads are highly qualified and top IT professionals who leverage technology and the internet to perform their jobs or run their businesses from anywhere with a stable internet connection.
The aim of the Program is to respond to changing trends in the field of international mobility of employees and so-called freelancers, which have been accelerated in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the IT sector, and to facilitate their settlement in the Czech Republic.
“None of the existing economic migration programs cover the group of so-called digital nomads, which are highly qualified workers who, within the international environment, often only work on certain projects, especially in the IT sector,” Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela said in a press release.
“Among other things, we want to create an interesting environment for the operation and development of foreign technology teams in the Czech Republic, which is why we are coming up with a new program that targets digital nomads in particular,” he added.
The program is intended for digital nomads:
• employees of a foreign company – an employee of a foreign company who will work for this company remotely for a long-term period in the territory of the Czech Republic using telecommunication means. The foreign national remains in an employment relationship with their foreign company during its stay in the territory of the Czech Republic and does not enter into an employment relationship with the Czech employer.
• freelancers (self-employed) – a foreign national who is or will be a holder of a Czech Trade License.
The closest family members of digital nomads, i.e. the spouse, registered partner and child of a foreign national or his/her spouse or partner, can also be included in the Program, provided that they apply for a residence permit at the same time.
Digital nomads admitted to the Program are granted:
• an opportunity to submit their long-term visa/long-term residence permit application at the Embassy/consulate of the Czech Republic abroad. The same opportunity is given to their closest family members;
• processing their long-term visa/long-term residence permit application form within 45 days from its submission.
For now, the program will be limited to citizens of Australia, Japan, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, the UK, the U.S., and Taiwan.
It is common for an IT specialist to work on multiple projects in different parts of the world at the same time. Due to the nature of their work, digital nomads cannot be in a classic employment-legal relationship, both due to the one-time nature of the assigned tasks and from the point of view of possible conflicts of multiple employment relationships and the resulting responsibilities.
The program applies to employees of a foreign company doing long-term remote work in the Czech Republic using telecommunications means. In this case, the foreigner remains for the entire time in an employment relationship with his foreign business company and does not enter into an employment relationship in the Czech Republic.
Sources: https://www.expats.cz/
Image source: https://pixabay.com/
Graphics source: https://storyset.com/
