The first 90 days after a worker arrives in Czechia: employer obligation checklist
Three clocks start on arrival in Czechia: health insurance registration, the JMHZ start report to MPSV, and the CZK 1,500 Welcome to the CZ course.
Once a third country worker lands in Czechia, the employer carries three sets of duties: collection of the biometric card at a Ministry of the Interior office, registration for health and sickness insurance, and the start report required by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MPSV). The worker separately owes an adaptation and integration course. None of these can be filed retroactively without exposure to a penalty.
The collection visa and the first 30 days
The worker does not arrive holding an employee card. Once the application is approved, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the embassy issues a single entry long stay visa for collection of the employee card, valid for 60 days. That visa exists so the worker can enter once, attend a Ministry of the Interior office for biometrics, and collect the card afterwards. Plan the first working day around that appointment, not around the landing date.
The employee card application itself is decided by the Ministry of the Interior within the statutory period; for the extraordinary work visa the period is 90 days. An employer who dates the contract from the day of arrival usually finds that the first weeks are administrative rather than productive.
Three items belong in the first month: an escort to the Ministry of the Interior office for biometrics, registration of the place of residence, and handover of a signed employment contract in a language the worker understands. The contract must match the details the application was filed on. A change of wage, position, or place of work is reported separately.
Insurance and reporting: what the employer files
Enrolment in public health insurance is not the worker's task. VZP states that the employer registers the employee for health insurance, and the Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ) is notified of the start of sickness insurance participation. Until that registration lands, the worker walks into a surgery with an identity document and nothing else, and the cost of a first treatment stays uncovered.
Reporting to the labour office changes in 2026. MPSV states that from 1 April 2026 the start of employment and any later changes are reported through the single monthly employer report (JMHZ). The sequence matters: the start report must be filed in advance, not after the first shift has been worked. Employers used to reporting within ten days after the fact are the ones who fail on this point.
| Step | Who files it | Deadline | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collection of the biometric card | worker in person, Ministry of the Interior | within the 60 day visa validity | no collection fee |
| Health insurance registration | employer, health insurance fund | at the start of employment | contributions from payroll |
| Sickness insurance notification | employer, ČSSZ | at the start of participation | contributions from payroll |
| Start report via JMHZ | employer, MPSV | in advance, from 1 April 2026 | no fee |
| Adaptation and integration course | worker | within 1 year of collecting the permit | CZK 1,500 |
The Welcome to the Czech Republic course, and the fine for missing it
The Ministry of the Interior and the state portal cizinci.cz set out that a third country national holding a long term residence permit issued on or after 1 January 2021 must complete the adaptation and integration course, Welcome to the Czech Republic, within one year of collecting the permit. The public course costs CZK 1,500 according to cizinci.cz, and a worker who misses the obligation faces a fine of up to CZK 10,000.
The course runs on a single scheduled date, with interpreting into several languages, and covers basic orientation in rights and duties, the health system and employment relations. Dates are published by the regional centres for the support of integration of foreign nationals, and capacity in the larger cities fills quickly in the first quarter of the year. For a worker going into shift work, book the date before the next month's roster closes, or the course slips by weeks and the one year deadline narrows to the last available dates.
The duty sits formally with the worker; the practical consequence sits with the employer. The clock runs from collection of the card, a date the HR file holds and the worker rarely does. Record that date on the day of collection and book the course inside the first three months, while the worker is still in the settling period and the shift roster can absorb it.
The rest of the first 90 days covers items with no official deadline that still decide whether a placement holds: a bank account, accommodation matching the registered address, health and safety induction in a language the worker understands, and a check that the registered vacancy matches the work actually performed. How a vacancy reaches the register is covered in the Czech employee card and the vacancy register; the eligibility conditions behind most of these hires sit in the Qualified Employee Programme in 2026.
Employers who write the first 90 days into a calendar with named dates and named owners pass a labour inspection without reconstructing paperwork afterwards. If you are building a Czech corridor for the first time, our procedure is set out on the employers page.
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