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Contents
In brief
The country
- 3
10.9 million people, and more of them over 65
- 4
Deaths exceed births, net migration fills the gap
Where the market is now
- 5
Half of 2019 once Ukrainians are left out, and rising since 2020
- 6
Below Slovakia's rate and the EU's, and rising since 2023
- 7
The Philippines lead, Ukraine second
- 8
Citizens of the Philippines received 5,217 permits in 2025
- 9
The Manila cap is 11,400 applications a year
The outlook
- 10
About 19,600 permits in 2026, between 12,100 and 29,800
- 11
Our estimate holds the seven sourcing centres at 41.9%
- 11
What could change this
Method and sources
- 12
How to read this report
- 12
Sources, photographs and flags
Cover: Prague Castle above the Vltava at night. Photograph by Viktor Mogilat, Pexels.
Czechia issued 17,770 first residence permits for work in 2025. Ukrainians received 53 percent in 2019 and have been under temporary protection, outside this count, since 2022; permits to everyone else have risen every year since 2020, to 15,491 in 2025. That is 2.8 per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64, against 4.9 across the EU. Embassy caps and a programme of 13 countries steer hiring, and the rules are holding, with the Manila cap raised in July 2026. We estimate about 19,600 permits in 2026, as the rise of recent years continues at a slower pace; for 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number, and the direction is rising. In 2031 the count held flat gives 17,700 a year and the central line 22,100, both lines on stated assumptions, not forecasts; the peers' rate, a scenario, gives 31,900.
First residence permits for work issued in 2025, up 8.9 percent on 2024
Permits in 2026, between 12,100 and 29,800
Permits a year in 2031, the central line; held flat 17,700
Fewer people aged 20 to 64 by 2041 than in 2026, on Eurostat's 2025 projection
10.9 million people, and more of them over 65
Czechia has 10.9 million people, 377,564 more than in 2015. Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 2019, and net migration more than made up the gap, most of all in 2022, when Ukrainians arrived under temporary protection. Output per head is 76 percent of the EU average, 92 percent counting lower prices. Eurostat projects 4.4 percent fewer people aged 20 to 64 in 2041 than in 2026.
People living in Czechia on 1 January 2026
3.6 percent more than in 2015, and 2.4 percent of the EU's 452.0 million. People aged 65 and over were 20.7 percent of the population in 2025.
GDP in 2025, billion euro at current prices
1.8 percent of the EU economy.
GDP per head in 2025
76 percent of the EU average of 41,700 euro in 2025. Counting lower prices at home, 92 percent, up from 89 percent in 2015.
Real growth in 2025
Against 1.4 percent across the EU. Over 2021 to 2025 the economy grew 11.1 percent in all, the EU grew 13.7 percent (our estimate from the yearly rates).
People aged 20 to 64 in work, 2025
Against 76.1 percent across the EU.
The programme and the caps
Sources: Eurostat, demo_gind (population, updated 21 July 2026), nama_10_gdp and nama_10_pc (GDP, updated 21 September 2026), tec00114 (price adjusted GDP per head), tec00115 (growth), lfsi_emp_a (employment), demo_pjanbroad (age). All retrieved 27 September 2026. Figures for 2025 GDP, GDP per head and growth are provisional. Ministry of Industry and Trade, Qualified Employee Programme, text of 15 March 2026; Government Regulation 109/2026, e-Sbírka. Both retrieved 27 September 2026.
Czechia
Slovakia
Hungary
Poland
The Philippines
Ukraine
Mongolia
China
India
Moldova
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Kazakhstan
Türkiye
Bulgaria
Croatia
Romania
Bangladesh
Nepal
IndonesiaWhat this report answers
How many first residence permits for work has Czechia issued each year since 2019?
17,770 in 2025, 8.9% more than in 2024. The 66,440 of 2019 were more than half Ukrainian; permits to everyone else have risen every year since 2020, to 15,491 in 2025.
Which countries do the new hires come from, and which are growing?
The Philippines lead with 5,217 permits in 2025, 29.4%, more than three times the 1,531 of 2019. Ukraine is second with 2,279, followed by Mongolia, China and India with 1,147.
How does Czechia compare with its neighbours per resident?
2.8 first residence permits for work for every 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, 18th in the EU, against 4.9 across the EU, 4.1 in Slovakia, 14.8 in Poland and 21.1 in Croatia.
Which rules apply to employers who hire from abroad?
Where local candidates are available, a job opens to employee card holders after the Labour Office has offered it for 30 days. Since 1 July 2026 the embassy in Manila takes at most 11,400 applications a year, and the Qualified Employee Programme covers 13 countries, not Nepal or Bangladesh.
How is the working age population changing?
Eurostat projects 6,352,480 people aged 20 to 64 in 2026 and 6,074,694 in 2041: about 278,000 fewer, a fall of 4.4 percent.
How many first residence permits for work do we expect Czechia to issue in 2026, and what comes after?
About 19,600 in 2026, between 12,100 and 29,800. For 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number; the direction is rising. In 2031 the central line gives 22,100 a year and the count held flat 17,700, both lines on stated assumptions; the peers' rate, a scenario, gives 31,900.
The full report answers each question with its figures, charts and sources. Request the full report