Many residents of the countries of the former USSR who decided to immigrate to Europe consider the states located in its eastern part as the place of their relocation. It is worth saying that the quality of life here is quite high. It satisfies almost 90% of migrants. The rest can use the citizenship obtained in one of the countries of Eastern Europe for further movement to the west. In this case, the initially selected country will be for them a kind of springboard for the fulfillment of the intended goal.
One of the most attractive states for immigration in this case will be the Czech Republic. A large number of middle class and skilled workers are eager to get here. Moreover, immigration to the Czech Republic today can be carried out quite quickly and without large financial and psychological costs. That is why this country of Eastern Europe causes incorruptible interest of those who decided to radically change their lives.
What are immigrants striving for?
How much does our person need for complete happiness? Not at all! Only sufficient domestic comfort, decent social infrastructure and confidence in the future. All of the above benefits are provided by immigration to the Czech Republic. Of course, a person will have to make some efforts, but the end result will be worth it.
It should be said that the Czech Republic boasts its high standard of living. In different years, according to this indicator, the country occupied 25-35th places in the international ranking. Fairly good level, right?
Czech stores offer their customers goods at affordable prices. As for the real estate market, there is no need to draw any analogy with the nightmares that are happening in the CIS countries.
Immigration to the Czech Republic and business people will be pleased. They will definitely like the conditions that exist here for doing business. Among them - a reduction from year to year of income tax, cheap loans, etc.
Other positive points
Other advantages of the Czech Republic include:
- moderate favorable climate;
- low crime rate;
- excellent location almost in the center of Europe, which will allow you to quickly reach the borders of your home country and the capitals of all countries of Western Europe;
- free and high-quality education;
- membership in the European Union, which allows a Czech citizen to move freely without any bureaucratic procedures throughout Europe;
- a language included in the Slavic group, which is more accessible for study than, for example, English;
- favorable environmental conditions;
- a huge number of attractions and cultural values, such as the well-known Czech castles.
Even a small list from this list of advantages would be enough to make a final decision for your choice. In addition, the country has great opportunities for migration. It’s easy here to open your own company, and the constant growth in the number of companies engaged in small and medium businesses leads to a constant increase in the number of vacancies for specialists.
How to get permanent residence in the Czech Republic?
What should be the sequence of actions for someone interested in immigration to the Czech Republic? Consultation on these issues is given on the official websites of embassies. For those who decide to choose this country for their permanent residence, you will need:
- Get a long-term visa to the Czech Republic. She is issued for six months. To obtain a visa you will need some reason (this issue will be discussed below). Having collected the necessary package of documents, you should go to the consulate. After the conversation there, the decision of the Czech Ministry of Internal Affairs will be received after 2-4 months.
- With an existing long-term visa you can go to the country. However, before the expiration of such a residence permit, you will need to contact the Czech immigration police for its renewal. If the procedure is successful, the immigrant is given the status of residence permit. Fundamentally, nothing will change. Only a plastic biometric card will be issued on hand.
- After a five-year period of arrival in the country on a long-term visa, it is possible to apply for permanent residence. If the “blue card” was the permission to enter the Czech Republic, then this period is halved. To obtain permanent residence, you will need to comply with a certain condition. It consists in the fact that with a five-year stay in the country you can not leave it for a period exceeding ten months. Permanent residence allows you to obtain such rights as citizenship. An exception is the right to vote and the occupation of certain posts in government agencies.
- Five years later, after the status of permanent residence was obtained, you can count on obtaining citizenship in the Czech Republic.
It would seem that everything is quite simple. However, in order to obtain a long-term visa, you will need to have one of four reasons for issuing it. This is the biggest difficulty of such a move. Indeed, even in cases where the basis for immigration seems to be very suitable, the Czech Ministry of Internal Affairs may take a completely different position. What are they, the grounds that are needed to submit documents to the consulate? Let's consider them in more detail.
student visa
Immigration to the Czech Republic from Russia and from other CIS countries can be carried out in this way. Today it is the most affordable for those who seek to obtain permanent residence in this country.
What should be done to make such immigration to the Czech Republic possible? The comments of those who have already gone this way of obtaining a long-term visa say that the very first step will be to enroll in Czech language courses. You can study at them for six months or a year, depending on the proposed program. Knowing the language, it is easier to enter a state university on a budgetary basis.
There is a second option required to enable such immigration to the Czech Republic. The reviews of those who have taken this path say that you can simply find the site of a private paid university that offers simple entrance exams. Thus, it will be possible to come to study in the Czech Republic without wasting time learning the language. It should be borne in mind that university programs are offered to those who know English well. In this case, the Czech language is not needed at all for obtaining a diploma. This option is complicated only by the fact that confirmation of a certificate or diploma received in the homeland will take at least 3-4 months. However, there are exceptions to the rules. Some institutions of higher education agree to accept documents about studying at home after admission.
Types of universities in the Czech Republic
Institutions for higher education in the country are divided into:
- academies;
- institutions;
- universities.
What is the hierarchy of these universities? On the highest step are universities. Only they have a base for training doctors of sciences. As for the academies, they are in close cooperation with art and culture. These educational institutions train artists, writers and cultural figures. The training of all other specialists is carried out by institutes.
All universities in the Czech Republic are divided into state and commercial. Education in the first of them is free for both its citizens and those who come from abroad. However, it should be borne in mind that it is carried out only in Czech. Only additional services are to be paid, for which a very modest amount of money should be set aside, within 100 euros. Immigration to the Czech Republic from Russia and other CIS countries on a student visa is also beneficial because the country has lower accommodation prices than those offered in Europe as a whole.
Learning Features
In the Czech Republic there are:
- Bachelor's degree, where studies lasts from 3 to 4 years;
- Master's program - 5-6 years;
- postgraduate study for the title of Doctor of Science - from 2 to 3 years.
Whereas before the Czech Republic joined the European Union, its universities offered a choice between undergraduate and graduate programs, today the country's higher education institutions teach students in a joint master's program. On it, everyone starts from the first step, and then proceed to the second.
Czech state universities have a high-level material and technical base. This allows you to provide students with all the materials necessary for successful learning and to constantly update the content and composition of academic disciplines.
It is worth noting the high qualifications of the teaching staff of Czech universities. Many of these specialists came to work here from other European countries.
As for commercial institutions, they are relatively recent and use only undergraduate programs. In them, for study you will need to pay. This amount ranges from 700 euros per semester to 2-3 thousand.
The most popular direction that immigration to the Czech Republic from Russia in 2017, as well as in other previous years, has been entering two popular and reputable state universities. This is the Czech Economic and Charles University. Each of them has a rich history, fame on a European scale and established traditions.
Pros and Cons of a Student Visa
If immigration to the Czech Republic is planned with the possibility of studying at a university in the country, what are the advantages of this method? They are as follows:
- an accessible list of documents and a quick visa review (no more than two months);
- ease of obtaining permission to enter a European state;
- providing opportunities after receiving a diploma to find a job, after which the visa is changed to work.
Among the minuses include:
- passing a serious interview when applying for documents at the consulate, during which you should convince the consul that you have no intention of immigrating, and after graduation you will certainly return to your homeland;
- Student residence permit doubles the time period for obtaining permanent residence;
- a ban on legal work (the exception is only created by officially student teams), which causes great difficulties in material support;
- full-time study with attendance of classes and passing sessions.
Such universities do not issue formal diplomas. Absentee or evening study is not a basis for issuing a residence permit.
These are the pros and cons of immigrating to the Czech Republic on a student visa. Is it worth going this way? You decide.
Business visa
How else can immigration to the Czech Republic be effected? Ways to get a long-term visa do not only apply to travel to study at universities. In this country of Eastern Europe, own business can be opened. Even 5-6 years ago, using this method, most immigrants from the countries of the former USSR moved to the Czech Republic. However, instead of opening their own company, they were hired. And this, according to Czech law, is strictly prohibited. As a result, serious checks of such false entrepreneurs were carried out and legislative amendments were introduced. It should be borne in mind that there is simply no such loophole when business immigration to the Czech Republic is carried out.
You can only move to this country on the condition that your business is opened there. Only in this case will it be possible to obtain a residence permit. How to do this?
At the preparatory stage, you will need to choose a name for your company so that it sounds beautiful in Czech, is well read and does not have an indecent translation. Next, a package of documents is collected. It includes a copy of the passport, as well as the birth certificate of the founders of the company. The submitted documents provide a basis for obtaining a power of attorney, which is issued to a specific person. It is a specific person who is located in the Czech Republic, in the future must apply for registration of the enterprise.
The newly opened company must have a registered capital of CZK 200 thousand. Moreover, each of the founders, which can be up to nine people, have the right to contribute at least 10% of the total amount. Thus, business immigration to the Czech Republic is carried out according to a group scheme. This can significantly reduce personal expenses. Next, it is worth determining the type of activity of the future company.
After collecting all the necessary documents, they will have to be certified by a notary. This procedure will also have its difficulties. After all, not every notary public is familiar with the rules that exist for opening enterprises in the Czech Republic. It is important that all collected documents are filled out strictly according to the samples provided for by regulatory enactments.
If there are several founders, each of them will need police certificates confirming that there is no criminal record and that not one of them is prosecuted by law at the date of registration. It is advisable to do the collection of such documents yourself. This will avoid fakes.
After preparing the package of documents, it is sent through the embassy directly to the Czech Republic. And if the preparatory stage was carried out correctly, the organization will be included in the list of Czech legal entities. This will confirm the notification sent by mail, as well as the information on the website of the Ministry of Justice.
After receiving the status of director of his own company, a person has the right to apply for a Schengen visa, which will be valid for 90 days. Upon arrival in the country, it is replaced by a residence permit.
In this way, immigration to the Czech Republic from Russia can be carried out. Reviews from those who have acquired the status of a businessman in the country in question say that running your own business here is very convenient and also promising. Indeed, in the Czech Republic there is the necessary regulatory and investment climate, and there are also a large number of opportunities for the development of international cooperation and the further development of new markets.
Pros and Cons of a Business Visa
The positive aspects of this method of changing the place of residence are:
- the opportunity to move the whole family, for which it is enough to assign its members the ranks of founders and directors;
- lack of special difficulties in the procedure of registration of the company;
- the need to extend the residence permit every two years, which is not so frequent;
- the possibility of requesting short-term Czech visas for 3 months.
The negative aspects of a business visa include:
- mandatory opening of the company and the implementation of a real profitable business;
- payment of taxes even in the absence of profit;
- the need to conduct their own business up to obtaining permanent residence, which will come only after 5 years;
- annual submission of profit reports, for which you will need an appeal to qualified accountants;
- lack of employment opportunities in the presence of an entrepreneur status, even in case of temporary difficulties in business.
Blue card
How to immigrate to the Czech Republic? This will not be particularly difficult for valuable and well-paid specialists. They will no doubt be issued a “blue card”. This document was created at the initiative of the EU and opens the way for those who have a rare and sought after profession. This, for example, applies to IT specialists, physicists and highly qualified chemists. But it is worth bearing in mind that the “blue card” is issued only for those positions for which the necessary candidate from the EU was not found.
Such immigration to the Czech Republic from Russia is also peculiar in terms of the required minimum wage. Applicants for a “blue card” must have it 1.5 times higher than the average wage in the country. For the Czech Republic, this figure is more than one and a half thousand euros. Only under such conditions will the candidate be considered particularly valuable. However, this raises doubts that such a unique person will stop his gaze precisely on the Czech Republic. Skilled personnel choose New Zealand, Australia or Germany.
Pros and Cons of the Blue Card
The positive aspects of this method of immigration are:
- the possibility of applying for permanent residence 2.5 years after entering the country;
- moving to the Czech Republic with the whole family;
- lack of problems with obtaining visas;
- arrival at a certain workplace and receiving stable payment under a contract, which is concluded for two years.
Among the minuses of this card are:
- the presence of a popular and rare profession;
- immigration to the Czech Republic from Belarus, Russia, and other CIS countries is considered last, as the “blue card” is usually oriented to citizens of India and China.
Work Visa
How else can immigration to the Czech Republic from Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and other CIS countries be carried out? Another option for moving to this country is a work visa. However, according to the reviews of those who tried to get it, consider this option as a serious way is still not worth it. The chances of finding an employer who agrees to spend several months waiting until all documents are complete are too small. And if such a person is found (maybe he will be your friend), then he will have to go through a difficult procedure of interaction with state organizations. In particular, he will have to explain why he does not invite a Czech to this vacancy. In addition, the announcement of your future employer to be hired must be published and relevant within two months. And only if there is no suitable candidate from local, a foreigner will be able to count on obtaining a work visa.
Immigration to the Czech Republic in 2017 with this method has become extremely difficult due to the economic downturn that is observed in European countries. The Czech authorities make such attempts to preserve the labor market for their citizens. But if the necessary work permit is still obtained, then the foreigner will have to obtain a work visa. It should be borne in mind that since 2014, the Czech authorities began to issue a new document to labor migrants - a work card. It combines a residence permit and a work permit in the country. The lucky owners of this document should not forget that for one or two years a foreigner should be employed in the company that issued him the work permit. In addition, all necessary taxes and contributions to the social and health insurance authorities must be paid for it.
Much easier is the immigration of doctors to the Czech Republic. The country, however, like many EU countries, needs highly qualified medical personnel. In addition, there is currently a significant outflow of Czech specialists leaving for work in healthcare institutions in Western Europe. The resulting shortage of personnel allowed doctors from Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Russia and other republics of the former USSR to immigrate to the Czech Republic. For employment, they need to go through certain stages that recognize their qualifications.