If you plan to work or run a business in Prague, you must make sure that you meet all the conditions and fulfill the obligations associated with your activity.
Access to the Labour Market
Not all foreigners have free access to the labour market in the Czech Republic. The conditions vary depending on the type of residence permit and other criteria.
More details about access to the labour market
Job Search
If you are unemployed or lose your job and meet the legally defined conditions, you can register at the labor office, which offers unemployment support, retraining courses, and mediates job offers. You should register at the labor office in the district of your residence.
More details on job searching through the labor office
You can also search for jobs independently by using job portals like https://www.jobs.cz/ or https://www.prace.cz/, which list job vacancies.
Once you find a job, you must sign an contract with your employer. Make sure the contract includes the legal working hours (maximum 12 hours per day and 40 hours per week) and the monthly salary. The minimum wage in 2024 for full-time work is 18,900 CZK. Social security and health insurance contributions are deducted from this sum.
Contact information for all branches of the labor office
info
If you are unsure about whether and under what conditions you can work in the Czech Republic, or need a consultation regarding job searching or employment contracts, you can contact the Integration Centre Prague, which provides free social counseling. You need to book an appointment in advance at +420 252 543 846. If you do not speak Czech fluently yet and need interpreting, you can use the services of intercultural workers free of charge.
Entrepreneurship
In the Czech Republic, you can run a business as a self-employed person (OSVČ) or as a legal entity.
If you want to obtain a trade license and become self-employed (OSVČ), you need to visit any trade licensing office, regardless of where you live. The processing fee is 1,000 CZK.
Prague Trade Licensing Offices contact information
As a self-employed person, you are required to submit your tax return by April 1st of each year. If you fail to do so, you may face hefty financial penalties, and it could also affect the extension of your residence permit in the Czech Republic. The tax return is submitted to the corresponding Tax Office depending on the registered address of your business/company. If your tax return is prepared by a tax advisor, the deadline is extended to July 1st.
As an entrepreneur, you also have obligations towards your health insurance provider (if you have public insurance) and the Czech Social Security Administration, including submitting an overview of your income and expenses for the calendar year. The amount of potential insurance advance payments is calculated based on whether your business is your primary or secondary activity and the overview for the previous calendar year.
Alternatively, if you meet the conditions, you can opt for the flat-rate regime (i.e., you will pay a single flat-rate advance instead of paying income tax, pension insurance advances, and public health insurance contributions, and you won’t have to submit tax returns and insurance overviews). You can find detailed information here.
Contact info for Tax Offices in Prague
Communication card:
Labour offices
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