Czechia · Startup Visa
Entrepreneur and startup visa programs, investment thresholds, and application criteria.
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Czechia has no dedicated start-up visa. A founder from outside the EU usually starts with the long-term visa for the purpose of doing business, which covers running a licensed trade, self-employment, or sitting on the statutory body of a company. It is valid for up to one year and is applied for in person at a Czech embassy, with a CZK 5,000 consular fee and a 90-day processing limit (120 days in complicated cases); some embassies set quotas for this visa. Applicants must already be registered in the relevant register — the trade licensing register or the commercial register — and must show funds of 50 times the subsistence minimum, which the Interior Ministry’s portal gives as CZK 156,500. Once in the country, the founder moves to the long-term residence permit for doing business, valid for up to two years (CZK 2,500). Graduates of Czech universities can instead take a one-off nine-month permit to look for work or start a business, with free access to the labour market, and can then switch to the business permit directly. Start-ups that hire skilled foreign managers and specialists can apply to the Key and Research Staff Programme, run by the Ministry of Industry and Trade with CzechInvest, under which embassies process the employees’ visa applications within 30 days. A separate investment permit requires at least CZK 75 million and 20 new jobs.
- No start-up visa: founders use the long-term visa, then the residence permit, for doing business.
- Business visa: CZK 5,000 fee, funds of CZK 156,500, registration in the trade or commercial register first.
- Czech-university graduates: a one-off nine-month permit to look for work or start a business.
- Start-ups hiring skilled foreign staff: Key and Research Staff Programme, visas processed within 30 days.
- Information Portal for Foreigners (Ministry of the Interior) — Long-term visa for doing business
Who qualifies, the CZK 5,000 fee, quotas and the documents.
- Information Portal for Foreigners (Ministry of the Interior) — Long-term residence permit for doing business
The two-year permit and who can apply without five years’ prior residence.
- Information Portal for Foreigners (Ministry of the Interior) — Permit for seeking employment or starting a business
The nine-month permit for graduates and researchers.
- Ministry of Industry and Trade — Key and Research Staff Programme
Fast-track for investors, technology companies and start-ups hiring skilled staff.
- Information Portal for Foreigners (Ministry of the Interior) — Residence permit for investment
The CZK 75 million and 20-job threshold.
Government portals
- gov.cz — Public Administration Portal — Guides to life situations and online services, including emergency calls and annual leave.
- Public Register and Collection of Documents — Ministry of Justice search of the commercial register and companies' filed documents.
- Financial Administration (Finanční správa) — Tax filing, VAT registration and the VAT control statement.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Entry & Residence — Short-stay visas, Employee Card, EU Blue Card and residence registration.