PRAGUE — On 19 June the Czech Ministry of the Interior quietly posted its quarterly Migration Report covering January–March 2026. The 40-page document shows that 1,124,496 foreign nationals held legal residence at the end of March, a marginal 0.59 percent drop from December 2025. Foreigners still make up 10.3 percent of the population, with Ukrainians accounting for more than half. The report signals a plateau in the post-pandemic surge of work-permit holders from non-EU countries. New Employee Card issuances are down 6 percent year-on-year, mainly because labour-market shortages eased in manufacturing and retail. For employers, this could mean longer lead-times for critical-skills quotas as the government reallocates resources to processing temporary protection renewals. Illegal-border detections across the EU fell 39 percent versus Q1 2025, according to Frontex figures quoted in the report. Czechia’s share of irregular entries via the Western Balkan route remains negligible, but the ministry warns that smugglers may pivot to rail corridors as Austria phases out its internal border checks on 15 June. Mobility practitioners should focus on two annexes. Annex B sets out revised income thresholds for Blue Card renewals (now CZK 66,200 per month), while Annex C confirms that holders of Digital Nomad visas can register address changes electronically from 1 July. Companies planning staff moves after the summer holidays should update cost projections and onboarding checklists accordingly.
