Twenty days after the grace period expired, Czech labour offices and migration authorities are now rejecting EU Blue Card applications that fail to meet the new salary floor of CZK 73,823 (€2,900). The threshold, which came into force on 1 May 2026, reflects 1.5 times the national average wage and is part of a wider digital overhaul dubbed ‘Foreigner Account’. From today, 20 June, applicants who try to bypass the online account platform—still accessible only in Czech and English—will have their files returned un-opened. The platform consolidates identity verification, proof-of-qualification uploads and payment of the CZK 1,000 administrative fee. Employers receive automated e-mails when officers request missing documents, trimming typical processing from 90 to 60 days, according to pilot data in Brno.
![Digital Foreigner Account and Higher EU Blue Card Salary Now Fully Enforced]()
Navigating these rules can be daunting, but VisaHQ’s Czech Republic team can streamline the process by pre-checking salary compliance, converting documents to portal-ready formats and even arranging apostille services. Visit https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/ to see how our experts can handle Blue Card, Employee Card and other Czech work permissions end-to-end, allowing HR and talent to focus on onboarding rather than paperwork.
Start-ups and IT outsourcers welcome the higher predictability but complain that the salary jump prices out entry-level coders. The interior ministry counters that the Blue Card is meant for senior roles and notes that the separate Employee Card remains pegged to 1.0 times the average wage. Practical tip: HR teams should factor in the digital portal’s strict PDF size limits (10 MB per file) and ensure diplomas carry Hague Apostilles; the system auto-rejects scans without apostille pages. Existing Blue Card holders renewing before 30 April 2027 are grandfathered at their current salary but must migrate their records to the online account by 31 December.
Navigating these rules can be daunting, but VisaHQ’s Czech Republic team can streamline the process by pre-checking salary compliance, converting documents to portal-ready formats and even arranging apostille services. Visit https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/ to see how our experts can handle Blue Card, Employee Card and other Czech work permissions end-to-end, allowing HR and talent to focus on onboarding rather than paperwork.
Start-ups and IT outsourcers welcome the higher predictability but complain that the salary jump prices out entry-level coders. The interior ministry counters that the Blue Card is meant for senior roles and notes that the separate Employee Card remains pegged to 1.0 times the average wage. Practical tip: HR teams should factor in the digital portal’s strict PDF size limits (10 MB per file) and ensure diplomas carry Hague Apostilles; the system auto-rejects scans without apostille pages. Existing Blue Card holders renewing before 30 April 2027 are grandfathered at their current salary but must migrate their records to the online account by 31 December.
