Czech Chamber of Deputies moves new Foreigner Residence Act to third (final) reading

The Czech Republic is on the verge of adopting its first completely rewritten immigration code in more than two decades. On 19 July 2026, the Chamber of Deputies formally placed Government Bill No. 144 – the “Act on Entry and Residence of Foreigners (Cizinecký zákon)” – on the agenda of its 27th plenary session, meaning the text will now proceed to its decisive third-reading vote. The bill, which replaces the heavily-amended 1999 Aliens Act, has already cleared two readings and a detailed review in the Security Committee; last month MPs voted to waive further committee scrutiny in order to speed adoption. If adopted, the law will consolidate visas, residence permits and work authorisations into a single digital procedure built on a new Information Foreigner Agenda System (ICAS). Applicants will upload supporting documents, pay fees and track case status online; biometric enrolment will be completed at “one-stop” centres operated jointly by the Interior Ministry and the immigration police. Officials say this will cut average processing times for employee cards from today’s 90 days to 45 days and virtually eliminate paper correspondence. During the second-reading debate in April, Interior Minister Vít Rakušan stressed that the overhaul “does not liberalise admission criteria – it modernises them.” For employers, the biggest change is the creation of a mandatory electronic ‘guarantor portal’. Universities, research institutes and companies that sponsor non-EU nationals will have to pre-register, upload labour-law compliance certificates and accept financial liability for overstays and unpaid medical costs for the first 90 days of a foreigner’s stay. Repeat labour-code violations could lead to suspension from the system for up to two years. The Confederation of Industry has welcomed the predictability the portal brings but criticises the liability rules as “disproportionate”, warning that smaller firms may shy away from hiring needed talent. The bill also transposes the EU’s 2024 recast Single Permit and Blue Card directives, introduces six-month digital-nomad visas for IT professionals, and aligns Czech rules with the Schengen Entry/Exit System that became fully operational in April. A new 60-day “mobility notification” will allow holders of a Czech ICT Card or Blue Card to work in another EU member state without asking for a local permit, an important facilitation for multinationals managing regional projects. Assuming the third-reading vote passes later this week, the Senate is expected to take up the measure after its summer recess. The Interior Ministry says it needs at least nine months to build ICAS and train staff, so the target implementation date in the bill is 1 May 2027. Global mobility managers should therefore prepare now: audit document-collection workflows, budget for higher sponsorship guarantees, and inform transferees that paper applications at Czech consulates will gradually disappear once the new law enters into force.