The Czech Chamber of Deputies has confirmed on its legislative portal that Bill No. 144 — the government-sponsored Act on the Entry and Residence of Foreign Nationals — remains on the agenda of the lower house’s 27th sitting, with the status page time-stamped 26 July 2026. The long-awaited reform, first tabled in March, introduces a single digital application for long-term visas, residence permits and associated work authorisations, replaces the paper “biometric sticker” with a fully electronic residence card, and shortens standard processing times from 90 to 60 days. If adopted unchanged, the bill will also tighten compliance rules for employers. Companies seconding staff to Czechia for more than ten days in any 30-day period would have to file an online notification before the assignment begins, while payroll data will feed automatically into the Ministry of the Interior’s foreigner database. The measure dovetails with the new Single Monthly Employer Report (JMHZ) that took effect on 1 July 2026 and is intended to crack down on undeclared work. Another headline change is the creation of a “trusted sponsor” scheme for large investors and research institutions. Accredited organisations would be able to invite third-country nationals under a fast-track that promises appointment slots at consulates within ten days and residence approval in as little as 30 days. The government hopes the scheme will maintain Czechia’s competitiveness for high-skilled talent at a time when neighbouring Poland and Slovakia have launched similar programmes. Legal practitioners note, however, that the draft still requires physical attendance at embassies for fingerprint capture until the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) becomes fully operational at Prague and Brno airports later this year. They also caution that the bill contains no explicit grand-fathering for applications already in progress, creating potential uncertainty for HR teams with start dates in the autumn. The Senate is expected to take up the measure immediately after the Chamber’s final vote. Government sources say the target implementation date remains 1 January 2027, leaving only six months for secondary regulations and for employers to adapt internal on-boarding procedures.
