VISA ASSISTANCE GUIDELINES

VISA ASSISTANCE GUIDELINES

DOES EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO WORK IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC NEED TO GET A VISA? EU citizens do not need to get a working visa as they are allowed to work freely within the EU. If you are from anywhere else that the EU, you do need to get a visa to be allowed to legally work in the Czech Republic. WHAT TYPES OF LONG-TERM VISA ARE THERE? 1. WORKING VISA - WORK PERMIT + long term visa/long term residency permit 2. BUSINESS VISA - TRADE LICENSE + long term visa/long term residency permit. WE WILL HELP YOU WITH THE SECOND OPTION (BUSINESS VISA) AS IT IS MUCH EASIER AND MORE FLEXIBLE TO GET AND MAINTAIN THAN A WORKING VISA AND A WORK PERMIT WHAT IS THE TRADE LICENSE? The trade license (in Czech we call it živnostenský list and most foreigners call it živno ) is a document that will allow you to do business in the Czech Republic and work as a freelancer. THESE ARE ITS PROS A work permit is always connected to one particular job, you are an employee, and if you lose your job, your visa expires immediately. The trade license allows you to work as a freelancer and have more jobs, so even if you lose of of them, your visa does not expire and you can keep working here. If companies hire foreigners as their employees (based on a work permit), they have to pay their health and social insurance. Freelancers, on the other hand, pay their own taxes, health and social insurance and therefore some companies (and especially language schools) prefer to hire people who have a trade license, as they save a lot of money that way. If you have a trade license, you pay far less taxes and are able to deduct more expenses than if you were an employee. Non-EU citizens must apply for a long-term D-visa for business purposes, which is based on živnostenský list (trade license), at a Czech embassy outside of the Czech Republic (we usually apply in Berlin). The first D-visa is valid for 6 months. 2

HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO PAY ON TAXES, SOCIAL AND HEALTH INSURANCE? With a trade license, you will be paying 3 things: INCOME TAX Income taxes are always paid in March of the following year (taxes for 2015 are paid in March 2016). With a trade license, you are allowed to deduct much more expenses than if you are an employee. Trade license owners can use the fixed 60% expense rate, so you will simply calculate your expenses as 60% of your revenues (even if your actual expenses are less than 60%). The remaining 40% is the basis on which your income tax, social and health insurance are calculated. Our income tax rate is 15%. However, if your annual revenue is less than 400 000 CZK (approximately 33 500 CZK a month), you income tax will be zero. How is that possible? Let us explain on an example: Let s say that your monthly revenue is 25 000 CZK, then your yearly revenue is 300 000 CZK. The fixed expense rate is 60%, which makes your expenses 180 000 CZK and your income tax base 120 000 CZK. The income tax rate is 15%, so your tax should be 18 000 CZK. However, every tax payer in the Czech Republic can deduct an extra amount of 24 840 CZK, so with this deduction, you final income tax will be 0 CZK. HEALTH INSURANCE You will need to purchase comprehensive health insurance for foreigners only once - before you pick up your visa in Berlin. The health insurance has to be valid for at least 6 months (it has to cover the validity of your visa). The cost of the health insurance is approximately 1 000 CZK/month (depending on the health insurance company you choose). SOCIAL INSURANCE It is the law that all business license owners have to monthly minimum charges of 1 943 CZK (2015). A few weeks after your registration at the Czech Social Administration you will receive a letter with a money order if you do not receive it within a few weeks, contact Vera. 3

IS THE PROCESS THE SAME FOR EVERYONE? The visa process is not the same for everyone. Your visa process highly depends on where you are from. There are 2 types of countries: 1. Countries whose citizens can apply for the working visa within the EU (for example USA, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan). 2. Countries whose citizens cannot apply for the visa within the EU and have to travel back to their home country to apply (for example India, South Africa, Russia). MAKE SURE TO ALWAYS FIND OUT IN ADVANCE WHICH GROUP YOUR COUNTRY BELONGS TO (THOSE COUNTRIES WHOSE CITIZENT NEED A VISA TO ENTER THE CZECH REPUBLIC AS TOURISTS ARE USUALLY IN THE SECOND GROUP. WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING WITH ME? If you want to apply for a visa please bring your PASSPORT (valid min. 1 year after your arrival) and one more ID with a photo (e.g. driver s license). Those who are not from the US and Canada also need to bring their CRIMINAL RECORD STATEMENT with an APOSTILLE. Please note that the apostille is very important and if you do not have the criminal record statement or the apostille, your visa process can be much longer and more complicated. If you have any questions as for what to bring, do not hesitate to contact us. If you cannot apply for a visa within the EU, please contact the Czech embassy in your country to find out what documents they require! 4

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GET A VISA? The following text describes all the steps necessary to obtain a working visa. If you decide to use our visa assistance service, our visa coordinator will guide you through all of them and will make sure the process is as easy for you as possible. STEP 1: APPLYING FOR A TRADE LICENSE DURATION: 2-3 WEEKS Please note that this is an estimated duration, the process can be longer or shorter - the Trade Licensing Office has slightly different requirements for each country. SUMMARY OF THIS STEP: This step starts in the first week of the course. We will ask you to fill out a few documents and get everything necessary to apply for the trade license. Our visa coordinator will go to the Trade Licensing Office on your behalf and submit the application. The Trade Licensing Office will issue a Trade License for you, which will, however, not be valid (active) yet. I will become valid when you receive your Business Visa (the Trade License cannot be used separately without a visa). NECESSARY DOCUMENTS: We will prepare the following documents for you: 1. POWER OF ATTORNEY Empowers our visa coordinator to represent you at the Trade Licensing Office. 2. LETTER OF CONSENT A permission from the building owner that you can use our school building as your business address. 3. TRADE LICENSE APPLICATION FORM We will need you to provide: 1. PASSPORT 2. CRIMINAL RECORD STATEMENT 3. 1000 CZK TRADE LICENSE APPLICATION FEE 5

STEP 2: APPLYING FOR A LONG-TERM BUSINESS VISA (AKA BERLIN TRIP) DURATION: 6-8 WEEKS SUMMARY OF THIS STEP: After we get the trade license we will need to collect a few more important documents. When all documents are ready, we will take you to the Czech embassy in Berlin where you will file the visa application (the application can also be filed at a different embassy (net necessarily Berlin), but Berlin is the closest one and easiest to communicate with). It usually takes the embassy 6-8 weeks to issue the visa. When your visa is ready, our visa coordinator will pick it up in Berlin and bring it to Prague. NECESSARY DOCUMENTS: We will prepare the following documents for you: 1. TRADE LICENSE 2. FILLED OUT VISA APPLICATION FORM We will need you to provide: 1. PROOF OF RESIDENCE 2. BANK ACCOUNT STATEMENT PROVING THE AMOUNT OF MIN. 110 000 CZK 3. CRIMINAL RECORD STATEMENT 4. 100 EUR VISA APPLICATION FEE (THE EQUIVALENT OF 2 500 CZK) 5. 2 PHOTOS (CZECH PASSPORT SIZE) People from countries whose citizens cannot apply for the visa within the EU will not be going to Berlin. Instead, they will need to go back to their country and apply there. We will provide all the documents above and continue with STEP 3 after their return to the Czech Republic. 6

STEP 3: PICKING UP AND VALIDATING YOUR VISA AND FINAL REGISTRATIONS DURATION: APPROXIMATELY 1 WEEK SUMMARY OF THIS STEP: When your visa is ready, our visa coordinator will go to Berlin to pick it up (included in the visa assistance fee). Before she goes, she will need you to provide a proof of health insurance. After she brings the visa back to Prague it will have to be registered at various offices. She will not need you to do the registrations and visit the offices with her (except for the Immigration Office). We need you to provide: 1. PROOF OF HEALTH INSURANCE When picking up the visa, you need to prove that you have paid for complex care health insurance valid for the same period of time as your visa (6 months). You can purchase the insurance online in the Czech Republic. The insurance costs approximately 1 000 CZK/month and is not included in the visa assistance fee. 2. PASSPORT We will: 1. REGISTER YOUR VISA AT THE IMMIGRATION OFFICE Must be done within 3 days of receiving you visa and you must have the above mentioned health insurance with you. 2. REGISTER YOUR TRADE LICENSE AT THE TRADE LICENSING OFFICE Must be done within 3 days of the registration of your visa at the Immigration Office. You will receive an official and valid Trade License and an Identification Number (IČO). The IČO will need to be used on all of your invoices. 3. REGISTER YOUR TRADE LICENSE AT THE CZECH SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Must be done soon after your registration at the Trade Licensing Office. 4. REGISTER YOUR TRADE LICENSE AT THE TAX OFFICE 7

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS IN DETAIL CRIMINAL RECORD STATEMENT UNITED STATES If you are from the United States, you do not need to bring your criminal record statements with you from home as you can it Prague very easily. You will just go to the notary with us and sign an affidavit that will be used for both your Trade License application and visa application. CANADA You will need 2 copies of your criminal record statement one to apply for the Trade License and one to apply for the visa. You do not need to bring two copies of your criminal record statement, only one will do - we will use the original to apply for your trade license and make a notarial copy to apply for your visa (this is usually for an extra fee, which is not included in the visa assistance service). You can either bring you criminal record statement from Canada or get it statement at the Canadian embassy in Prague. If you decide to bring it from home, your criminal record statement has to be legalized by a Czech embassy in Canada (some extra fees may apply). It is, however, easier if you get it from the Canadian embassy in Prague. Getting the criminal record statement in Prague takes approximately 2 weeks, so it is important to start the visa process as soon as possible. It costs 1 000 CZK (the criminal record itself) + 600 CZK superlegalization. OTHER COUTRIES If you are from any other country, we need you to bring the criminal record statement from your country (from the country that issued your passport). The criminal record statement must not be older than 3 months, has to be apostilled and legally translated in Czech (if you do not have a legal translation, we can take care of it in Prague). You will need your criminal record statement twice during the visa process - once to apply for the trade license and once to apply for the visa itself. You do not need to bring two copies of your criminal record statement, only one will do. We will use the original to apply for your trade license and make a notarial copy to apply for your visa (this is usually for an extra fee, which is not included in the visa assistance service). If you lived in another country for more than 6 months in the last 3 years and have a record of it in your passport, you need a criminal record statement from that country as well. 8

PROOF OF RESIDENCE The proof of residence confirms that you have an address in the Czech Republic (the place where you will be living in during your 6-month stay in Prague It has to be provided together with the visa application (you need to have it ready for the Berlin trip). You can either use your lease agreement or a special form signed by the owner of the flat. LEASE AGREEMENT Only the original or a notarial copy can be used (a notarial copy costs approx. 35 CZK/page and is recommended, so that you can keep the original). FORM SIGNED BY FLAT OWNER There is a special form (we will provide it) that you will need to fill out and ask the flat owner to sign (if you use our Housing Assistance service, we will help you with it). It is at no extra cost. Make sure to always consult our visa coordinator Vera at least a week (preferably sooner) before the Berlin trip she will tell you which proof of residence will be easier for you to get (form signed by flat owner / lease agreement) and give you detailed instructions to make sure all the documents are correct. If the Berlin trip takes place during the course and you do not have your own place yet, we will provide the proof of residence for the TEFL house (only for those staying in the TEFL house, at no extra cost). If the Berlin trip takes place after the course (most cases), you need your own proof of residence. Only in exceptional cases (for example if you do not have a flat at the time of the Berlin trip yet), we can provide a temporary proof of residence for the TEFL house at an extra cost of 450 CZK. Once you have your own flat, you will change your residence from the TEFL house to your place. 9

BANK ACCOUNT STATEMENT - PROOF OF FUNDS When filing the visa application you also need to prove that you have a sufficient amount of money on your account (at least 110 000 CZK). It is to show the Czech embassy that you have enough money to survive in the Czech Republic for the period of 6 months To get the proof you can either use the bank account from your country or open a new account in the Czech Republic and transfer the money there. It can be an on-line statement (with a list of transactions) or a letter from the bank (with the account balance only). The online statement can be in English, the letter from the bank has to be translated to Czech. The bank account has to be on your name. If you are using a Czech account to get your bank statement, you do not need a credit/payment card. If you are using a foreign account, you also need to have a credit/payment card with your name on it (so the embassy can connect the account with the card). It must not be older than 3 months. During the visa process (from the moment you file the application to the moment you receive your visa) the embassy may ask for another bank statement to see whether the money is still there (although they usually don t do it). If the embassy finds out you do not have enough money on your account, your visa can be denied. Therefore, if you are not going to be using your own money and are planning to borrow it from your family or friends, make sure the money stays on your account from the day you get your bank statement until the day you receive your visa (approximately 2 months). If you do not have this amount of money at your disposal and have nobody to borrow it from, we can help you get the bank statement. To do that, we will have to open a Czech bank account for you you will need 2 IDS with a photo (e.g. a passport and a driver s license) and 250 CZK to activate your account and pay for the bank statement. This service costs an extra 1 000 CZK. Although it is possible to get the statement with our help, we do not recommend it. We will not be able to keep the money on your account for 2 months and therefore you visa could be denied. 10

WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU AND WHEN? WHAT Passport Criminal record statement 1 000 CZK - Trade License appl. fee Bank statement Proof of residence 2 photos 100 EUR in cash - Visa application fee Czech health insurance WHEN First week of the course + Berlin First week of the course Second week of the course A week before the Berlin trip A week before the Berlin trip The day of the Berlin trip The day of the Berlin trip 6-8 weeks after the Berlin trip HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? The price of our visa assistance is 11 000 CZK. THE PRICE INCLUDES Completion of application forms and all necessary documents Notary visits Assistance getting a criminal record statement Getting the Trade license A trip to the Czech Embassy in Berlin + assistance during the visa application process Collecting the visa from the embassy in Berlin Registration of the visa at the Foreign Police, Social Security Administration, Financial Office, Business Office THE PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE 1 000 CZK Trade License Application Fee 100 EUR Visa Application Fee Notary fees, fees for criminal record statement, translations etc. (highly individual) 1 000 CZK Bank Statement Assistance Fee + 250 CZK Bank Account Activation Fee (only if you use our assistance getting a bank statement) (5 000 6 000 CZK health insurance) CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS Cancellations before the visa process starts... 100 % refund (11 000 CZK) Cancellations up to a week before the Berlin trip... 30 % refund (3 300 CZK) Later cancellations... no refund 11

RENEWING THE VISA LONG-TERM RESIDENCE Your first Business Visa is for 6 months only. If you want to stay in the Czech Republic longer, you can apply for a long-term residency. The application can be filed 90 days before the expiration of your visa and NO LATER than 14 days before the expiration of your visa. In case you are interested in getting long-term residency, please contact our Visa Coordinator Vera, she will help you with it. OUR VISA COORDINATOR AND WHERE TO FIND HER Feel free to contact our Visa Coordinator Věra Antsiouová with any questions you might have. She will be happy to explain all the details to you and give you instructions about all the documents and requirements. Her a-mail address is: vera.antsiouova@caledonianschool.com. He if you want to consult anything in person, please make an appointment with her and meet her at her desk in the open space office on the 1st floor (see map below). 12