Changing jobs on an employee card or blue card

On an employee card, a new employer or a new position usually has to be reported to the Ministry of the Interior at least 30 days before you start, and you must wait for its written answer. Blue card holders and people with free access to the labour market report after they start, within a few days.

Your employee card (zaměstnanecká karta) is tied to a specific job. A change of employer, a change of position with the same employer, or an extra job in another position all have to be reported to the Ministry of the Interior (MV ČR). A move to a workplace in a different town also counts. A pay rise, a change of company name, business trips or home office do not.

If you do not have free access to the labour market, you report the change before you start. The Ministry must receive your notice at least 30 days before your planned start date, and it answers within 30 days with a written notification. Only start the new job once you have a positive answer, and not earlier than the date on your form.

You generally cannot change employer in the first six months after you collected your first employee card. The exceptions include: your card has been extended at least once, you are only changing position with the same employer, or your job ended for certain reasons in the Labour Code, such as the employer ending it during probation.

You cannot move to or from an employment agency. The new job must be a vacancy listed in the central database of jobs open to employee card holders. Bring the new contract (a preliminary one is fine), proof that your old job continues or has ended, and proof of qualifications if needed. You cannot add documents or fix mistakes once it is submitted, so check everything first.

If your job ends, you must report a new job within 90 days of the end of the old one, or your card may lose its validity.

Free access to the labour market (volný přístup na trh práce) means you do not need approval for a specific job. Among others, it covers EU citizens and their family members, permanent residents, many full-time students and graduates of Czech schools, family-reunification holders of certain foreigners, people with asylum or subsidiary protection, and citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the UK and the USA. Employee card holders with free access report a new job within 3 working days after starting.

Blue card (modrá karta) holders no longer need approval to change employer. You report a new employer or position within three days of starting, and you report the end of a job within 3 working days. Long gaps without work can cost you the card, so check the limits with the Ministry.

Step by step

1. Check whether you have free access to the labour market.
2. Check the six-month rule if you are on your first employee card.
3. Make sure the new job is a vacancy open to employee card holders.
4. Fill in the notification form and gather the new contract and proof about your old job.
5. Submit it in person, by post, data box or signed email so it arrives at least 30 days before your start date.
6. Wait for the written notification of compliance before you start.
7. On a blue card or with free access, report within the 3-day deadline after you start.

Last checked 2026-11-11. Open this guide in the app to add the dates to your calendar.