Can the employer skip the 30 days of advertising?

The regional Labour Office branch can shorten the period to 10 days at its discretion, with regard to the labour-market situation. It is the office’s call, not the employer’s.

I already hold an Employee Card and found a new job. Same registry?

The new position must also be one an Employee Card holder may fill, and the change has its own notification procedure and timing, see [changing employer](/answers/change-employer-employee-card).

Part-time at 10 hours a week, is that enough?

No. MPSV’s conditions for listed positions require at least 15 hours a week, and pay at or above the basic monthly minimum wage.

Which Czech jobs can an Employee Card actually fill?

Not any job. A standard Employee Card application names a specific vacancy from the central registry of positions open to Employee Card holders, identified by a job number. A vacancy enters that registry only after the employer agrees to hire non-EU workers and the position has been advertised through the Labour Office without being filled, normally for at least 30 days.

Who this is for: Job-seekers abroad planning an Employee Card application, holders changing employer, and employers wondering why a role cannot be offered to a non-EU candidate yet.

Not for: People with free access to the Czech labour market by nationality or status: you can take any job, and your card is the non-dual kind. Check the nationality pages for whether that is you.

How a vacancy becomes Employee Card eligible

How long a job must have been advertised before it can be filled by an Employee Card or Blue Card holder

At least 30 days from notification to the Labour Office, reducible to 10 days at the regional branch’s discretion — and only where the labour-market test applies

Employers registering a vacancy in the central register for Employee Card or Blue Card holders. The waiting period is CONDITIONAL: it only applies where the vacancy could otherwise be filled from the available labour force, and the regional Labour Office branch may shorten it to 10 days depending on the labour market. It does not apply to applicants with free access to the labour market, who need no registered vacancy at all.

Show the Czech text

The wording the rule above was read from. It is the authoritative text, and it is in Czech.

“§ 37a odst. 4: "(4) Podmínkou pro zařazení volného pracovního místa do centrální evidence volných pracovních míst obsaditelných držiteli modré karty nebo do centrální evidence volných pracovních míst obsaditelných držiteli zaměstnanecké karty je souhlas zaměstnavatele. V případě, že lze volné pracovní místo s ohledem na dostatek volných pracovních sil obsadit jinak, je podmínkou pro zařazení volného pracovního místa do centrální evidence volných pracovních míst obsaditelných držiteli modré karty nebo do centrální evidence volných pracovních míst obsaditelných držiteli zaměstnanecké karty skutečnost, že je toto volné pracovní místo krajskou pobočkou Úřadu práce nabízeno a zveřejněno alespoň po dobu 30 dnů od jeho oznámení krajské pobočce Úřadu práce podle odstavce 2 nebo 3 . Krajská pobočka Úřadu práce může s ohledem na situaci na trhu práce zkrátit dobu podle věty druhé až na 10 dnů."”

Read from e-sbirka.gov.cz on 13 September 2026Check it yourself

This is the labour-market test: the state first offers the role to the domestic market, and only an unfilled vacancy moves on. The Ministry of Labour (MPSV) keeps the resulting central registry for Employee Card positions, and a parallel one for Blue Card positions. The employer must also agree to employing non-EU nationals; without that flag the job never appears, however long it is advertised.

Minimum shape of an eligible job: at least 15 hours a week, and pay no lower than the basic monthly minimum wage, conditions the Labour Office checks before listing, as MPSV’s pages for foreigners describe.

Finding the job number

1Search the central registry through the MPSV portal or uradprace.cz (both official; links below). Filter for positions open to Employee Card holders.
2Note the job number (číslo volného místa) of the position you agree with the employer. Your application names this number; an employer who already knows you can simply give it to you.
3Put the number and the employer’s details into the application form, with the contract or agreement for that exact position.

A job offer that is not in the registry cannot carry a standard Employee Card application, no matter how real the offer is. If your employer’s role is missing, the employer fixes that with the Labour Office first; you cannot fix it from your side.

Quick questions

Can the employer skip the 30 days of advertising?: The regional Labour Office branch can shorten the period to 10 days at its discretion, with regard to the labour-market situation. It is the office’s call, not the employer’s.
I already hold an Employee Card and found a new job. Same registry?: The new position must also be one an Employee Card holder may fill, and the change has its own notification procedure and timing, see changing employer.
Part-time at 10 hours a week, is that enough?: No. MPSV’s conditions for listed positions require at least 15 hours a week, and pay at or above the basic monthly minimum wage.

Official sources, and when we read them

MPSV: Zaměstnanecké karty pro cizince (the central registry) read 14 October 2026
Úřad práce ČR (Labour Office): vacancies read 14 October 2026

A summary to help you act in time, not legal advice. Rules change; the dates above say when each source was actually read, and the fact boxes carry their own.

What to do next

All answers

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