The OECD released its flagship International Migration Outlook 2025 on 11 November and the Czech chapter confirms a watershed moment for the country’s labour market. According to the report, the number of foreign-born residents reached 1.1 million in 2024, equal to 9.9 % of the total population. Ukrainians account for almost half of all newcomers, followed by Slovaks and Russians. Annual inflows also edged higher: 40 000 people were granted long-term or permanent residence in 2024, a 7 % year-on-year increase.
Although freedom-of-movement arrivals from the EU still represent around 30 % of total inflows, labour migration – mainly from Ukraine, the Philippines and India – now makes up 43 %. Corporate mobility managers say this confirms a structural reliance on third-country talent, particularly in manufacturing, IT and shared-services centres clustered around Prague, Brno and Ostrava.
![OECD Migration Outlook 2025: Foreign-born workforce in Czechia tops 1 million for the first time]()
For employers the headline message is tightening competition for skills. The report notes that post-pandemic recovery, defence-related production and reconstruction projects for Ukraine are fuelling demand for welders, electricians and software engineers. With domestic unemployment below 3 %, companies are urged to make greater use of the EU Blue Card, the fast-track Highly Qualified Worker and Qualified Employee quotas, and new digital appointment portals introduced this year by the Ministry of the Interior.
At the same time, the OECD warns that housing and school-capacity bottlenecks are beginning to constrain further inflows. It recommends expanding integration services – particularly Czech-language tuition and recognition of foreign qualifications – and streamlining regional labour-office procedures so that work-permit decisions keep pace with business demand.
Practically, mobility teams should budget longer lead-times for visas issued in high-volume consulates such as Kyiv, New Delhi and Manila, and monitor forthcoming amendments to the Employment Act that will introduce pre-employment notification obligations from 1 October 2025. Successful relocation programmes will combine competitive salaries with family support, Czech-language up-skilling and hybrid-work policies that ease pressure on urban housing.
Although freedom-of-movement arrivals from the EU still represent around 30 % of total inflows, labour migration – mainly from Ukraine, the Philippines and India – now makes up 43 %. Corporate mobility managers say this confirms a structural reliance on third-country talent, particularly in manufacturing, IT and shared-services centres clustered around Prague, Brno and Ostrava.
For employers the headline message is tightening competition for skills. The report notes that post-pandemic recovery, defence-related production and reconstruction projects for Ukraine are fuelling demand for welders, electricians and software engineers. With domestic unemployment below 3 %, companies are urged to make greater use of the EU Blue Card, the fast-track Highly Qualified Worker and Qualified Employee quotas, and new digital appointment portals introduced this year by the Ministry of the Interior.
At the same time, the OECD warns that housing and school-capacity bottlenecks are beginning to constrain further inflows. It recommends expanding integration services – particularly Czech-language tuition and recognition of foreign qualifications – and streamlining regional labour-office procedures so that work-permit decisions keep pace with business demand.
Practically, mobility teams should budget longer lead-times for visas issued in high-volume consulates such as Kyiv, New Delhi and Manila, and monitor forthcoming amendments to the Employment Act that will introduce pre-employment notification obligations from 1 October 2025. Successful relocation programmes will combine competitive salaries with family support, Czech-language up-skilling and hybrid-work policies that ease pressure on urban housing.
