Prague – The Czech Chamber of Deputies devoted the bulk of its 28 May 2026 sitting to the government’s long-awaited draft Act on the Entry and Stay of Foreigners. After a marathon general debate, deputies voted to send the 144-page bill to the committee phase, clearing the second of three readings required for passage. If adopted, the new law would replace the 1999 Aliens Act and transpose multiple EU directives – including the 2021 revision of the Blue-Card Directive and parts of the EU Migration & Asylum Pact – into Czech legislation. Interior-Minister Lubomír Metnar told the house that the reform is intended to “digitalise 80 % of residence procedures, introduce secure electronic ‘Foreigner Accounts’, and give employers clearer compliance duties as guarantors.” A new fast-track “National Talent Permit” for STEM graduates and highly-skilled professionals is also proposed. Business groups have broadly welcomed the bill’s promise of swifter processing times (target: 60 days for employee-card renewals, down from the current 90).
![Czech lawmakers advance landmark Foreigners Act in decisive second-reading vote]()
For organisations and individuals needing practical assistance with Czech visa and residence applications—whether for upcoming employee-card renewals, student permits or the future National Talent Permit—VisaHQ offers step-by-step online support, document checking and courier submission services. Their dedicated Czech Republic portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) provides up-to-date requirements and lets users track each case in real time, making the transition to the forthcoming digitalised regime considerably smoother.
However, they remain concerned about higher administrative fines – up to CZK 1 million – for companies that fail to monitor the immigration status of subcontracted workers. Universities have likewise flagged the new requirement to report changes in foreign students’ study status within three working days. For assignees already in Czechia, the most visible change would be the phase-out of in-person passport stickers. From mid-2027, biometric residence cards would be issued exclusively via a central courier service once fingerprints and a facial scan have been captured at any of 14 regional migration centres. Travellers entering through Prague or Brno airports would begin using the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) e-gates to pair their travel history with the new digital residence files. The draft now proceeds to the Committee for Security, which has 60 days to prepare amendments. The Interior Ministry is pushing for final passage before the lower chamber’s summer recess so that implementing decrees can be issued by January 2027. Companies that rely on intra-EU talent moves are therefore advised to audit their current sponsorship and record-keeping processes and to earmark budget for the new electronic-filing fees (CZK 1 200 per application).
For organisations and individuals needing practical assistance with Czech visa and residence applications—whether for upcoming employee-card renewals, student permits or the future National Talent Permit—VisaHQ offers step-by-step online support, document checking and courier submission services. Their dedicated Czech Republic portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) provides up-to-date requirements and lets users track each case in real time, making the transition to the forthcoming digitalised regime considerably smoother.
However, they remain concerned about higher administrative fines – up to CZK 1 million – for companies that fail to monitor the immigration status of subcontracted workers. Universities have likewise flagged the new requirement to report changes in foreign students’ study status within three working days. For assignees already in Czechia, the most visible change would be the phase-out of in-person passport stickers. From mid-2027, biometric residence cards would be issued exclusively via a central courier service once fingerprints and a facial scan have been captured at any of 14 regional migration centres. Travellers entering through Prague or Brno airports would begin using the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) e-gates to pair their travel history with the new digital residence files. The draft now proceeds to the Committee for Security, which has 60 days to prepare amendments. The Interior Ministry is pushing for final passage before the lower chamber’s summer recess so that implementing decrees can be issued by January 2027. Companies that rely on intra-EU talent moves are therefore advised to audit their current sponsorship and record-keeping processes and to earmark budget for the new electronic-filing fees (CZK 1 200 per application).
