Work Permit Time...Again

On Tuesday, I had a meeting to sort out the renewal of my Czech work permit.  In order to apply for a new two-year permit, I had to submit:

1. A copy of my previous work permit
2. A copy of my passport ID page
3. A copy of my Czech biometric ID card
4. A passport-sized photograph
5. A signed power of attorney for the Bureau of Labor

The one thing that they didn't require was the nostrification of my diploma and transcripts.  I was told last year that having the nostrification would be mandatory for all non-EU citizens when applying for, or renewing, a Czech work permit.  Well apparently the rules changed.  Now it is only necessary when applying for a new work permit.  Since I am renewing an existing work permit, the nostrification is not necessary.

I'm really glad that I was notified about this change.  I gave up an entire day of my vacation in Atlanta just running back and forth between the University and the court house to get the apostille needed in order to apply for nostrification.  And poor Steven had to drive me back and forth across town to get it done.

Since I have everything ready for nostification I was advised to go ahead and do it even though I don't need it.  The reason was that "you never know when the rules will change again".  That's comforting.

I received my first work permit when I was still in the USA.  It was valid for two years.  In 2011, I received my second work permit.  It too was good for two years.  This new one will hopefully be the last one I ever have to apply for.  This permit will last until 2015.  However, I will be eligible to apply for permanent residency in 2014.  Getting permanent residency is not the same thing as getting citizenship.  And I will not give up my American passport.  Having permanent residency doesn't even mean that I will live here forever.  But the big benefit for me will be that with permanent residency I will never again have to apply for a work permit or a new long-term visa. 

So here's to applying for, hopefully, my last Czech work permit.  I should have it in about 30 days.  In the meantime, now I also have to start gathering all of the documents needed in order to apply for my last long-term visa.

Update March 2013:  It's now the end of March and I still don't have my new work permit.  Apparently, there is some delay and the Czech government is way behind.  I'm told that it should be ready within another week or two.

Update April 2013:  I finally received my work permit on April 10th.

Work Permit #2

I've received the renewal for my work permit. I can now continue working in the Czech Republic for another two years. But now the fun begins.

Now that I have received permission from the government to work here for the next two years, I need to apply for another visa ("green card") so that I can keep living here. It still sounds crazy to me that one can have permission to work here but not live here. But these matters are handled by two different government departments and getting a work permit is only the first step to getting a residency visa.

Well it's time to start gathering all of the paperwork I need to apply for my new visa. Since I've been here a while I have the option of applying for a two-year visa. At least I won't have to deal with all of the paperwork next year.

Time For a New Work Permit

It's time to start the paper work needed to extend my stay here in the ČR. The first step is to request a new work permit. Here's a copy of my original work permit which was good for two years. It will take about a month to receive my new work permit, which will allow me to legally work in the ČR for another two years. But that won't let me live here. I know...it's crazy.

As soon as I receive my new work permit, then I will apply for a new long-term visa (Schengen visa) that will allow me to live in Europe. This time, I'm going to apply for a two year visa so that I won't have to go through all of this next year. This year there has been a change where the Foreign Police no longer have responsibility for handling visas. It has been taken over by the Czech Interior Ministry. But more on that later.

Now back to the work permit. Luckily, IBM has a department that helps out with some of this stuff. In order to apply for the new work permit I had to supply a photo, a copy of my passport, a copy of my current work permit, a copy of my current visa, a copy of my highest university degree and a signed power of attorney for the Bureau of Labor. The paperwork will get submitted next week and in 30 days I should have a new work permit.

Visa Extension Application

Well today I went to the Foreign Police office and submitted all of my paperwork to request an extension on my long-term visa. Again, since I'm not an EU citizen I have a lot more hoops to jump through.

My original work permit is good through April 28, 2011. So I have permission to work in the country until then. However, my original long-term visa, which allows me to live in the country, expires at the end of next month. Go figure...so here's what I had to submit.

1. A copy of my original lease.
2. An notarized amendment to my lease extending it from August until April 28, 2011.
3. Since my building is a co-op (Družstvo) I needed a notarized document showing that my landlord was allowed to rent the apartment to me.
4. Land registry statement
5. Business registry statement for the družstvo - 140 Kč (~$7.40)
6. Copy of my original work permit
7. Copy of my passport
8. Copy of my original visa
9. A new passport photo
10. Copy of my health insurance card
11. 4-page application form with a 1000 Kč (~$53) stamp that IBM provided

There are two foreign police offices in town. Fortunately, citizens of the EU, Americans, Canadians and Croatians get to use the smaller office at Cejl. Everyone else has to use the main office. I've been there before and it is crazy busy. I was told to come back in a couple of weeks to check on my application. I'm not expecting any problems so I should have my new visa by mid-April.

Foreign Police

The foreign police is basically Czech immigration. The relocation agent from IBS, Iva, who handled my work permits here, met me at the foreign police office yesterday. Thank goodness, I had someone there who could speak Czech because the place was very confusing. For a place that deals with foreigners I would think that things would be posted in other languages. Especially since most people there were applying for work visas. Nope. I saw lots of people holding Ukrainian and Vietnamese passports waiting to apply. Our appointment was for 9 AM but at about 9:05 we found out that as of July 1, the department we needed was at another building. We jumped in Iva's car, went in, walked right up to the window, presented my approved visa and that was it. Not quite sure what I expected. Iva said that it's really just a formality because my work permit/green card had already been approved by the government. I do have to update the police when I find a permanent place to live. In one year, I have to apply for a visa renewal. I can apply for a 1 or 2 year renewal but I have to show a lease that is for 1 or 2 years respectively.

Since the foreign police took so little time I decided to get a haircut. Again, I have got to learn Czech. The whole sign language thing really didn't work out too well. It's not a bad cut but it is very Euro short. My heart sank a bit at first but it will grow back out. Let's just say that my hair hasn't been this short since my Air Force days. Oh well...scalped for about $8.

Czechs Don't Write Checks

I now have a Czech bank account with Raiffeisenbank. I have my main debit account which IBM will set up for direct deposit and then a savings account that earns interest. But it's weird as an American to open a bank account without checking. If you set up direct deposit over 25.000 Kč (Czech crowns) then there are no monthly maintenance fees -- 25.000 Kč is about $1,200 USD. Europeans use periods for thousands and commas for decimals. 

A few things were kind of different about opening the account. Besides showing my passport and Czech work visa (green card), you have to have a cell phone to open an account because a temporary PIN code gets texted to you in order to activate the account. Good thing I still have service on my U.S. cell phone for a few more weeks. I was able to set up a dual currency account for both crowns and dollars. I'm getting a Visa debit card in 7 days but it's not mailed to you. You have to go back to the opening branch to pick it up. Extra security I guess. 

I get two free withdrawals from my bank's ATMs per month. Then it's 9,90 kč (about 50 cents) per transaction. It's also 9,90 Kč everytime you use another bank's ATM. 

Here's the kicker for my Equifax friends...despite having worked in the credit industry for the last nine years, I have no Czech credit history. LOL!!! Once I have collected 3 monthly pay statements from IBM then I'll go back to my branch to apply for a credit card. I'll need a Czech credit card over here because everytime I use a U.S. card, I get charged a 2%-3% foreign transaction fee by the U.S. banks. Bastards!

At least the bank agent had some basic English which helped. But it still took a couple of hours to get everything set up. When I go back to apply for a credit card I'll also open an investment account. Well enough about banking. Tomorrow's adventure begins with my 9 AM appointment at the foreign police (immigration control) and possibly a haircut.  More to follow later...

I's Legal Now!

Woo-Hoo!!! I received my green card (povolení k dlouhodobému pobytu) from the Czech Embassy. I can now legally enter the EU and stay more than 90 days without getting deported. And the cool thing is that I got my visa about 8 weeks ahead of schedule.

As I said in an earlier post, you can apply for your green card before you receive your work permit, as long as, you can prove that you have applied for a work permit (povolení k zaměstnání). The relocation company in Prague wanted me to wait for my work permit before even applying for my visa. In other words, they were going to have me apply for my visa this week and wait 3-4 months for it to process. Instead I applied about 5 weeks ago. IBS delivered my work permit to the foreign police on Wednesday, they approved my pending application on Thursday and I received my visa from the Washington Embassy on Friday. YEAH!!!!!

I can actually book flights now. I hope to leave Atlanta in about 3 weeks which will allow me to visit my family in California for about a week. I can then fly from L.A. the first week in July, register with the foreign police once I get to Brno and start working July 6th. Good grief! Move to Europe in 3 weeks!?! I have to get busy with packing up my stuff and figure out where I'm going to stay.

Waiting on Bureaucracy

In order for an American citizen to live and work in the ČR, one has to have both a work permit and a long-term residency permit (green card). IBM has hired a relocation company in Prague, International Business Support (IBS), to help facilitate my paperwork.

It takes 60 days for the Employment Administration Office (EAO) to issue a work permit (Povolení k zaměstnání). IBS e-mailed me today that I should have my work permit next week. Yeah! One step closer to moving.

To get a green card you have to provide a work permit or provide confirmation from the EAO that your employer has applied for a work permit. It takes 90 day (up to 120 days) to get a work permit. So apply for a green card as soon as you've applied for a work permit so you don't lose two months.