Permanent Residency

It's official.  I finally received my new permanent residency ID card.  No more having to submit all of that paperwork to apply for Czech work visas ever again.  Go figure that that my Czech green card is actually blue and pink.

So here's the deal with permanent residency...

As a non-EU citizen with trvalý pobyt, I am now able to live and work in Czechland without ever having to apply for another work visa.  I've been paying in to the Czech social system since I moved here but now I'm actually eligible for benefits if I ever need them.  With permanent residency it is also much easier to apply for a bank loan or mortgage now.

In five years I will be eligible to apply for Czech citizenship (and no, I don't have to give up my American passport).  I'll just need to pass an advanced language test and a citizenship exam.  But who knows where I'll be in another five years?  

I'm Approved

This is my 1,000th blog post!  Who would have thought that this blog thing would still be going strong?  I guess it's appropriate that this is my 1,000th post because I got some great news today.

On 3 December I submitted my paperwork for permanent residency and today the Czech Interior Ministry called me to say that I've been approved.  Yeah!!  No more having to jump through hoops like a trained circus poodle every two years to request a visa extension.  This will give me almost equal status with Czech citizens except that I can't vote.  If I want to vote and get a Czech passport then I can apply for that in another five years.  And who knows what will happen in another five years?

I need to make an appointment to visit the ministry for a new photo and submit my biometrics.  I should get my new Czech green card in a couple of weeks after that.

Another Visa Approval

My long bus ride from Baku to Tbilisi was pretty uneventful.  It was definitely easier leaving Azerbaijan than it was trying to get in.

The most exciting moment came when I got a call on my mobile from the Czech Interior Ministry.  My visa application was approved.  Yeah!!  I was given an appointment time for next week to have my photograph and biometrics taken for my new Schengen ID card. 

My new visa will allow me to remain in Czech Republic for another two years.  However, in one year I will be eligible to apply for permanent residency which means I won't have to deal with two year extension requests anymore.  However, I will still have to first pass the prerequisite Czech language exam at the A2, or higher, level.

Now it's bed time.  I have to be up in a few hours to catch my flight back home.

Need Another Temporary Visa

My work permit was approved last week which means that the government will continue to process my residency permit extension.  My current biometric ID card expires on April 30th.  This is and isn't a problem.  

I can be in CZ with my expired residency permit.  No worries.  If I'm stopped by the police or something then they can check in the computer to show that I have an extension pending approval and I'll be good to go.

The problem is that on the 26th I'm headed off to the Caucasus for a couple of weeks.  So I'll be outside of the Schengen zone when my ID card expires.  I've been told that, with an American passport, I probably won't have any difficulty coming back in CZ.  Americans can be inside the zone for 90 days every 180 days.  However, if I get an overzealous immigration officer who decides to start adding up the dates of my entry and exit stamps then I could be held up for a while.  In order to insure that I won't have any problems at immigration I need to pick up a three month temporary visa.

I've had to do this before so it's not a big deal.  The thing about getting a temporary visa is that it uses up a whole blank page in my passport.  One full page is prime passport real estate but, oh well, what can you do?  I prefer to guarantee that I won't have any problem coming back home.

Yesterday, I set off early in the morning so that I would be in front of the queue at the Interior Ministry.  Of course when I get there I was told that the computer system is down across the entire country.  So I need to try again next week before I fly out.

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.

Biometric Residency Permit

Five visits! It took five trips to the foreign ministry but now everything is finally sorted. But damn! Five visits!?!?
The first visit was to submit my paperwork for a two-year extension on my green card.
The second visit was to request an extension on my previous visa because of the processing delay at the ministry.
The third visit was to pick up my visa but they only gave me a visa sticker until December.
The fourth visit was to have my picture and fingerprints taken.
The fifth visit was by far my favorite because now everything is finally sorted. But it was all worth it because now I can carry my new ID card and no longer have to carry my passport with me everywhere. Yeah!!
The ID cards are new so there's still a little confusion as to when it should be used. I was told to use the ID card, instead of my passport, when traveling within the Schengen zone. This means that at the airport I should stand in the EU citizen line. But use my passport when outside of Schengen. This sounds odd to me. I guess I'll find out what happens in September when I fly to Rome.
It seems that I'm not the only American to get a new residency card. According to Mladá fronta Dnes, so far this year, Americans have been issued more Czech residency permits than any other nationality. My fellow Americans must all be in Prague because they sure aren't here in Brno.
Again, I'm just glad that now I have my ID card. And it's a good thing that I really like my flat because if I ever move then I will have to go back to the ministry, at least twice, to have my address updated and a new card issued. Ugh!!

Two Years Down

Well I did it. I made it through my second year of living in the Czech Republic. Woo-Hoo!!

Two years ago I stepped foot in this country for the first time. First time, ever! Yes, I know it was kind of crazy to move to a foreign country that I had never been to before. However, I do love a challenge and this has been a big one.

When I arranged my IBM transfer from Atlanta to Brno, the deal was that I would be here for at least 2 to 3 years. Things have been going well. Busy but well. The Czech government has extended my visa for another two years so it looks like I'll be here until at least 2013. At that point I will have been here for 4 years. If I stay a 5th year, and pass a Czech language exam, then I can receive permanent residency in the ČR. Not sure if that is something I will do or not but that's a good 3 years away.

I've had the opportunity to do quite a bit of traveling. I guess 17 countries in two years isn't too shabby. I still have 3 weeks of vacation to take this year so let's see how many new countries I can make it to. Right now, I'm planning a good 2 - 3 weeks back in the USA in Fall 2012. This will be the first time I visit home since moving here. I need to get back to Atlanta to recharge my batteries and I'm definitely ready to spend some quality time with my family in California.

I'm Legal Again

Finally!! I'm legal again. I received a phone call from the Interior Ministry that my new long-term visa was ready and I went to pick it up this past Monday. I've been legal all along but now I have proof.

Czech bureaucracy is an odd thing. The clerk showed me that I'm legal in the system until 2013. However, the new visa sticker in my passport is only valid until this December. Apparently, I will get a phone call in October to return to the Interior Ministry for a biometric identity card.

I'm actually glad to be getting the ID card so that I don't always have to carry my passport around. What I don't know is if I will get a new visa sticker for my passport when I get my ID card. Since I'm not an EU citizen I don't want to have any problems traveling in and out of the Schengen Zone. I'm not sure if this ID card will work outside of the ČR. When I flew from England to Germany earlier this year, the officials in Hannover held my passport for 5 minutes. They took a magnifying glass to my visa to verify that that it was legitimate. I guess they were confused by an American passport with a Czech EU visa. Who knows?

I don't know why I had to provide the government with a new photograph because they used the same picture I gave them last year. This visa, and my temporary visa, also included my Czech birth number. But at this point I don't care. I'm just happy to be legal for another 2 years.

Temporary Visa

Well, it turns out I had to go back to the Interior Ministry to get a temporary extension to my visa. My current visa expires this Saturday but that's OK. Rather...OK, as long as I stay in the ČR because if I were stopped for some reason by the foreign police, then they could verify that my new two-year visa is pending.

The catch is that I just found out I have to participate in an IBM seminar in Bratislava next week. Since both countries are part of the Schengen area there are no passport checks when traveling from one to the other. However, what if something were to happen while I was in Slovakia? Not too sure if the Slovak officials would contact the Czech Interior Ministry to make sure that I'm legal.

I was able to go to the ministry yesterday but had to wait for 4 hours because there were no appointments available. I explained that I needed a short-term extension on my visa to cover me until my new long-term visa is ready. After my 4 hours in line, it was a quick 15 minutes to get everything sorted. The clerk printed off a new visa sticker that is identical to the one I received last year except that my new expiration date is 1 July 2011. I didn't even have to pay anything for the temporary visa since the delay on my new permanent visa is due to the backlog generated by the recent change in application procedures. Hopefully, I'll get my new visa sometime in May.

Interior Ministry

There have been some changes this year when it comes to visas. The Czech Interior Ministry has taken over, from the Foreign Police, the administration of long-term residence permits (green cards).

Brno used to have two foreign police branches. The smaller office was for EU citizens. But you also got to use this office if you were an American, Canadian or Croatian. Then there was the large office when everyone else had to go to. The smaller office was so much better.

This year I had to submit all of my documents to the regional Interior Ministry office. Fortunately, the lady in charge of visas at IBM made an appointment for me so I didn't have to wait in a massive queue. It seems that not many people know you can actually make an appointment.

Beginning in May 2011, non-EU citizens will be issued biometric residence permit cards. I would much rather have a biometric permit card than have to carry my passport around with me all of the time. Unfortunately, I miss the May date because I had to submit my application in April. So I'll get the card the next time I renew my visa...in another two years.

The Interior Ministry has taken over visa processing as of January 1st and they are still working out some of the kinks in the system. I'm told that it now takes 3 to 5 weeks to receive the new visa. They will send me a text message when my visa is ready. They will not give you the current status over the telephone.

My current visa expires at the end of April. If I'm stopped by the police after my visa expires then I'm still OK because they will call to verify that my application is pending. If something comes up and I need to leave the ČR then the Interior Ministry will issue me a 2-month visa as a hold over until my 2-year visa is ready. After my trip to the Balkans I don't have anything planned until Paris in May so I shouldn't need a temporary visa.

CzechPoint

Since my work permit was renewed for two years it's now time to apply for an extension to my visa (long-term residency permit).

Since I'm not an EU citizen I have to jump through all of the same hoops I did last year in order to get my Schengen visa renewed. But this year it was a bit easier to get the required documents. The chica that handles the visas at IBM told me to visit a CzechPoint office. What a great time-saver! I wish someone had told me about this last year. But then I might not have the same appreciation for just how much bureaucracy I got to skip this year.

CzechPoint is basically a one-stop shop for various government documents. They have locations all over the city, mostly in municipal buildings. I only had to go to one office to get my land registry statement and the business registry license for my apartment building. They were even able to make the notarized copies of all of my other documents.

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 Renewed

Woo-Hoo!!! I'z legal for another year!

I guess all of that running around last month paid off. I went back to the foreign police office today to see if my new visa was ready and it was. And just three weeks to the the day from when I submitted my application.

I was proud of myself too because I did everything at the office in Czech. But that's also because no one spoke English, German, French or Spanish.

Regardless, I can now stay in the ČR for another year. I don't have access here to a color scanner so the black & white picture will have to do. This one doesn't look anything like my original visa. From what I understand it's because the first one was a visa issued by a Czech embassy outside of the country and this one was a residency permit issued from within the country. So from now on they will look like this.

The only small problem is that this permit takes up a whole page in my passport. Pretty soon, I'll have to visit the American embassy in either Prague, Bratislava or Vienna, and pay to have extra blank pages added to my passport. Sounds like a really boring day trip.

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...

Booked for Brno

Everything has happened so quickly. I received my work permit a week ago. Two days later I had my passport back from the Czech embassy with my employment visa (green card). Now I'm trying to get everything packed up and done before I leave. I've made all of my travel plans and it's hard to believe that I leave Atlanta in 20 days.

On June 23, I have a 7:30 AM flight to Los Angeles so I can visit with my family for a week. Then it is off to the Czech Republic. My goal was to use my frequent flyer miles on Delta to cover my ticket to Europe. Fortunately, if you are a Medallion member then you have so much more flexibility when using reward miles. 

Now it will take me 3 days to make it over but it sounds worse than it really is. I leave LAX at 9 PM and fly directly to JFK, arriving a 6 AM. My flight on ČSA (Czech Airways) isn't until 4 PM so I have 10 hours to kill at the airport. Not an ideal situation but I cashed in enough miles so that I'm flying in business class the whole trip which gives me access to the Crown Room in NY. Free Internet and cocktails for the day...could be worse. =)

Then ČSA from JFK to Prague. Get in to Prague at 6:15 AM, clear customs and leave at 9 AM for Brno. 45 Minutes later and I'll be in my new city on July 1. It seems so much more real now that I have plane tickets. The best part is that by using Delta SkyMiles, the entire trip from LAX to Brno in business class is only $250. Sweet!!!

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.

Work Permit Was Approved

OK....now I'm one step closer to Brno. IBS e-mailed to let me know they received my approved work permit and that it was delivered to the Czech foreign police today. Now I just have to wait on the foreign police to approve my 1-year long-term residency permit (green card) so I can get my passport back from the embassy in DC. Hopefully, I'll get my green card within the next 8 weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!