international employment law firm alliance L&E Global
Czech Republic

Cross-Border Remote Work FAQs Czech Republic

Published: © September 25th, 2025

Assume that a foreign national employee of a foreign company wishes to work remotely for a period of time in your country performing services exclusively for the foreign company and not interacting with the local market in your country.

Work authorisation

A. Is work authorisation required? If so, please provide a brief description of the type of visa, procedure, processing time, etc.

Strictly speaking, any non-EU national performing work in the Czech Republic (remotely or not) should have a work authorisation (work permit and/or Employee Card or Blue Card or other type of permit). Exceptions may apply, mainly to persons who are: i) a European Union national; ii) a national of a European Economic Area member state (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway); iii) a national of Switzerland; iv) nationals of the countries listed in Government Regulation No 158/2024 Coll., on the Establishment of a List of States and Separate Jurisdictions Whose Citizens Do Not Require a Work Permit, Employee Card, Intra-Company Transfer Card, or Blue Card for Employment or Work Performance, as amended (Commonwealth of Australia, Japan, Canada, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Republic of Singapore, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, State of Israel, Taiwan).

However, granting a permit would usually require an employer in the Czech Republic or a company in the Czech Republic to which the employee would be seconded, and that is not the case in the presented situation. If the worker carries out gainful activities in the Czech Republic, they must have a working permit for this purpose. In addition, it is also necessary for the worker to hold a residence permit (visa or residence permit), on the basis of which the worker will legally reside in the territory of the Czech Republic.

Depending on the intended period of stay, citizenship and legal purpose of the stay, a visa/other type of residence card might be required. The processing time differs, but in general issuing a visa/residence card usually takes up to 3-4 months.

Risk of 'permanent establishment'

B. Is there a risk of a "permanent establishment" consequences for the foreign company by virtue of the remote worker’s activities?  If so, what are the main factors determining the exposure.

Yes, a permanent establishment may be established in the Czech Republic, if a foreign company contracts employees in the Czech Republic to perform activities for, generally, at least 6 months in any 12-month period. The permanent establishment might also be created due to a fixed place of business (e.g. workshop, office), with certain continuity in the Czech Republic.

However, it is necessary to consider each situation individually, as it depends on additional factors, e.g. double tax treaty between the state of the foreign company and the Czech Republic; corporate structure; types of services performed and the period/frequency in which the services are performed; in cases involving a home-office it is necessary to assess whether it could be considered, in any way at all, as a fixed place of business of the foreign entity; etc.

Local social security and other payroll requirements

C. At what point and under what circumstances would the remote worker become subject to local social security and other payroll requirements?  Can such requirements be fulfilled by a foreign company, and if so by what mechanisms?

Generally, the foreign entity become a tax payer (withholding agent) in the Czech Republic, and has the obligation to calculate and withhold monthly payroll taxes from the employees’ income if
(i) there is a permanent establishment of the foreign company created in the Czech Republic (except for the service permanent establishment), or
(ii) the foreign entity employs the employee in the Czech Republic for more than 183 days.
Such obligations must be determined on a case-by-case basis. If the foreign entity becomes a Czech tax payer (withholding agent), it must fulfil all the employer´s standard obligations in the Czech Republic (e.g. register for payroll taxes, withhold monthly payroll taxes, file reports, keep payroll records, etc.).
With regards to social security, the general rule for the EU countries, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland and states with a bilateral social security agreement with the Czech Republic, is to contribute to the social security system , primarily in the state where the work is performed, (i.e. the Czech Republic in this case). However, exceptions to this rule apply in the case of an assignment (for up to 24 months) or the standard exemption (generally for a maximum of 5 years) provided that the respective document confirming this status is obtained (i.e. an A1 certificate for EU countries or a Certificate of Coverage for countries with bilateral agreements). Based on this document, the employee remains subject to his home country social security system.
Health insurance contributions within EU, Iceland, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are payable together with the social security contributions in the respective jurisdiction. Bilateral agreements often do not cover health insurance contributions and care, so the scope and the specifics of the agreement should be verified in each case.
If the foreign entity becomes a social security / health insurance payer in the Czech Republic, it must register and fulfil all the related obligations (e.g. calculate and settle the monthly contributions, file reports, announce any changes, file personal records for pension insurance, etc.). As the fulfilment of the necessary obligations may be difficult for the foreign company, it might grant Power of Attorney to a Czech accounting company/advisor to manage these responsibilities on its behalf. Furthermore, the foreign employer would also need to register for the mandatory employer´s liability insurance and settle quarterly contributions.
Special rules apply to non-EU and non-agreement countries, so it is possible that the contributions may be withheld by both countries, neither country, or one country only. As such, the situation of each employee should be considered individually.
Further, we would like to point out that, as of 1 January 2026, employers who are withholding agents will likely be required to file a unified report - single monthly employer report. This report will include most of the necessary payroll-related information. The respective legislation currently undergoes the approval process.

Local employment law requirements

D. At what point and under what circumstances does the remote worker become subject to local employment law requirements such as is wage-hour, local holidays, annual leave, maternity leave, disability leave, protection against unfair dismissal, etc.

Where an employment relationship contains a cross-border element, such as where the employer is established in one country while the employee performs their work in another, EU conflict-of-law rules become applicable. Pursuant to the EU legal framework, the parties to an employment contract may select the governing law. However, such a choice must not deprive the employee of the protection afforded by the law that would have applied in the absence of a choice. If no law was explicitly chosen, the applicable law would be that of the country in which the employee habitually performs their work, in this case of remote work, the Czech Republic. As such, an employee working in the Czech Republic (even remotely) must not be denied the protection provided under Czech labour law.

Given that most of the provisions of the Czech Labour Code cannot be derogated from, Czech law would prevail in most respects.

Remote foreign worker

E. Are there special requirements governing remote work in your country which would cover the remote foreign worker?

There is no legal regulation of remote work exclusively related to foreigners in the Czech law. Therefore, the general regulation of remote work contained in the Labour Code applies to foreigners, i.e. in particular the regulation in Sections 190a and 317 of the Labour Code.

According to this legislation, remote work is possible only on the basis of a written agreement between the employee and the employer. Such an agreement can be terminated with 15 days' notice for any reason or no reason. The Labour Code also regulates the reimbursement of costs that the employee naturally incurs when working remotely (internet, electricity, etc.)

Income tax

F. What is the employee’s exposure to local income tax, and under what circumstances is the foreign employer required to arrange for withholding of income tax?

The extent to which the employees’ income is taxed in the Czech Republic depends primarily on their tax residency status, as determined by local legislation and potentially also by relevant double tax treaties.
Provided that the employee is treated as a non-resident, for Czech tax purposes,
only income sourced in the Czech Republic would be subject to taxation there. To accurately allocate income sourced in the Czech Republic, we recommend keeping a calendar of the employees’ working days (i.e. noting in which country they spent their working days).
Such income would generally not become taxable in the Czech Republic if
(i) the employee performs the activities in the Czech Republic for less than 183 days in any 12-month period / calendar year (depending on the relevant double tax treaty),
(ii) the relevant costs are not borne by the Czech company, and
(iii) there is no permanent establishment of the foreign company in the Czech Republic.
If any of the abovementioned condition is breached, the employee´s income will be subject to the taxation in the Czech republic.
If the employee is treated as a Czech tax resident, he/she will be subject to unlimited taxation in the Czech Republic - i.e. he/she will be obliged to declare and tax his/her worldwide income in the Czech Republic. Subsequently, it is possible to avoid double taxation using a special method stipulated by the Czech tax law or by the relevant double tax treaty.
The employee’s tax liabilities in the Czech Republic can be fulfilled by filing a Czech tax return, or via payroll depending on further circumstances. We recommend assessing each case separately to determine whether the employee is required to file a Czech tax return.

Claim for workplace injury

G. Would the remote worker be entitled to bring a claim for workplace injury in your country?

As mentioned above, even if the choice of applicable law is different from the law of the Czech Republic, the employee cannot be deprived of the protection provided by the law of the Czech Republic if he performs work there. Therefore, if Czech law provides a more beneficial legal regulation for the employee than the law of the country which is to govern the contract, Czech law will also apply in the field of workplace injuries.

The employee may be entitled to bring a claim for workplace injury in the Czech Republic.

National healthcare system or insurance

H. Would the remote worker be covered under the local national healthcare system or insurance?

Coverage by the Czech statutory health insurance is determined together with the social security rules, as described above. If the worker is not covered by statutory health insurance, s/he must be covered by the commercial health insurance.

Data privacy and security

I. Is a foreign employer subject to data privacy and security requirements regarding protection of employee personal information for a foreign employee working remotely in your country?

There is only a general protection of data privacy and security of personal information. If the remote worker is not covered by Czech employment law, the foreign employer will not have duties according to the Czech employment/data protection laws.

Foreign remote worker

J. Has there been any litigation or specific law or regulation regarding the foreign remote worker in your country?

The most significant judgment in the area of foreigners working remotely from the Czech Republic is the judgment of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic, Case No. 31 Cdo 833/2022. In this judgment it was established that even if a choice of law other than the law of the Czech Republic is made, it is not possible to deviate from the mandatory provisions of the law of the place where the work is usually performed, in the case of the Czech Republic, in particular the Labour Code.

There is no specific legal regulation of foreigners working remotely from the Czech Republic. The general provisions of the Labour Code apply in a similar way as to Czech employees. We have already commented on the legal regulation of remote work under letter E.

Citizenship

K. Would any of the above answers change if the remote worker (a) is a citizen of your country, or (b) engages in activity interacting with the local market?

a) The Czech citizenship itself does not determine the applicable law and relations with employees of Czech citizenship. They may, upon agreement, be governed by other than Czech law. However, if there is no agreement on the applicable law, the employment will be governed by the law of the country where the work is usually performed. If the employee is a Czech citizen and performs work in the Czech Republic, they will most likely be regarded as a Czech resident for tax purposes, subjecting them to unlimited taxation in the Czech Republic. Methods to settle Czech employment taxes (i.e. via annual personal income tax return, or via monthly payroll tax withholdings, payable by the employer) depend on the specific circumstances of the individual case.

Additionally, the employee will most likely be subject to the Czech social security and health insurance scheme, which would also result in the need for the foreign employer to register and fulfill the related obligations.

The only difference in this case would be that an employee holding Czech citizenship does not have to deal with immigration issues, i.e. be the holder of a visa or residence permit entitling them to stay in the Czech Republic. This naturally applies to EU citizens as well.

b) No, interaction with the local market is not decisive for the application of Czech labour law. The primary rule is that the employee must not be deprived of the protection provided by the law of the country where the work is usually performed. However, the nature of the activity where the employee interacts with the local market causes a higher risk of inspections by controlling authorities. , However, due to the interaction with the local market, there is a greater risk of creating a permanent establishment (“dependent agent permanent establishment”); and so, it would largely depend on the exact nature, frequency, etc. of the “interaction”.

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