Moving to Prague, Czech Republic

Moving is always hard. Moving abroad is even harder. Moving to Prague is a story for itself. When we decided to move to Prague, we had so many questions. Where do people live in Prague or where they search for a job? And it was very hard to find answers to those questions.

So, the other day, during very boring Corona-quarantine, I was thinking:” Why don’t I share everything I know now after almost two years in Prague?” And that’s how this guide saw the light of the day.

If the idea of moving to Prague came to your mind, you have to read first my post What is it like living in Prague. After that, if you decide to give a try in the Czech Republic, don’t worry. Moving to Prague brings a lot of questions but I have all answers below. No matter if it’s how to find an apartment in Prague, what visa do you need – this guide has it all.

Legal requirements when moving to Prague, Czech Republic

When you want to come to the Czech Republic, you’re treated either as an EU citizen or third-country national. Based on that you can have different visa requirements. To make it easier for you, I’ve separated the topic into two segments.

Moving to Prague as an EU citizen

Well, if you’re coming from an EU country, things are pretty easy for you. You don’t need any type of visa and you’re eligible to work and live in the Czech Republic without any worry. Citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have similar rights as EU citizens.

The only thing you have to do is register at the foreign police office (Olsanska 2176/2, 130 51, Prague 3) no later than 30 days after your arrival. Bring your lease contract, work contract, and passport. There you will have to fill a small paper with your basic information.

EU citizens living in Prague don’t have to apply for a temporary residence permit. Now you think – ok, if I don’t need it, I will not do it. Well, think again. Despite that it’s clearly stated that it’s not mandatory for EU citizens, I suggest you do it. You probably wonder why?

In March 2020 coronavirus started to be a serious issue. The Czech Republic declared a state of emergency and closed the borders. Everyone outside of the country and without a temporary residence permit couldn’t come back. A lot of people got stuck and couldn’t return even if they had a work contract and already lived in Prague for years. We had the same situation but luckily we got back to the Czech Republic before they closed the borders.

So yes, please go and make it. You can also use it for issuing a parking permit, credit at a bank, and similar.

Applying for a temporary residence permit

I’m a member of a few FB expat groups in Prague. And I see that the question of applying for a temporary residence permit is appearing all the time. So I decided to explain it furthermore.

First of all, the addresses of foreign police offices for residence permits differ based on the place of residence. You can find the list here. Ironically, people working at these offices don’t speak English. So take some friend who speaks Czech to help you out with this.

You will need to bring several documents with yourself, including:

– passport copy – doesn’t have to be notarized

– one small photo

– notarized copy of your lease contract. Before you go there, check if your apartment is, so-called druzstveni but. In this case, you have to have signatures from the main members of the druzstvo and not only from your landlords. You can easily check if your apartment is druzstveni byt – it should be written on your contract.

– notarized copy of your work contract.

– print and fill in the form that you can find here. You have to fill it in the Czech language.

You can also find here the total list of the documents.

Once you apply, it will take approximately one month for them to get back to you. Then, if approved, you should go and pick up your permit.

Keep in mind: applying for temporary residence is different than registration at the police office. It’s done at a different place based on your place of residence.

Moving to Prague as a third-country national

Everyone that isn’t from the above-mentioned country is classified as third-country national. And as such, you have to apply for a visa: either student, work, or family reunification visa. This should be done in the Czech embassy in the state of which you are a citizen.

You can find each step of the process, together with needed documentation on this link.

You can apply either for short term (up to 90days of stay) or long-term visa (over 90 days of stay). If you plan to reside longer than one year in the Czech Republic, you are entitled to apply for a long-term residence permit.

IMPORTANT: No matter what visa type you have, no later than 3 days after arrival you have to register at the foreign police.

Again, the address of the foreign police department is Olsanska 2176/2, 130 51, Prague 3

How to find a job in the Czech Republic

Now that you’re legally all set, you will have (unless you’re rich and don’t need to work) to find a job. Chances are that you don’t speak any Czech and you think: How the hell I’m supposed to get a job then? Well, good news: Czech is not, in a lot of companies, mandatory to know. I and a lot of my friends speak only English and we all found a job without a sweat.

Update 19.10.2020. Prague is currently experiencing the second wave of COVID-19. Some companies may put their vacancies on hold but there are still plenty of companies hiring new employees. My advice would be to search for a job before you decide to come here. I got the job the same way, even before the pandemic.

You can start your search from your country already. There is plenty of jobs searching websites and some of them are below:

Jobs.cz – I would say that this one is the most famous one. Although on Czech, with the help of Google translate you will easily navigate through it. Don’t despair if they say they require Czech – apply anyway. In a lot of cases, they don’t care in the end.

LinkedIn – There are so many job opportunities at LinkedIn. Recruiters are looking for employees all the time. Chances are that some recruiters will send you a message for an interview sooner than you think.

Expat.cz – This popular expat portal has, among other things, a job adds. Be sure to check it because there are interesting opportunities there.

Facebook groups – there are many but many Facebook job hunting groups. Some of them are Jobs for foreigner Prague or English & Multilingual jobs in Prague.

My experience is that you will have one or two Skype interviews, come to sign a contract and start to work. It’s that easy :).

How to find an apartment in Prague

So you have your visa and job. Now you have to find a place to live. I would say this is the hardest thing when moving to Prague. Finding a decent apartment in Prague is very hard. But it’s not impossible. I’ve been apartment hunting twice since in Prague and I’m here to make your life easier.

Update 19.10.2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, real estate market in Prague is overflown with empty Airbnb apartments. That is causing a slight decrease in apartment prices. Check all the links below carefully but do not pay more that 15000 CZK for a studio (all included) or 20000 CZK for a one-bedroom apartment.

The best advice I can give you is to START EARLY. Don’t underestimate how long you need to find an apartment. I would start looking even before the moving itself. Send a lot of inquires, be polite and patient. A lot of people will not answer you. But someone will.

Second thing is that you will need a lot of money for a rental. Most of the landlords will ask you for a refundable deposit that is twice the rent amount. The average rent with utilities is 800 euros which makes the amount that you need pretty high. And that is without potential agency commission.

Ah, agencies. There are many rental agencies in Prague that do nothing for you. They publish the ad and wait for you to come. They will not search the apartment for you – you will find it yourself on their website or Facebook. But guess what – you have to pay them. Most often that is one month rent. It’s not fair but sometimes you don’t have any other choice.

Best sites to look for an apartment in Prague

Now if you allow yourself enough time, you can find an apartment without an agency. The best website for that is Bezrealitky.cz. All ads there are agency free but that makes them very hard to catch. But again, not impossible. We found our second apartment there.

Other good sites are Facebook group and there is many of them. Below is the list of some of the most popular ones:

Flat rent Prague (no agency fees)

Flatshare in Prague and Flat rentals with no commission

Prague Rent a room/house/apartment/flat/accommodation/Long/short-term

Facebook Marketplace is always a good option also.

The last thing I would like to point out is that the apartments in Prague are very expensive. Probably more expensive than you expect. We pay for 42 square meters of apartment 800 euros with utilities. It is centrally located but still expensive since the average salary in Prague is 1300 euros. You will most probably pay almost the same amount somewhere further away from the center. The average studio price is 600 euros with utilities while the room can cost somewhere from 400 to 600 euros.

Where to live in Prague

Thanks to great public transport connections, it’s easy to find a great area to live in Prague. Basically – there is a lot of them.

Before choosing a place to live, you have to know that Prague is divided into 22 districts. Prague 1 is the center and Old Town and it’s the only area where I wouldn’t like to live. It’s full of tourists always and too noisy. Some would say that Prague 3 is less safe than others but keep in mind that we are speaking about Prague here. Not safe in Prague is the safest in some other city. 🙂

The most known expat area in Prague is Vinohrady, part of Prague 2. I also live in Prague 2 but close to the river and I think that this is the best place to live here. Since the apartments are expensive anyway, I would suggest you live somewhere either in Prague 2 or 5. But, if you live near the metro, you are close to the center anyways. Prague 7 and 6 are also great areas to live in Prague.

Opening a bank account

When you get a job in the Czech Republic, you have to provide a Czech bank account number. When you move to Prague, you will wonder which one from many options to chose from.

I recommend you to use Equa bank. The opening bank account is an easy process and you can do it even online. For opening a bank account you will need a Czech phone number.

You can withdraw money on any ATM in the country. Not only that, but EB also has great rates for withdrawing the money online.

Conclusion

So moving to Prague will not be the easiest thing you will do. But it will also not the hardest. There is such a huge community of the people that were in the same shoes and that are willing to help you.

You can find plenty of expats groups such as Prague Expats or Expats in Prague where people share their experiences and advice. And you can always reach out directly to me. I’m more than happy to help.

I hope you will find this post helpful and that it will make you move to Prague easier. If you liked it, please share it, comment or like – it’s always appreciated.

Until the next reading,

Your Traveler To Be

Traveler To Be