Czech Republic digital nomad visa and freelance (zivno) visa

Who can get the Czech digital nomad visa

The first filter is citizenship. Only citizens of 13 countries can apply: Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. At launch on 1 July 2023 the list had eight countries and covered IT only. Brazil, Israel, Mexico, Singapore and marketing professionals were added from 1 January 2025, and India joined later in 2025.

The second filter is your profession and qualifications. An IT specialist needs a degree in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) or at least three years of proven IT experience. A marketing specialist needs a higher professional or university qualification of at least three years in marketing, advertising or a related field (economics, business, management, IT).

The programme is run by the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade (Ministerstvo průmyslu a obchodu, MPO) under Government Resolution No. 475 of 28 June 2023. It is not a separate visa type but a fast lane into the ordinary ones: the nomad files at a Czech embassy abroad on a date assigned to them, and the Czech Ministry of the Interior (Ministerstvo vnitra) must decide within 45 days instead of the usual 90. There is no fee to join the programme. There is no right to join it either: the ministry's refusal cannot be appealed.

There is also a formal trap: the programme excludes anyone who holds, or held in the previous year, a Czech long-term visa or residence permit. You cannot switch into it once you already live in the country.

What income do you need for the Czech digital nomad visa in 2026

A nomad must earn at least 1.5 times the average gross Czech salary. The benchmark comes from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MPSV) and resets every May. From 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027 the average salary for this purpose is CZK 590,580 a year (Czech koruna), or CZK 49,215 a month. That puts the minimum at CZK 73,823 a month, or CZK 885,870 a year. At the Czech National Bank rate of about CZK 21.7 per dollar, that is roughly $3,500 a month.

An employee proves income with an employment contract. A freelancer needs a contract or draft contract with a client, or the client company's statutory declaration on the ministry's form, naming an IT or marketing project, its duration and a fee that, spread across the months of the contract, reaches 1.5 times the average salary. The form is built around one company and one project, so a freelancer with a dozen small clients has more work to do.

On top of that, the general rule for every business visa applies: you must hold 50 times the subsistence minimum in your account. The existenční minimum (subsistence minimum) is the amount the Czech state treats as the floor of one adult's living costs, CZK 3,130 a month in 2026. That makes CZK 156,500, about $7,300. The statement must come from an account in your name.

Example calculation. A Canadian developer on a $4,600 monthly contract (about CZK 97,400) clears the bar comfortably. A Brazilian marketer on $3,200 (about CZK 68,200) does not: they fall short by roughly CZK 5,600, about $260, a month.

What is a zivno visa and how do you get a Czech freelance visa

Zivno is short for živnostenský list, the old name still used for an extract from the Czech trade register (výpis ze živnostenského rejstříku): proof that you may run a business as a sole trader. Such a trader is called an OSVČ in Czech (osoba samostatně výdělečně činná, a self-employed person). The zivno underpins both the freelancer track of the nomad programme and the ordinary business visa for everyone else.

IT services and marketing are unqualified or free trades (volná živnost), so you do not have to prove any qualification. Any municipal trade licensing office (živnostenský úřad) can register you, and the fee for your first trade is about $50. You will need a criminal record certificate from your country of citizenship and a document showing your right to use the premises that will serve as your registered address (sídlo). For a non-EU national, the office first issues a statement for the visa process. If you do not produce a residence permit within six months, the licence never comes into force.

Next comes the embassy. The long-term visa for business (vízum k pobytu nad 90 dnů za účelem podnikání) is issued for a maximum of one year. The consular fee is about $230 and the processing time is 90 days, or 120 in complex cases. You apply in person: in your country of citizenship, in a country where you have lived legally for at least two years on a long-term or permanent permit, or at any Czech embassy if your nationality appears on the Interior Ministry's special list in Decree No. 429/2010. Residents of EU countries can only use the visa centre in Dresden.

You must show health insurance before the visa is placed in your passport. Once you arrive, you have three working days to register with the Foreign Police (cizinecká policie), then another three working days to show your visa at the trade office. The licence takes effect on the day you show it.

After a year the visa is swapped for a long-term residence permit for business (povolení k dlouhodobému pobytu za účelem podnikání). The Interior Ministry issues it inside the country for up to two years, for a fee of about $120, with a 60-day processing time. At this stage the test is income, not a bank balance: it must cover the living minimum (životní minimum) plus standard housing costs, and you prove it with last year's tax assessment and a statement of paid social contributions. After five years of continuous residence you can apply for permanent residence, which requires a Czech language exam.

The real bottleneck is quotas. Government Regulation No. 220/2019 caps the number of business visa applications an embassy may accept each year. Embassies that are not on the list have no cap.

Can Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians and Kazakhs get a Czech freelance visa

Russians and Belarusians. Not through an embassy. Since 1 April 2024, Government Regulation No. 55/2024 makes any visa or residence application filed at a Czech embassy by a Russian or Belarusian citizen inadmissible (nepřijatelná), so it is not even examined. The rule also covers dual citizens. A Russian who also holds a US passport technically qualifies for the nomad programme, but the embassy will not accept the visa application.

The exceptions are narrow: short-stay visas for family of Czech and EU citizens, family reunification with a relative already in the Czech Republic, permanent residence for minor children of Czech permanent residents and cases where a person's stay is found to be in the Czech Republic's interest. Business and freelancing are not on the list. On top of that, since 3 July 2024 holders of non-biometric Russian passports have been refused entry, and embassies no longer accept those passports with applications.

Two lawful scenarios remain. People who already live in the Czech Republic on a residence permit renew it inside the country at the Interior Ministry, and the ban applies to embassy applications. People who hold permanent residence with EU long-term resident status in another member state can apply for a Czech residence permit at an Interior Ministry office in the Czech Republic within three months of entry. That is a separate mechanism in the law, not a loophole, and the ministry still decides.

For other Russians the Czech Republic is closed, but the nomad visas of Spain, Portugal and some twenty other countries do not exclude Russian citizenship. The nomad visa matcher shows which one fits your income.

Ukrainians. Most Ukrainian citizens live in the Czech Republic under temporary protection (dočasná ochrana). It currently runs to 31 March 2027, and the EU Council has decided to extend it to 31 March 2028: in the Czech Republic that takes an online registration and a visit to the Interior Ministry for a new visa sticker.

Temporary protection lets you register a zivno and work as an OSVČ, and holders are covered by public health insurance by law. The embassy in Kyiv has suspended business visa applications, and the consulate in Lviv accepts only family, study, work and research applications.

For those who want to stay long term, the Lex Ukrajina VII law (the seventh Czech act on help for refugees from Ukraine) created a special long-term residence permit (zvláštní dlouhodobý pobyt, ZDP) for people who support themselves. The 2026 conditions: continuous temporary protection from 1 April 2024 to 1 April 2026, continuous health insurance with no arrears and total household income for 2025 of at least CZK 440,000 (about $21,000) plus CZK 110,000 (about $5,100) for each additional household member. The catch for entrepreneurs: on moving to ZDP a freelancer drops out of public health insurance into private cover and loses access to the flat-rate tax.

Kazakhs. The zivno route is formally open, but the embassy in Astana accepts just 12 business visa applications a year for the whole country, and 4 of those are reserved for a government programme. There is a way out for those who have lived legally in an EU country for at least two years: they apply at the Dresden visa centre. Its general quota is zero, but Kazakhstan is part of the government's Qualified Employee programme (Program kvalifikovaný zaměstnanec), and citizens of those countries face no business visa cap in Dresden. Outside the EU the option is the same as for everyone: a Czech embassy in a country where you have lived legally for at least two years, provided it has no tight quota.

What taxes does a zivno freelancer pay in the Czech Republic

You become a Czech tax resident if you spend 183 days in the country in a calendar year or have a permanent home here. A long-term visa does not make you resident on its own, but a nomad who spends the whole year in Prague almost certainly will be, and will declare worldwide income in the Czech Republic. We explain how the test works in our piece on tax residency and the 183-day rule.

Personal income tax rates in 2026 are 15% and 23%. The higher rate applies only to the part of annual income above CZK 1,762,812 (about $82,000). A basic taxpayer credit of CZK 30,840 a year comes off the tax due. An IT freelancer on a free trade can skip collecting receipts and deduct 60% of income as expenses (výdajový paušál, expenses as a percentage of income), capped at CZK 1,200,000 a year.

Social contributions are the heaviest part. An OSVČ pays 29.2% on a base equal to 55% of profit. The minimum monthly advance for a main activity in 2026 is CZK 5,720 from January to June and CZK 5,005 from July to December (about $270 and $240). Newcomers get relief: if you have not been self-employed in the past 5 years, you can skip advances in your first year and the next one, though the contributions are still settled after the year ends. If you have not been self-employed for 20 years, the minimum advance drops to CZK 3,575 for your first year and the following two.

Health insurance works differently for foreigners. The public system covers permanent residents, employees of Czech employers and a few other groups, but not a self-employed person on a visa or long-term permit. They buy private cover instead. That has an unpleasant knock-on effect: the flat-rate tax (paušální daň), a single monthly payment replacing income tax and contributions, is closed to them, because the regime requires participation in public health insurance. For comparison, here is what people who can use it, such as permanent residents, pay:

Example calculation for an IT freelancer on the standard regime: a tax resident with no children, revenue of CZK 1,200,000 a year (about $56,000), 60% flat expenses.

Private health insurance comes on top, and its price depends on your age and insurer. The Czech Republic has no special regime for new residents along the lines of Portugal's or Spain's.

VAT (DPH) is 21%. Registration is compulsory once turnover in a calendar year exceeds CZK 2,000,000 (about $93,000), and above CZK 2,536,500 you become a VAT payer immediately. If you supply services to businesses in other EU countries, you may need to register earlier as an identified person (identifikovaná osoba).

For a nomad employed abroad, salary for work physically done in the Czech Republic is taxable here once they are resident, and they usually file the return themselves. Whether Czech social contributions apply depends on the treaty with the employer's country, so check before you move. Rates, credits and worked examples are in our guide to Czech taxes in 2026.

What health insurance do you need for a Czech visa

No policy, no visa, even if the Interior Ministry has already approved it. The limit must be at least $460,000 per insured event with no excess, meaning you share none of the costs. You can buy comprehensive health insurance (komplexní zdravotní pojištění) for the whole stay, which only insurers licensed in the Czech Republic sell. Or you can combine travel insurance for the first 90 days, which may also come from an insurer in the EU or in your passport country, with comprehensive cover for the rest. A policy signed abroad needs a certified Czech translation together with its terms and conditions.

Children have it easier: minors applying from abroad need only travel insurance for the first 90 days, then join the public system by law once they hold a long-term residence permit (povolení k dlouhodobému pobytu, not just a visa). An adult entrepreneur stays on private cover until permanent residence.

Czech Republic, Croatia or Spain: which nomad visa is easier to get

Without a listed passport, the Czech Republic loses to its neighbours on access and sits mid-table on money. Croatia and Spain do not restrict which nationalities can apply.

On the income bar, the Czech Republic is about $600 a month cheaper than Croatia and about $200 dearer than Spain. The real difference is the passport filter, not the money. For a citizen of one of the 13 countries, the Czech route wins on speed: a 45-day decision and an embassy slot without queueing. Everyone else should weigh the quota and timeline at their Czech embassy against the Spanish or Croatian consulate.

Other options near the Czech Republic: Hungary's White Card, Germany's freelance visa and Estonia's nomad visa. The full list is in our digital nomad visa directory and in our comparison of where nomad terms are genuinely better in 2026.

How much does a Czech freelance visa cost

Government fees are modest: about $400 for the whole zivno route. Document preparation and the money you must keep in the bank cost far more.

The money in the bank is not part of this budget: CZK 156,500 (about $7,300) is proof of funds, not a payment, and it stays yours.

Budget separately for Czech translations and legalisation of documents, a lease that lets you register a business address and health insurance: those costs depend on your country, age and provider. You will also need an account, and a Czech one makes paying tax and contributions simpler. Options are in our section on business accounts in the Czech Republic.

Pitfalls and who the Czech Republic is not for

Quotas and waiting. Outside the nomad programme, getting an embassy slot often matters more than any other condition: Astana, Tashkent, Tbilisi and Baku take 12 business visa applications a year each. The decision itself takes up to 90 days, or 120 in complex cases.

A zivno is not a work permit. The business visa lets you run a business; working on an employment contract requires an employee card (zaměstnanecká karta). If a freelancer in practice works as a full-time employee of one Czech client, on their schedule and under their direction, it can be treated as disguised employment (švarcsystém), which counts as illegal work.

Family only together. The programme includes family members only if they apply at the same time as the nomad. Bringing them later on the fast track is not possible.

One spare date. Programme participants are assigned their embassy appointment, and a justified absence earns one alternative date. Miss both and the slot is gone.

Renewal is not automatic. A freelancer renews outside the programme under the general rules and must show a tax assessment, paid contributions and no debts. On extension you also have to complete the adaptation and integration course, a compulsory introductory session on life in the Czech Republic.

Tax is higher than it looks. There is no incentive regime for newcomers, and the flat-rate tax is closed to a foreigner on private health cover. On CZK 1.2 million of revenue, tax and contributions take about 10%, before insurance.

Who it does not suit. Russian and Belarusian citizens without a Czech permit or EU long-term resident status. Anyone chasing low taxes. Professionals outside IT and marketing who are counting on the nomad programme. And anyone who needs a quick start from a country whose embassy takes 12 applications a year.

Who it suits. Citizens of the 13 listed countries earning from $3,500 a month. Freelancers ready to live in the Czech Republic for years: the visa leads to a two-year permit, and after five years permanent residence opens up. If you plan to outgrow the zivno, you can set up a Czech s.r.o. (společnost s ručením omezeným, a limited liability company); see our section on company registration in the Czech Republic. All Czech programmes are collected in our Czech Republic overview, and life in the capital is covered in our Prague guide.

What a Czech freelance or nomad visa gives you

How to get a Czech freelance visa: step by step

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