Includes steps involved in establishing a local office.
Last Published: 10/19/2018

For most small or mid-sized exporters, establishing an office in the Czech Republic is not worth the time and expense. If a company decides to set up an office, we recommend working with a local attorney or consulting firm that can take on the burden of corporate registration and other paperwork. The time required to fully register a firm is 15 days including tax registration.

The process to register a company is generally comparable for the four types of firms that can be formed under the country’s commercial code. Of these, the limited liability company (spolecnost s rucenim omezenym, or s.r.o.) and the joint-stock company (akciova spolecnost, or a.s.) are the most preferred as they give shareholders the advantage of having only limited liability for the company’s obligations. The other two types are the general partnership (verejna obchodni spolecnost) and limited partnership (komanditni spolecnost). The process for starting a company generally includes creation of a memorandum of association; obtaining appropriate trade authorizations/licenses; creation of registered capital comprising the contributions of the shareholders; registering the firm in the commercial register administered by the regional registration court; and registering with the tax office, local social security, and the health insurance authorities. Legal advice is available to assist in choosing the type of firm best suited to a U.S. company’s legal and tax structure.

Prague has a well-educated, multilingual population, many of whom  have years of experience working for Western firms. Companies offering attractive salaries can normally secure talented local staff for a new office. In the past year, however, there have been some shortages of managerial and IT staff. Executive recruiting firms are active in Prague, although most executives use word-of-mouth to make hiring decisions. Unless a firm is investing in large-scale manufacturing, it is unlikely that labor unions will be a factor in the hiring process. Statistics on Czech salaries can be found at a variety of websites. Official information on wages and salaries is available at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs or the Average Earnings Information System (ISPV) and Czech Invest.

If a firm has non-Czech EU citizens as expatriate staff, these employees may apply for long-term residency permits, although they are not obliged to do so. U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals who intend to reside and work in the Czech Republic are required to apply for a residency visa, normally valid for a period of 90 days to one year. After this period, the visa may either be repeatedly extended or a long-term residency permit may be issued for an additional period of two years. An agent can be used to facilitate the application process. Check Information on visa requirements for the Czech Republic.
Cost of living statistics can be found at a variety of websites, including Czech Expat or Xpatistan.
 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.