Czechia Nomad Visa

What is the Czechia digital nomad visa?

Czechia does not have a stand-alone digital nomad visa in its immigration law. Instead it runs a government Digital Nomad Program, managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, that gives selected remote workers faster access to ordinary long-term visas.

Programme members apply for a long-term visa for "other purposes" if they are employees of a foreign company, or for business if they are freelancers holding a Czech trade licence. The programme has run since 1 July 2023, and there is no legal right to be accepted.

Who can apply for the Czechia digital nomad visa?

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. Nigeria is not on the list, so Nigerian passport holders cannot use the programme.

Eligible applicants must also be highly skilled IT or marketing specialists, with either a STEM degree or at least three years of IT experience (for IT roles), or a degree of at least three years in marketing or a related field (for marketing roles). Employees must work for a foreign employer with at least 50 staff worldwide, with remote work written into the contract or confirmed by the employer. Freelancers must register a Czech trade in IT or marketing services.

Anyone who held a Czech long-term visa or long-term residence permit in the past year is excluded.

How much income do you need for the Czechia digital nomad visa?

Applicants must show income of at least 1.5 times the average gross salary announced by the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. For freelancers, this is measured by spreading the total value of client contracts across the months of work.

The programme page does not print a fixed koruna amount, because the average salary is updated. Ask the Ministry of Industry and Trade at digitalnomad@mpo.gov.cz for the current figure before applying.

How long can you stay, and can you renew it?

A long-term visa is issued for up to one year. Before it expires, programme members can move on to a long-term residence permit at a Ministry of the Interior office.

Employees' acceptance into the programme lasts up to one year, so they must ask the Ministry of Industry and Trade to extend it before applying for the residence permit. A freelancer's acceptance has no end date, although the government can suspend or end the programme at any time.

How much does it cost?

The Czech Foreign Ministry's fee schedule lists CZK 5,000 for a long-term visa for business and CZK 2,500 as the general long-term visa fee. The Abuja embassy collects fees in cash, in naira, when you submit.

Joining the programme itself has no published fee. Translations into Czech, apostilles or superlegalisation, and health insurance are extra.

What documents do you need?

For the programme, the Ministry of Industry and Trade asks for an application form plus proof of the foreign employer's existence, the employer's 50-employee statement and the employment contract (for employees), or the trade office invitation and a client contract or affidavit (for freelancers), together with proof of education or experience.

At the embassy, applicants then submit the documents the law requires for any long-term visa, including a criminal record extract, proof of accommodation and proof of funds. Documents must be originals or notarised copies, usually no older than 180 days.

How do you apply from Nigeria?

You cannot join the Digital Nomad Program on a Nigerian passport. If you also hold citizenship of one of the 13 listed countries, you could apply on that passport. Otherwise, the closest general route is an ordinary long-term visa for business based on a Czech trade licence (živnostenský list). This is not a nomad visa, and it has practical limits for Nigerians:

1. Obtain a Czech trade licence for your activity from a Czech trade office. The visa application needs the extract from the trade register as proof of purpose.
2. Prepare the rest of the file: proof of accommodation, proof of funds, a criminal record extract and photos. Documents must be in Czech or officially translated, and Nigerian public documents need superlegalisation.
3. Register for an appointment at the Czech Embassy in Abuja by email during the monthly registration window. Appointments are allocated at random within limited capacity, and the embassy's list of long-term categories does not include a separate business slot, so confirm with the embassy first.
4. Attend in person for the interview and fingerprints, and pay the CZK 5,000 fee in naira.
5. Wait for the decision, which by law can take 90 days, or up to 120 in complex cases. Buy travel medical insurance once approved.

Given these limits, many Nigerian remote workers will find routes that accept them directly more practical, such as Hungary, Estonia or Latvia. Premium membership includes nomad visa assistance if you want help choosing.

How long does processing take?

For programme members, the Ministry of the Interior decides within 45 days of a complete visa application. For an ordinary business long-term visa, the legal limit is 90 days, which can be extended to 120.

Do you pay tax in Czechia on a digital nomad visa?

The programme does not offer a special tax regime. Its rules expect participants to pay into the Czech system: the government lists personal income tax and social and health insurance contributions as benefits of the scheme, and employees who extend must provide a certificate of Czech tax domicile.

Speak to the Czech Financial Administration or an adviser about your own case. This is general information, not tax advice.

Can you bring your family?

Yes, for programme members. A spouse, registered partner and minor children, or adult dependent children, can be included if they apply at the same time. Family members do not need to hold one of the 13 listed nationalities, but they must be able to apply at that embassy.

What to know before you move

• Working hours: Czechia uses Central European Time, the same as Lagos in winter (UTC+1) and one hour ahead in summer (UTC+2).
• Registering your address: programme members must report their place of stay to the police within three working days of arrival, unless their accommodation provider does it.
• Language: embassy interviews and many documents are handled in Czech, so budget for an interpreter and official translations.
• Remote work first: every route here assumes the income is already in place; see our remote jobs if you are still looking.