Czechia · Europe
Moving to Prague
Prague quick facts
Czechia at a glance
Europe & Central Asia
Economy
World Bank · 2025Religion
% of populationCIA World Factbook / national censuses
Cost of living in Prague
Can you move to Czechia?
Pick your passport to see whether you can enter Czechia — and what it takes to stay.
Entry rules come from github.com/imorte/passport-index-data, updated 17 February 2026. They change without notice — confirm with the official immigration service before booking.
Getting set up in Czechia
Employee Card, trade licence and Foreign Police registration
The Employee Card (zaměstnanecká karta) is the standard employer-tied route, combining work authorisation and residence in one document. The alternative is a živnostenský list — a trade licence letting you work as a self-employed contractor — which is more flexible but makes you personally liable for insurance. Whichever route, non-EU arrivals must report to the Foreign Police within three working days.
Read the full step-by-step guideExchanging your driving licence
EU and EEA licences remain valid in Czechia without exchange. Non-EU licences must be exchanged at your municipal district office within a set period after you take up residence. Licences from countries party to the Vienna or Geneva conventions generally exchange without a test; others may require examinations.
Read the full step-by-step guideOpening a Czech bank account
Czech banks will generally open an account for a foreigner with a passport and proof of address, and the larger ones handle the whole relationship in English. A rodné číslo makes everything smoother. Czechia is not in the eurozone, so you'll hold koruna and should watch conversion costs on incoming foreign salary.
Read the full step-by-step guideHealth insurance — and the freelancer trap
Employees are enrolled in the public system automatically through payroll, at which point Czech healthcare is comprehensive and cheap. The self-employed must register with a public insurer themselves and pay monthly minimum contributions regardless of income. Non-EU nationals not yet in the public system need commercial insurance meeting statutory requirements, which is more expensive and less comprehensive.
Read the full step-by-step guideGetting a Czech mobile number
Three networks — O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone — plus cheaper resellers running on them. Prepaid SIMs are widely available with light registration requirements. Because Czechia is in the EU, roaming from another EU SIM is free, so you can choose calmly rather than buying at the airport.
Read the full step-by-step guideRodné číslo, income tax and the flat-rate regime
Czech income tax is broadly a flat 15% with a higher band on high earners. Employees are taxed through payroll and often need not file. The self-employed can elect a flat-rate regime (paušální daň) that bundles income tax, health and social insurance into a single monthly payment and removes the need for a return entirely — a substantial simplification.
Read the full step-by-step guideEach guide has verified costs, timelines, required documents, and the non-obvious gotchas — sourced from official government pages. Last verified July 2026.
Essential Czech phrases
Reading a list isn’t learning it. Globe Quest turns these into a trainer — hear each phrase spoken, drill them with spaced repetition, and get scored as you say them out loud.
What to know before you go
Register with the Foreign Police within 3 working days
CriticalNon-EU nationals must report their address to the Foreign Police within three working days of arrival — a genuinely short window that catches people who arrive on a Friday. If you hold a long-term visa or employee card, your accommodation provider sometimes does it, but verify rather than assume.
Say 'dobrý den' when you walk in anywhere
CriticalEntering a shop, a doctor's waiting room, a lift or a small restaurant without greeting is read as rude in a way it isn't in most of Europe. Two words, and it changes how you're treated for the rest of the interaction.
The freelance route makes you your own insurer
CriticalThe živnostenský list is a genuinely accessible way to work here, but unlike employment it leaves you personally liable for monthly health and social insurance payments. Miss them and debts accrue quietly with penalties. This is the single biggest trap in the Czech system.
Czechia is not in the eurozone
ImportantThe currency is the koruna, and shops that quote prices in euros are almost always giving you a bad rate. Pay in CZK, decline dynamic currency conversion at card terminals, and avoid the exchange booths in the old town entirely.
Learn to order beer by size and let the tab run
Good to knowIn a traditional hospoda the waiter brings beer and marks a tally on your slip. You pay at the end. Waving cash at the start or trying to pay per round confuses the system and marks you out immediately.
The centre is not the city
Good to knowOld Town Square and Charles Bridge are close to unusable in summer. Locals drink in Žižkov, eat in Vinohrady and swim at Podolí. Move one tram stop out of the centre and Prague becomes a different, better place.
Top industries & employers
Shared services & business process centres
Accenture, IBM, SAP, Infosys, ExxonMobil BSC
Prague's biggest source of English-speaking employment — multinationals running pan-European finance, HR and IT operations from the city.
Software & IT
JetBrains, Avast/Gen, Productboard, Rossum, Kiwi.com
A genuinely strong domestic software sector, with JetBrains and Avast both Czech-founded global products.
Video games
Warhorse Studios, Bohemia Interactive, Amanita Design
Czechia punches far above its weight in games — Kingdom Come and Arma both came out of Prague-area studios.
Automotive engineering
Škoda Auto, Continental, Bosch
The country is one of Europe's most car-manufacturing-intensive economies, with engineering and R&D roles clustered around Prague and Mladá Boleslav.
Biotechnology & pharmaceuticals
IOCB, Zentiva, Sotio
A strong research base, with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry an internationally respected centre.
Tourism & hospitality
Hotel groups, tour operators, brewing
One of Europe's most visited cities, which supports a large hospitality sector and shapes the centre's economy.
Where to go in Prague
Vyšehrad
Landmark · South of the centre
A hilltop fortress complex with a neo-Gothic basilica, the national cemetery and the best view over the Vltava.
Local tip: This is where locals go instead of the castle. Free to enter, uncrowded even in August, and the ramparts at sunset are better than anything on the tourist route.
Letná and Riegrovy sady beer gardens
Nightlife · Letná / Vinohrady
Hillside beer gardens with long trestle tables and views over the city.
Local tip: Letná for the panorama, Riegrovy sady for the crowd. Both are outdoor, cash-friendly and how Prague actually spends a summer evening.
Náplavka riverside
Food · Vltava embankment
The riverbank below Vyšehrad, with a Saturday farmers' market and bars built into the embankment arches.
Local tip: Saturday morning market for food, any warm evening for the arch bars. Sitting on the wall with a beer watching the river is the local weekend ritual.
Žižkov
Neighborhood · East of the centre
Historically working-class, now the densest concentration of pubs in the city, under a brutalist TV tower with sculpted babies climbing it.
Local tip: Reputedly has more pubs per capita than anywhere in Europe. Start on Bořivojova and don't plan an early morning.
Kutná Hora
Culture · 1 hour by train
A medieval silver town with a cathedral and the Sedlec ossuary, decorated with the bones of forty thousand people.
Local tip: Easy train from Hlavní nádraží. Go on a weekday — the ossuary is small and coach tours fill it completely.
Divoká Šárka
Hidden gemNature · North-west, end of tram 20/26
A wild wooded valley with cliffs and a stream, inside the city and reachable by tram.
Local tip: Almost no visitors know it exists. Take the tram to the end, walk the valley, and you'd never guess you were in a capital city.
Emergency numbers in Prague
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