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Czechia: visas, tax & cost of living

Czechia runs a real Digital Nomad Program plus the popular zivno freelance route. Flat 15% tax, 183-day residency, mid-range Prague costs.

Czechia: visas, tax & cost of living
Your passport

United KingdomCzechia

Your move to Czechia on a United Kingdom passport

  • VisitEasyVisa-free entry
  • NomadEasyNomad visa, likely eligible
  • RelocateFairly easyClear residence route

Visiting

Visa-free for up to 90 days. Travel on a passport valid for your whole stay, with a return or onward ticket and proof you can support yourself.

Passport validity: Valid at least 3 months beyond planned departure from the Schengen area, and issued within the last 10 years; some require 2 blank pages.

Heads-up: EES biometric registration (fingerprints and photo) is being phased in at the border with no fee, and ETIAS online pre-authorisation with a small fee is expected around late 2026.

At the border: No paper arrival card, but border officers can ask for proof of onward or return travel, sufficient funds, accommodation and travel medical insurance.

Working remotely

Digital Nomad Program.

Income needed: The rule is a formula, not a fixed sum: at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary announced by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Notice 44/2026 Sb. puts that salary at 590,580 CZK for 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027, so the current bar is 885,870 CZK a year, about 73,823 CZK a month (~$3,400). It moves every 1 May. The separate zivno business visa is not part of the programme and instead asks for savings of 50 times the existence minimum, 156,500 CZK. (estimate)

Duration: 12 months

Who qualifies: Run by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, not CzechInvest, and open only to citizens of Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the UK and the US. You must not have held a Czech long-stay visa or long-term residence permit at any point in the previous year. Two tracks, both nationality-gated: an employee of a foreign employer with at least 50 staff worldwide, whose contract or employer statement allows remote work and who takes no Czech employment; or a freelancer holding a Czech zivno trade licence for IT or marketing services, who also sits a consular interview. Both need a completed STEM degree or three years of proven IT experience, or for marketing a degree of at least three years in marketing, advertising or a related field, plus the 1.5x income. There is no legal entitlement to a place.

Tax and residency

Two independent limbs under the Income Tax Act (586/1992 Sb., s.2): a permanent home here that you clearly mean to keep makes you resident with no day count at all, and separately at least 183 days in a calendar year does it too, with every part day counted as a whole one. Residents are taxed on worldwide income at a flat 15%, rising to 23% on the slice above 36 times the average wage (about 1,762,800 CZK in 2026). Freelancers on a zivno can use the 60/40 flat expense regime. Renewing a Digital Nomad Program place means handing the ministry a Czech tax domicile certificate, so the second year is designed around becoming resident here. (estimate)

The UK decides residence with its Statutory Residence Test (days in the UK plus your ties). As a non-resident you are usually taxed only on UK income; where one exists, a double-tax treaty with the destination decides who taxes what.

Double-tax treaty: yes, in force since 1990

Practical

Currency: CZK. Cost of living: mid.

Healthcare: EU visitors with an EHIC, or UK visitors with a GHIC, get state-provided medically necessary care, but US and Indian visitors have no reciprocal cover and need their own travel medical insurance.

Healthcare agreement: UK GHIC or older EHIC gives access to state-provided medically necessary care on broadly the same terms as locals.

Driving: EU and UK licence holders can drive on their own licence without an IDP, while US and Indian visitors should carry an International Driving Permit alongside their national licence.

Sources: Czechia, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Digital Nomad Program · Czechia, Ministry of Industry and Trade, The Digital Nomad Program, full programme rules (PDF, 1 July 2025) · Czechia, Notice 44/2026 Sb., average gross annual salary 590,580 CZK for 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027 · Czechia, gov.cz portal, personal income taxes and who counts as a tax resident · Czechia, MPSV, existence minimum 3,130 CZK, which sets the 156,500 CZK zivno funds proof · GOV.UK: tax on foreign income · HMRC: double-taxation treaties

Estimates, not advice. Confirm with the official sources before you act.

Should you move to Czechia?

Czechia is a strong pick if you want a central European base with great transport, fast internet and a real expat scene, minus the western-Europe price tags. Prague is the obvious hub. Brno is cheaper and the tech crowd keeps moving there. Costs land in the mid band: comfortable, not cheap. Prague rent will do most of the damage to your budget.

Czechia visa and entry

Czechia is one of the few EU countries with an actual Digital Nomad Program, a fast-tracked long-stay visa. It is run by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, not CzechInvest, and you apply to the ministry directly. The first catch is the passport list: it is open only to citizens of Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the UK and the US, so check yours is on it before you get attached to the idea. The second catch is the one most write-ups skip. On the employee track your foreign employer must have at least 50 staff worldwide, and whichever track you take you must not have held a Czech long-stay visa or long-term residence permit at any point in the previous year. There is a freelancer track as well, built on a Czech zivno trade licence in IT or marketing services, but it is gated by the same country list.

The income bar is a formula rather than a fixed number: at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary that the labour ministry announces each spring. For 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027 that salary is 590,580 CZK, so the programme asks for 885,870 CZK a year, roughly 73,823 CZK a month (around 3,400 USD). It steps up every 1 May, so treat any figure you read anywhere, including this one, as a snapshot. If your passport is not on the list, the well-worn zivno route still stands on its own: you get a trade licence (zivnostensky list), register as self-employed and apply for the ordinary long-stay business visa, which wants savings of 156,500 CZK but has no nationality list and no fast track.

Tax residency and what to check

You become a Czech tax resident on either of two separate tests. A permanent home here that you plainly mean to keep does it on its own, with no day count involved at all. Failing that, you become resident once you stay at least 183 days in a calendar year, and every part day counts as a whole one. Residents are taxed on worldwide income. The headline personal rate is a flat 15%, with a 23% band on the slice above 36 times the average wage, about 1.76 million CZK in 2026. For freelancers, the zivno 60/40 expense regime, where you write off 60% of turnover automatically, can pull the effective rate down to one of the lowest in the EU.

Worth knowing before you plan year two: an employee’s place on the nomad programme lasts a maximum of one year, and renewing it means handing the ministry a Czech tax domicile certificate from the Czech tax office. The second year of this route is built around you becoming a Czech tax resident, not around avoiding it. A freelancer’s place on the programme has no expiry date. Check your own position against any tax treaty with your home country before you commit.

Figures are estimates. Always check the official source linked below.

At a glance

Currency
CZK
Cost of living
Moderate
Digital-nomad visa
Yes

Frequently asked questions

Czechia: is there a digital nomad visa?
Digital Nomad Program. Run by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, not CzechInvest, and open only to citizens of Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the UK and the US. You must not have held a Czech long-stay visa or long-term residence permit at any point in the previous year. Two tracks, both nationality-gated: an employee of a foreign employer with at least 50 staff worldwide, whose contract or employer statement allows remote work and who takes no Czech employment; or a freelancer holding a Czech zivno trade licence for IT or marketing services, who also sits a consular interview. Both need a completed STEM degree or three years of proven IT experience, or for marketing a degree of at least three years in marketing, advertising or a related field, plus the 1.5x income. There is no legal entitlement to a place.
Czechia: when do you become a tax resident?
Two independent limbs under the Income Tax Act (586/1992 Sb., s.2): a permanent home here that you clearly mean to keep makes you resident with no day count at all, and separately at least 183 days in a calendar year does it too, with every part day counted as a whole one. Residents are taxed on worldwide income at a flat 15%, rising to 23% on the slice above 36 times the average wage (about 1,762,800 CZK in 2026). Freelancers on a zivno can use the 60/40 flat expense regime. Renewing a Digital Nomad Program place means handing the ministry a Czech tax domicile certificate, so the second year is designed around becoming resident here.
Czechia: what is the cost of living?
The cost of living is moderate and the local currency is the CZK. Treat any figures as estimates.
Czechia: do you need health insurance?
EU visitors with an EHIC, or UK visitors with a GHIC, get state-provided medically necessary care, but US and Indian visitors have no reciprocal cover and need their own travel medical insurance.
Czechia: can you drive on a foreign licence?
EU and UK licence holders can drive on their own licence without an IDP, while US and Indian visitors should carry an International Driving Permit alongside their national licence.

Terms worth knowing

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