Chamber of Commerce warns Czechia losing out on skilled foreign workers

Of the 4,474 foreign workers that Czech companies submitted work permit applications for this year as part of the government's Qualified Employee Program, 2,191 are still waiting for the Czech authorities to start processing their applications, the Czech News Agency reported on Wednesday. The Czech Chamber of Commerce blames lengthy administrative processes and low immigration quotas for the fact that less than half of this year's applications have been processed so far and many companies have been waiting months for their employees to arrive, in a programme that is meant to accelerate the intake of qualified labour from abroad.

The Chamber of Commerce warned there is a great danger that many of these applicants will run out of patience and end up going to work in other European countries with a more welcoming attitude and less bureaucracy and that Czechia is losing out in terms of competitiveness and billions in state revenue losses.