How to Register for Czech Social Security and Health Insurance as a Foreigner?

Duties, insurances, and obligations for self-employed foreigners in the Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, all self-employed persons need to pay social security (SS) to the Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ). Health insurance (HI) is obligatory for all foreign persons looking to live within the country’s boarders. Without insurance, they can’t receive a visa or residence permit. There are multiple types of health insurance agencies in the Czech Republic.

In terms of insurance, business owners bear obligations given by law:

• Having filed for their trade license, they are required to pay a monthly payment for both insurances (excluding a few exceptions we’ll explain later).
• The payment amount during the first year of business depends on the average monthly wage in the national economy. The sums valid for the current year can be found on the websites for the CSSA and health insurance agencies (e.g., the VZP Insurance Company website).
• Then, each spring, the business owner submits an overview of their income and expenditures to the health insurance agency and CSSA. Here, the amount paid is compared to the amount the business owner was meant to pay based on their actual income. If they paid less than they were supposed to, they’ll pay the difference.
• Also, the payment amount for the following period is figured according to the overview.

Apart from insurance, self-employed persons filing for a trade license must register at a tax office. At the end of each year, they’ll submit their tax return and pay income tax.

Registering a foreigner for social security
and health insurance

Would you like to file for a trade license with us? The services we can provide for you depend on the specific situation you are in.

Already employed in the Czech Republic

You’ve already lived here for a while, you’ve been employed, you have Czech health insurance, and your employer pays your social security as well, meaning the CSSA has already assigned you a registration ID. In this case, we’ll file the trade license for you and declare the start of you doing business to the health insurance provider, the CSSA, and the tax office.

Not yet employed in the Czech Republic

If you’re new to the Czech Republic and want to start working as self-employed right away (you do not have Czech health insurance, nor are you registered with the CSSA), we would be happy to file for your trade license and declare that you will be doing business here to the tax office. Unfortunately, however, we cannot register for you at the CSSA or the health insurance agency.

Social security

The administration related to registering at the CSSA for the first time comes with a few exceptions and individual rules:

• Up to this point, you’ve paid social security in your home country, where the payments go towards your retirement.
• SS can only be paid in one country, decided by where you perform the majority of your self-employed activities.
• That means you’ll need to use form A1 to request from the authorities in your home country that your SS fall under the social security services in the Czech Republic.
• When you go to request money in the future, you’ll submit documents showing where you’ve paid social security and for how long.

Health insurance

Health insurance also depends on multiple factors. You can only register at a Czech public health insurance agency if you meet at least one of the following requirements:

• you are an EU citizen;
• you are employed at a company registered in the Czech Republic;
• you have a residence permit in the Czech Republic.

If you meet any of these requirements, you’ll first learn how to proceed with the health insurance agency in your home country, and then you can register in the Czech public HI system. This step, however, isn’t meant for foreigners who are self-employed and don’t meet any of the requirements above.

If you’re a foreign person who is ineligible for public HI, you’ll need to arrange either commercial health insurance or travel insurance here. However, this isn’t always required, considering the Czech Republic has entered into an international contract on health insurance with a number of countries (e.g., Montenegro, Macedonia, Turkey, etc.) That means you’ll need to verify the requirements and proper procedures for your specific home country.

Summary: What does our trade license filing service include?

Looking to start doing business in the Czech Republic?

Launch your business in the Czech Republic and request for us to file for your trade license online. Write to us or give us a call, and we’ll handle everything for you remotely.