From Policy to Practice: Governmental Programs for Economic Migration in the Czech Republic and their Impact on the Inflow of Highly Skilled Workforce

The Czech economy faces a significant worker shortage. Governmental Programs for Economic Migration address this by supporting foreign companies relocating staff from third countries to the Czech Republic. These programs have undergone several changes since their launch in 2012 such as extension of the quota and territorial extensions. This paper examines the annual changes in quotas for Employee card applications under Governmental Programs for Economic Migration. It assesses whether these quotas reflect the inflow of economic migrants and meet the Czech labor market’s needs by analyzing quota development from 2019 to 2024 and comparing the average number of active foreign employments between July 2024 and February 2025 with the quotas set by Governmental regulation No. 187/2024 Coll. The findings suggest that while a foreign workforce is crucial for economic growth and competitiveness, the current quota system may not fully address the labor market’s demands, highlighting the need for a more coherent and systematic approach to migration.