Business for Ukrainians with temporary protection

Good news to start: it is simpler for you

Say you have temporary protection, live in Prague or Brno and want to earn extra income, perhaps by cleaning, construction work, hairdressing or selling through an e-shop. You may have heard that foreigners do not have it easy with business in Czechia. For you, that does not apply.

A Ukrainian citizen with temporary protection is, for business purposes, treated as equal to a citizen of an EU member state. This follows from Lex Ukraine (Act No. 65/2022 Coll.) in conjunction with Section 70 of the Trade Licensing Act. In practice, you set up a trade licence almost as easily as a Czech; most paperwork that troubles other non-EU foreigners drops away.

What you gain compared with an ordinary third-country applicant:

• You do not document a Ukrainian criminal-record extract. The Czech Criminal Register is enough, and the office requests it itself. No apostille, no translations.
• You do not prove funds for residence under the foreigners law. An applicant for a business visa must document 156,500 Kč in the account; you do not.
• You can notify the trade at any municipal Trade Licensing Office; you do not need permanent residence.

There is one catch, and it is important. We return to it at the end, because your whole business depends on it.

How to notify a trade step by step

The process is straightforward. You can handle most of it in one office visit or online.

1. Choose the type of trade. The most common is the unrestricted trade, for which you need no education or apprenticeship certificate, only the general conditions (age 18, legal capacity, good standing). It includes wholesale and retail, cleaning, intermediation, IT services, translations and dozens of other fields. If you want to do a craft (hairdressing, masonry, car mechanic) or a regulated trade, you need professional competence, or appoint a responsible representative.
2. Fill in the Single Registration Form (JRF). The Trade Licensing Office will advise you. Through the form you also notify commencement of activity to the tax office, ČSSZ and your health insurance company, so you do not have to visit each institution separately.
3. Document the registered seat (sídlo) of business. The owner's consent or a lease agreement is enough for the address you state as the seat.
4. Pay the administrative fee of 1,000 Kč (only 800 Kč for electronic filing).
5. Present an identity document and proof of temporary protection.

That is basically all. The office enters you in the Trade Register and assigns IČO roughly within 5 working days.

Tip: Electronic filing through the Trade Business Portal (rzp.gov.cz) is one fifth cheaper: 800 Kč instead of 1,000 Kč. If you have eIdentity or a data box (datová schránka), it is worth it.

What IČO is and why you need it

IČO (business identification number) is your eight-digit business number. It works somewhat like a birth number, but for business. You state it on invoices, contracts and in communication with authorities. It is assigned automatically by the Trade Licensing Office when you are entered in the register, so you do not apply separately and pay nothing for it.

Once you have IČO, you are officially a self-employed person (OSVČ). You can issue invoices and start earning.

Responsible representative: when you do not have Czech qualification

Do you want to operate a craft but do not have a Czech apprenticeship certificate or recognised education? Or do you not yet speak Czech fluently? The solution is a responsible representative (odpovědný zástupce), a person who meets the professional competence requirement and is responsible for proper operation of your trade.

This institute is widely used in practice. But note one thing: the responsible representative must actually manage the activity. Simply "lending" a name on paper breaches the Trade Licensing Act and can cost you the trade and a fine.

Taxes and insurance for self-employed people

Once you start doing business, three areas of duties arise. Let us go through them in order.

Income tax

You pay income tax of 15 % from net profit (the higher 23 % rate applies only to income above roughly 1.76 million Kč per year). You can claim either actual expenses, according to documents, or a lump-sum allowance; for an unrestricted trade this is 60 % of income. You file a tax return every year, usually by early April.

Flat-rate tax is very popular. Instead of a tax return and separate insurance payments, you send one fixed monthly amount covering tax and both insurances. It is the simplest regime for beginners. For 2026, the first flat-rate tax band is stated at around 9,984 Kč per month, but the amount may change during the year, so verify the current figure with the Tax Administration. Entry into the flat-rate regime is reported at the start of the year (for 2026, the deadline was 12 January 2026).

Social and health insurance

As a self-employed person, you pay monthly advances. For main activity in 2026, the minimum advances are (the social advance decreased from 5,720 Kč to 5,005 Kč from 1 July 2026):

If you are doing business for the first time, you have a lower social insurance advance in the year you start and in the next two calendar years. Important: within 8 days after starting the activity, you must register with ČSSZ (social insurance) and your health insurance company. If you notified the trade through JRF, the notification is automatic.

Warning: You pay insurance advances from the first month of business, even if you have not earned anything yet. Social insurance is due on the last day of the month; health insurance by the 8th day of the following month. Missed payments generate penalties.

Are you a tax resident or not?

If you live in Czechia and usually stay here (at least 183 days in a year) or have a permanent flat here, you are a Czech tax resident and tax your worldwide income here. Most people with temporary protection are residents. The Tax Administration has issued special guidance for Ukrainian citizens during the war; if you also have income from Ukraine, review it or consult an accountant.

The most important point: your protection controls trade validity

Now the catch from the start. Your trade authorisation is temporary and its validity is tied to the validity of temporary protection. Simply put: when your temporary protection ends and you do not extend it, your trade also expires.

This is by far the most commonly overlooked rule. A person sets up a trade, does business, succeeds, and then forgets the protection-extension deadline and loses the authorisation from one day to the next.

Under Council Decision (EU) 2026/1912 of 30 July 2026, temporary protection at EU level as a whole is possible until 4 March 2028. That is the Europe-wide framework, not the individual validity of your document. The current extension round in Czechia (through Lex Ukraine VII, Act No. 24/2025 Coll.) moves individual validity only to 31 March 2027; another round towards 2028 is still expected and its timetable has not yet been published. The 2026 extension has two steps:

1. Online registration through the Information Portal for Foreigners (IPC): complete it by 15 March 2026. This extends your protection to 30 September 2026. You use your existing account.
2. Personal visit and placement of the new visa sticker: no later than 30 September 2026. This extends protection to 31 March 2027.

Always verify exact dates and the process directly at IPC (ipc.gov.cz) or the Ministry of the Interior, because they may be adjusted.

Practical advice: Watch temporary-protection extension deadlines and trade validity together. Put a reminder in your phone for the end of February 2026. It is also advisable to tell the Trade Licensing Office that you want to continue; the office verifies data in the Foreigners Information System, or you document confirmation of registration. Validity until 31 March 2027 is not final; expect another extension round towards the European framework until 2028.

What else to think about

A few points that beginning self-employed people often miss:

• Data box is now created automatically for entrepreneurs. Check it regularly; official mail arrives there and uncollected messages are deemed delivered after 10 days.
• Get advice on accounting. Simple tax records are often enough at the start. A consultation with an accountant helps you choose between flat-rate tax and claiming expenses.
• Consider liability insurance if you work at customers' premises, for example cleaning, crafts or construction. It protects you if damage occurs.

Summary

As a Ukrainian with temporary protection, you have much simpler conditions for doing business in Czechia than other non-EU foreigners. You notify the trade for 1,000 Kč (800 Kč online), receive IČO within 5 days and register with ČSSZ and your health insurance company within 8 days. You pay income tax and insurance advances, or choose simple flat-rate tax.

Remember one thing above all: your trade lives only as long as your temporary protection. Watch the extension deadlines (in 2026 especially 15 March and 30 September) and you will not lose the authorisation.

This article is for information only and does not replace individual advice. Concrete amounts and deadlines may change during the year; for an official procedure, always verify the current position on the websites of the Ministry of the Interior, IPC, MPO and the Tax Administration.