As in any business, owner of a company solves his own problems and reaches his own aims on the basis of the individual circumstances and available means. We hope that after reading this article you will certainly know which amount of money you need to have for starting new life in Czech. In this article we want to propose you the algorithm of business- plan, possible expenses and the spread of prices for these expenses. The only thing the future emigrant has to do is to use our formulas and to bring its expenses into correspondence with the money he has. By doing this he can forecast his future level of life and understand whether it will satisfy him.
We are going to create a business algorithm of calculating emigratory expenses on the basis of one of the European countries- Czech Republic. Futurum Group’s specialists for more that 11 years give consultations about emigration to its clients and got great practical experience of solving problems of new emigrants.
Czech Republic is not an emigratory country in its real sense, as we may say about Australia, New Zealand or Canada. If you intend to emigrate to Czech you must register a company that will become a basis of your permanent stay in Czech and getting permanent residence permit after 5 years of continuous stay in Czech.
The fact that you are an owner of Czech company gives numerous advantages to you. First of all, you can buy a property in Czech for your company’s needs (as physical person a foreigner do not have right to buy property in Europe). After registering a company and becoming both its owner and president you can use its property for your personal needs.
Secondly, a Czech company has right to give services to other Czech or foreign companies. This means that if an emigrant is an excellent engineer and does not intend to become a businessman he can provide engineering service to other companies.
This is approximate scheme of emigration to Czech that a future emigrant must know to understand his expanses. Now we will try to find out the price of each step to happy future on European land.
The first reservation. If a person think seriously about emigration to Czech and listen to advices of Futurum Group’s specialists he should calculate every step and make strict self-control of his personal expenses: if he intends to spend 500 USD for renting a flat, he must not spend 550 USD; if he intends to buy a flat for 30 000 Euro- he must not buy for 32 000 Euro; if he plans to visit his native land once per year- do not visit it twice even if you really start missing your friends and relatives
The second reservation. When you are planning to make small repairing of a flat, specialists advice you to add to your list of approximate expenses 30 or 40%. Situation is same with emigration: make a strict plan of possible expenses but always have some money “for possible circumstances”.
The third reservation. Before forecasting future expenses please calculate money that you can spend on emigration, you must have more money that emigration costs otherwise your “emigration game” will be lost for you.
Preparatory period of emigration to any country is legalization. Its price consists of expenses for registering a company and getting business visa. There is no need to be present in the country which you have chosen for emigration during preparatory period- it’s possible to finish a whole procedure of legalization by providing a warrant to a representative of Futurum Group.
For example, any company to be registered in Czech must have owner- it can be a foreigner, and president- a citizen of Czech or Czech residence permit holder. After a foreigner gets residence permit himself he has to become his company’s president. Futurum Group provides president for client’s company for a period of 6 months for free, after that a client has to come to Czech and become a president of his own company. If a client refuses to become a president of his own company he has to pay for prolonging a service of president. Changing company’s president also costs money but with Futurum Group this service is included in price. Many companies dealing in Chinese market do not include these expenses into the price and a client has to pay additional money. Almost same situation happens with company’s address, receiving official letters, getting whole pack of documents needed for getting residence permit. Futurum Group’s price includes everything you need for legalization in Czech and getting residence permit there.
The duration of transitional period totally depends on emigrant’s quickness and desire to live as soon as possible in Europe. Some emigrants do everything quickly: they pack their things, sell flats in inative land, quit job and move to Czech; some- knowing that they can go to Europe any time do not want to move to Europe at once and prefer to wait and think about it seriously.
One should have in mind: slowness in emigration is expensive, in a year you must prolong your visa. It costs only 30 Euro when you are staying in Czech and 300-400 Euros if you want emigratory company to do that instead of you if you stay outside the country. Besides you have to receive letters, provide annual reports to governmental authorities. If you live in Czech and do everything by yourself- it will be free for you, and it will cost you about 400 Euro if you want advocates to do it instead of you.
Let us describe an example when a person seriously wants to emigrate. With business visa in his passport he can move to Czech any time and he has to move as changing president of his own company is possible only if a client is present in Czech. Here there is one more expense- traveling to Czech. According to his own wish and money a client is going to spend on traveling he may go by plane or train. After coming to Czech he may live in hostel for 5 USD per night, small hotel in the suburbs of Prague for 10-12 USD per night or five star hotel in Prague.
After becoming president of a company you can buy a flat for you and your family. Our clients often asks us why do we suggest them to buy a flat quickly and not to rent a flat for some 2-3 years.
Specialists write that buying property in Czech is more profitable than renting it. It rarely happens that foreigners who have just emigrated to Czech can find highly-paid job at once, usually it takes from 6 months to one year to find a job that a person really likes to do. So for the first time you will not have enough money to rent good flat or house in the center of Prague, but if you really want to live in a well-furnitured comfortable flat you will have to take money from those you brought with you from your native land. So we advice to buy a flat and not to waste money on renting it, but one should realize that it is not possible to buy a flat or a house in 2-3 days after your coming to Czech, first you should understand what you really like and which district or city you prefer.
Experts suggest using a simple rule while buying property: choose for a long time- buy at once. You should go to several reality agents and ask them to show many flats or houses of the type you prefer so that you can compare its prices and quality. When you find a flat that you like – buy it at once, good flat are sold at once, and after several days you can find that somebody else already bought it. You can also use internet and compare the price of one square meter of a flat in different districts of Czech Republic.
After solving housing problems many emigrants start looking for a good job. We always advice not to wait till you can find highly-paid job, but to do any work which can bring you money. After several months of being in Czech you will understand what you really want to do there and will start looking for a new job while doing your main (old) one.
If you are planning to do business in Czech do not start it ay once. Organization of own business needs special knowledge about the country and people, and this requires some time for studying and analyzing.
There is one more thing that demands money- that is studying Czech. As soon as you will learn Czech language and start communicating in it you will be able to find well job and become a full member of Czech society.
Usually it takes 3-6 month to finish transitory period.
Starting New Life
Emigration specialists refuse to tell the sum of money with which you can start good life in a foreign country. But if you do not have at least 3000 Euro for the first several months of live in Czech do not plan to emigrate. Of course everything depends on a person, his character, quickness of finding a job and good sense of life.
If you are a businessman and planning to do business in Czech please mind that your business may not bring you high profit in Czech. Gaining 30-40% profit means very good business in Czech.
What to do if you do not have big sum of money for emigration? In this case specialists suggest to buy flat not in Prague but small towns near it, it will take you about 1 hour to get to work by bus but will save you about 150 000 USD. Difference in price of one square meter of a flat in the center of Prague and 20 km away from it is really huge.
Your future job will depend much on experience you got in native land. If you know two foreign languages it will be easy for you to get a job with a salary 1500 USD per month, 500 USD you will spend on renting perfect flat in Prague and 1000 will be left for good life in Europe. If you do not know any language and do not have experience in any field of life you can not get high-paid job in Czech, the maximum salary you can get is 15-17 000 so your life level will be a bit lower than perhaps you expected at least till the time you learn Czech language.
The less money you have the harder adaptation process will be for you. You will not have enough time for communication with Czech friends as you will be busy doing job. It is not a rare case when an emigrant does one job in the morning, then goes to language courses where he studies Czech and then does one more job in the evening. Of course these are temporary difficulties in emigrants’ life, but one should realize them and be ready to cope with them.
The last expense you should plan is spending your free time. You must plan your free time and have a rest, as you are going to live in Czech a whole life and must have power to cope with many difficulties. Even if you have only 50 USD you may have a trip to mountain regions of Czech.
Cost of Life in Czech
Life in Prague is cheaper than in any other capital of United Europe. The biggest expense is renting a flat or house for life. The smallest separate flat will cost you about 250 USD per month, 3 rooms flat with furniture and electric devices will cost about 450-550 Euro per month. For using gas, electricity and water you will pay separately, it will cost you 50-100 Euro.
There are regions in Czech where it is possible to rent extremely cheap flats (less then 100 Euro for 3 rooms flat). It is also possible to buy a flat in the north of Czech for 7-10 000 Euro for 3 rooms flat.
Food is also cheap in Czech; usually a family from 3 members spends 200 Euro per month for buying food.
There will not be problem with buying food you like and got used to; there are many shops for foreigners where all kinds of food are available.
Usually foreigners buy cloths and footwear on big sales in supermarket, where discounts can reach 70%.
We recommend our clients to buy one year ticket for using public transport, it cheaper to buy a year ticket then 12 tickets valid during 1 month.
Common recommendations
1. You should have at least 3000 Euro for starting new life in Czech. It will take some time to find a job and rent a flat you like, till that time you should be able to support yourself.
2. If you have problems with health do not try to save money on buying medical insurance. If everything is all right with you health you may not buy it.
3. Study Czech language.
4. Open bank account and keep money in bank. Do not carry big sums of money in a pocket; keep money on credit card that can be renewed if stolen.
5. Do not carry passport in a pocket. You may have Xerox copy of 1st page of passport with you.
6. Do not be afraid of policemen, you can ask them any questions.
7. If you are going to buy a car do not buy the first car you like. There are many car markets with huge discounts, sometimes it is possible to buy same car with 20 % discount.
8. If possible try to find a job before coming to Czech; usually agents can do it for you for some 500 USD. This can save you lots of money in future.
9. Never disobey Czech laws otherwise Czech police will put your name to list of criminals and you will not be able to visit any European country for 10 years.
10. If there is such possibility it is better to buy a flat instead renting it.