Hello, I write today, as I'd like to reach out to any other Americans thinking about moving to Prague for work. My employer made the trip with me to Berlin when I arrived to start the application process for my working visa. It was his first time to deal with this sort of thing, however he read all of the rules and told me he had done the research. We were told to wait for a couple of months at the Czech embassy in Berlin and that I would get notification of when to go to the office of ministry for the next steps. I got the letter and so I went to the office of ministry to get finger printed and then told to wait again for last appointment which would be for me to pick up my residence permit card. I finally went to pick it up and the guy behind the counter said theres was problem and he must call the police. He assures me that they won't put me in jail and that I will only have to fill out a bunch of paperwork. He explains to my Czech employer that I overstayed my allowed 90 days and that this is what he's got to do. He tells me to return to his office after I am done with police and that then he can give me my residence permit card. I am left thinking everything is fine and a few moments later the police come to collect me. They take me to the station and have me fill out paper work and have me wait behind bars. I was searched and asked to remove all of my clothes in a separate room. Then took a picture of me in a bright lit room. They took all of my belongings and charged me 500 czk for this. No one spoke English and they laughed at my passport and were yelling at me. I was told the translator was on his way and I had to wait, wait, wait behind bars. Meanwhile I was sitting next to real criminals in handcuffs. Finally he arrived and I was very upset by then. He asks me to please calm down, because he says "Now they want to help clear this up for you." He assured me this was not a criminal charge, but then why was I put in jail?? I was asked many formality questions about my stay and finally I was given the okay to go and collect my card. To top things off, I was charged an extra 1000 czk for the processing of this. I spoke to the translator afterwards and he said he was late because he had 4 other cases just like mine. He agreed that this is something that isn't clearly stated in the clauses and it should be fixed. So, clearly the system is flawed and they aren't doing anything to fix it or inform Americans about the fact that they need to leave before 90 days even if the working visa application was started.
