SELECTED TYPES OF STAY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

CURRENT INFORMATION ABOUT RESIDENCE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC, FIND ON THE SIMI SITE

Nationality and family relations to EU citizens are important aspects on which the residence status of a foreigner is based.

It is important to distinguish between these categories:

1) THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS (OUTSIDE THE EU) WITH VISA REQUIREMENTS

  • Short-stay visas (for stays of up to 90 days)
  • Long-stay visas (for stays of over 90 days)
  • Long-term stays
    • for the purpose of doing business
    • employee card
    • for the purpose of a family living together in the Czech Republic
  • Permanent residence

2) FOREIGNERS WITHOUT VISA REQUIREMENTS

3) EU CITIZENS AND FAMILY MEMBERS OF EU CITIZENS

1) Third-country nationals (outside the EU) with visa requirements

SHORT-STAY VISAS (for stays of up to 90 days)

They are visas that are valid for one or more entries and give the right to stay in the territory of the Schengen area for the period indicated in them. The length of the uninterrupted residence or the total length of successive stays in the territory of the Schengen area must not exceed 90 days within every 180 day period. It is necessary to distinguish between various purposes of stay (e.g. employment, family reunification, etc.). Short-stay visas are decided upon by the competent embassies. The application must be filed with a Czech embassy in the country of origin, or in another country where the applicant has either long-term or permanent residence. Some foreign nationals (e.g. US citizens) may apply for this type of visa at any Czech embassy.

The application must include:

  • completed application form for a Schengen visa
  • valid travel document
  • photos
  • supporting documents:
    • documents supporting the purpose of residency (e.g. in the case of employment it is possible to provide an employment permit or reference number of the application for the issuance of employment permit)
    • documents relating to accommodation or evidence of sufficient resources for accommodation
    • documents demonstrating that the applicant has sufficient means of subsistence both for the duration of the intended stay as well as for the return
    • information allowing the embassy to assess the applicant's intention to leave the territories of the Member States before the termination of the applied-for visa (e.g. a booked return ticket)
  • proof of travel health insurance (it does not need to be a comprehensive health insurance)

When filing the application, the applicant may be asked to have biometrics taken (fingerprints): this may be the case at those embassies which have the so-called Visa Information System (VIS) running.

Invitation

Short-stay visas can be applied for upon an invitation to visit the Czech Republic, which needs to be verified at the foreign police department which has territorial jurisdiction over the area where the inviting person is residing. An invitation can be issued by either natural or legal person residing in the Czech Republic. If the inviting person is of foreign nationality, s/he must have a residence permit in the CR. The inviting person agrees to cover the costs associated with food, accommodation and residence of the invited foreigner as well as his or her departure.

Means for the stay

The availability of means for the stay can be demonstrated in a number of ways: by submitting documents that certify the payment of services connected with the stay in the territory; by providing a document stating that the services will be provided free of charge; or by proving to have the following amounts of money available:

For a stay of up to 30 days: 0.5 times of the amount specified as the monthly subsistence minimum (2200 CZK for the year 2014) for one day of stay (for instance, for 30 days, this makes 30x(0.5x2200)=33000,- CZK).  

For a stay exceeding 30 days: 15 times the subsistence minimum (2200 CZK for the year 2014) with this amount being increased by twofold of the subsistence minimum for each additional month of the expected stay in the territory beyond the 30 days (for instance, for 90 days, this makes (15x2200) +2x(2x2200)=33000+8800=41800,- CZK).

Having the requested funds available can be demonstrated also by presenting your employment contract containing information about your wages.

Proof of accommodation

Both a lease agreement, as well as a written confirmation (potvrzení o zajištění ubytování) must be signed by all real owners of the real estate (apartment, house, etc.), or by the person authorised by the owner to conclude a lease agreement.

An administration fee is to be paid for the submission of the application. A short-stay visa duration may be extended by the police, yet the total length must not exceed 90 days.

The visa application shall be submitted 3 months ahead of the planned trip at the earliest. Most applications are decided upon within 7–15 days. In some cases, this period may be extended to 30 days and in exceptional cases up to 60 days.

LONG-STAY VISAS (for stays exceeding 90 days)

Given the purpose of your stay in the Czech Republic, we distinguish long-stay visas for the purposes of business, family reunification, studies, exceptional leave to remain and other. The application can be filed with a Czech embassy in the country of origin, or in another country where the applicant has either long-term or permanent residence. Some foreign nationals (e.g. US citizens) may apply for this visa at any Czech embassy.

In case of a visa application for an exceptional leave to remain, you apply within Czech territory.

The application must include:

  • completed application form (black in color)
  • valid travel document
  • photos (if your picture is not to be taken as part of the biometrics)
  • proof of accommodation during your stay in the territory
  • travel health insurance for the duration of your stay (it is presented only at the moment when the embassy confirms that the visa has been granted and that you are to come to have the visa attached to your travel document)
  • upon request – document comparable to proof of having no record in the  Criminal records system (not for foreigners younger than 15 years of age), medical report that you do not suffer from a serious illness
  • document confirming the purpose of the stay, i. e.
    • for long-stay business visas also the proof of entry to the trade register or trade list, and the means to stay in the territory
    • for long-stay visas for the purpose of studies a confirmation of admission to a program of study and the means to stay .

The decision will be issued within 90 days from the date of the submission of the application (in complex cases within 120 days). The validity period of long-stay visas is 6 months (during this time, the foreigner may apply for long-term residence permit in the Czech Republic).

Means for the stay

For a stay exceeding 30 days: 15 times the subsistence minimum (2200 CZK for year 2014) with this amount being increased by the twofold of the subsistence minimum for each additional month of the expected stay in the territory past the first 30 days (for instance, for 90 days, this makes (15x2200) +2x(2x2200)=33000+8800=41800,- CZK).

Watch out! For business visas exceeding 90 days of stay, an amount equal to 50 times the subsistence minimum has to be proven available.

How to prove you have the requested means available:

  • by a bank statement or a statement by another financial institution released in your name
  • by another document on your financial situation from which it follows that you have the required amount of money available 
  • by a valid internationally recognized credit card

Proof of accommodation

Both a lease agreement, as well a written confirmation (potvrzení o zajištění ubytování) must be signed by all real owners of the real estate (apartment, house, etc.), or by the person authorised by the owner to conclude a lease agreement.

LONG-TERM STAYS

Long-term stay for business purposes

This type of residence can be applied for if you are either a self-employed person in the Czech Republic (OSVČ, a freelancer registered with the trade register), or if you are a statutory authority (executive director, manager) or member of the statutory bodies of a company or cooperative.

The application is to be filed either at a branch of the Ministry of the Interior according to where your place of residence is, or at a Czech embassy.

The application must include:

  • completed form (green in color)
  • valid travel document
  • proof of accommodation during your stay in the territory
  • 2 photos
  • proof of registration in the appropriate register (e.g. trade or business register)
  • proof of availability of funds for residence
  • if you are self-employed (OSVČ): confirmation that you do not have arrears on taxes or on social security premiums, or on contributions to the state employment policy
  • If you are the manager or business partner of a company or cooperative: confirmation that the company/cooperative has no arrears on taxes, social security premiums, or the contribution to the state employment policy.
  • upon request: submission of income tax assessment.

The decision will be issued within 60 days from the date of the submission of the application.

Employee card (EC)

Since 24 June 2014, instead of long-stay visas for employment purposes, long-term stay for employment purposes and green cards, so called employee cards have been issued. Two types of employee cards are issued, i. e. dual and non-dual ones. Dual ECs comprises both employment permit and residence permit. Non-dual ECs are used solely as a residence permit.

You may apply for a dual EC if you want to stay in the territory of the Czech Republic for more than 3 months for the purpose of employment and if it is a job position listed in the Central Register of Job Vacancies, available to employee card holders. This list of such vacancies is available on the website pages of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. (http://portal.mpsv.cz/zahr_zam/zamka/vm).

You may apply for a non-dual EC if you want to stay in the territory of the Czech Republic for more than 3 months for the purpose of employment and you are:

a) a foreign national who is obliged to apply for an employment permit; or

b) a foreign national with free access to the labour market.

The application may be filed either at a Czech embassy or at a branch of the Ministry of the Interior according to where your place of residence is

The application must include:

  • completed form (green in color)
  • valid travel document and, possibly, a photograph
  • proof of accommodation
  • 2 photographs
  • proof of travel health insurance (only in selected cases)
  • employment contract or agreement to perform work or agreement to agree
  • wage (amounting to at least a monthly minimum wage; it is CZK 8,500 for the year 2014)
  • working time (at least 15 hours a week)
  • documents confirming competence for exercising the profession (SHALL NOT apply to non-dual ECs)
  • the job vacancy must be listed in the Central Register of Vacancies, available for employee card holders

            (SHALL NOT APPLY to non-dual  ECs)

  • only for non-dual ECs – a document showing that you have free access to the labour market, or

                                                  employment permit

At request: -  document equal to the criminal record certificate

  • proof of recognition of your foreign education by the relevant Czech authority
  • medical report confirming that you do not suffer from any serious disease

The Ministry of the Interior will decide upon the application for an EC within the time period of 60 days, in more complex cases within up to 90 days.

The EC is issued for the duration of the employment relationship or for the employment permit duration, for a maximum of 2 years.

You may start working from the day when the Ministry of the Interior issues a confirmation that the requirements for the EC issuance have been complied with.

EC renewal

The EC renewal must be applied for no more than 90 days and no less than 14 days before the end of the EC validity. The EC renewal does not necessarily have to be associated with a job vacancy listed in the Central Register of Vacancies, available to employee card holders.

ATTENTION!! – For dual ECs, during the approval process of the dual EC renewal application, after the end of its current validity you may stay in the territory of the Czech Republic but YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WORK. Therefore, it is necessary to apply for the renewal as soon as possible, i. e. 90 days before the end of the original EC validity.

  • For non-dual ECs, - if you have free access to the labour market you may work throught the entire period

                                          - if you have an employment permit you may work until the end of its validity

Employment changes

If you want to change your employer, job position, get a job in another workplace or with another employer, the following is required:

  • For dual ECs -  in addition to an employment contract or agreement to perform work or agreement to agree, it is the approval of the Ministry of the Interior the job vacancy must be listed in the Central Register of Vacancies, available for employee card holders
  • For non-dual ECs – if you have free access to the labour market, you are obliged to notify the Ministry of the change within three working days
  • if you need an employment permit, you must apply for the change at the competent regional branch of the Labour Office

Long-term stay for the purpose of the family being together

This type of stay may be applied for by:

  • a spouse;
  • minor or adult dependent child of a foreigner with permitted residence or of an asylum seeker;
  • minor or adult dependent child of the spouse who is a foreigner with permitted residence or who is an asylum seeker;
  • minor in the foster care (or a similar type of substitute family care) of a foreigner with residence permit or in the position of asylum seeker, or in the care or his or her spouse;
  • parent, grandparent or guardian of a minor;
  • lonely foreign national over the age of 65, or, regardless of age, a lonely foreigner who cannot take care of himself or herself for health reasons, if it is the case of family reunification with a parent or child legally staying in the territory.
  • a foreigner who, prior to entering the territory of the Czech Republic, has resided in the territory of another Member State of the EU as a family member of a blue card holder (long-term residence permit for employment purposes requiring high qualification).

The person with whom the foreigner reunites should have a long-term or permanent residence permit and should have stayed in the territory of the Czech Republic for a minimum period of 15 months (in the event of the reunification of spouses, each of them must have reached the age of 20 years) or the person needs to be a blue card holder or successful asylum seeker.

If the application is submitted within 3 months of having been granted asylum, such an application only needs to contain the following documents:

  • completed form
  • valid travel document
  • 2 photos
  • proof confirming family ties.

The application can be submitted at a Czech embassy, or at a branch of the Ministry of the Interior, according to the respective place of residence, if you possess a visa allowing you to stay in the Czech Republic for over 90 days, or if you have a long-term residence permit for another purpose.

This application must include:

  • completed form (green in color)
  • valid travel document
  • 2 photos
  • proof of accommodation
  • document confirming family ties (birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.).
  • consent of the parent /legal representative /guardian, if a child is reunited with another person (consent does not need to be submitted in the event that this is not possible for reasons independent of will, or if the child is already staying in the territory of the CR)
  • proof of availability of funds for residence
  • travel health insurance.

The decision will be issued within 270 days from the date of the submission of the application to the embassy, or, in the case of cohabitation with an EU blue card holder, within 180 days, and within 60 days for an application submitted in the territory. The validity period covers one year at minimum.

Proof of accommodation

Both a lease agreement, as well as a written confirmation (potvrzení o zajištění ubytování) must be signed by all real owners of the real estate (apartment, house, etc.), or by the person authorised by the owner to conclude a lease agreement.

Funds for the stay

The availability of financial means must be demonstrated by proving the net monthly income of you and the persons assessed together with you. The required amount of the total income for jointly assessed persons is composed as follows:

  • of the subsistence minimum (for year 2014, it is 3410,- CZK; if you are assessed jointly with another person, then it is 3140,- CZK and for the second person as well as for any following persons, a distinction is made according to their age: 2830,- CZK for persons aged 15 years and older, if it is not a dependent child; 2450,- CZK for a dependent child aged 15 to 26 years of age; 2140,- CZK for a dependent child from 6 to 15 years of age, and 1740,- CZK for a baby up to 6 years of age); and
  • the cost of housing, i.e. the amount which you can prove to be paying for rent, including the utilities – water, electricity, or an adequate amount of the so-called normative cost of housing under Section 26 of the Act No. 117/1995 Coll., on State Social Support.

An example: When you live together with two children of 10 and 3 years of age, and including utilities you pay 13000 CZK for rent, the required amount you must prove for a net monthly income totals to 3140+2140+1740+13000=20020,- CZK.  

The persons assessed together are the persons you share a household with (e.g. children, parents, spouse, partner), unless they state in writing that they do not live with you permanently and the cost of their needs and your needs are not covered together. 

PERMANENT RESIDENCE

Permanent residence can be applied for after 5 years of uninterrupted temporary stay in the territory of the Czech Republic. Without compliance with the condition of 5 years of uninterrupted temporary stay in the Czech Republic, permanent residence can still be applied for under certain exceptions, e.g. for humanitarian reasons, for reasons deserving special considerations, in some cases following the end of proceedings on international protection, etc.

The application can be submitted at a branch of the Ministry of the Interior, or in some cases at a Czech embassy.

If submitted in the Czech Republic, the application will be processed within 60 days. In the case of submitting it at an embassy, the whole process may take up to 180 days.

The conditions to be fulfilled are similar to those in place for the application for a long-term residence permit. An extra requirement is to pass a test on the Czech language. In some cases, the test is not required (e.g. for people aged 65 years of age and older).

2) Foreigners without visa requirements

Without a visa, you can reside in the Czech Republic for a 90 day period during every 180 days. If you want to engage in profit-making activities in the Czech Republic (be it entrepreneurship or employment), you have to arrange for a respective visa or residence permit.

3) EU citizens and family members of EU citizens

EU citizens can stay on Czech territory without any limitations. As an EU citizen, you can apply for a confirmation of a temporary stay for EU citizens. Following 5 years of uninterrupted stay in the territory, you have the option to apply for a permanent residence permit. If you are an EU citizen and at the same time a family member of another EU citizen, you may apply for a permanent residence permit after just two years of uninterrupted stay; the condition being that you have been a family member of an EU citizen for more than 1 year.

If you are EU family members of an EU citizen, you can apply for temporary residence in the Czech Republic as EU citizen family members, or, if you meet the legal conditions, you can apply for permanent residence.  

TEMPORARY RESIDENCE

This type of stay can be applied for in the Czech Republic at a branch of the Ministry of the Interior.

The application must include:

  • completed form (purple in colour)
  • valid travel document
  • purpose of the stay
  • photos
  • proof of accommodation
  • if the purpose of your stay is not employment, business or another profit-making activity, you also need a confirmation on health insurance.

If you are a family member of an EU citizen, you need to provide a document proving this relationship (e.g. a marriage certificate).

A decision will be issued within a period of 60 days. The temporary residence permit card is issued for 5 years, or for an indefinite period of time. The card is issued free of charge.

PERMANENT RESIDENCE

Permanent residence can be applied for after 5 years of uninterrupted temporary stay in the Czech Republic or after two years of uninterrupted temporary stay in the territory if you have for at least 1 year been the family member of a Czech citizen or of an EU citizen with a permanent residence permit issued for the territory of the Czech Republic, and in other cases stipulated by law.

The application is submitted at a branch of the Ministry of the Interior.

The application must include:

  • completed form (purple in colour)
  • valid travel document
  • proof of meeting the condition of uninterrupted length of stay or another condition stipulated by the law necessary for permanent residence to be granted
  • photos and proof of accommodation.

A decision will be issued within a period of 60 days. The permanent residence card is valid for 10 years, and it is possible to have it extended repeatedly.