VISA – entry conditions

Visa is an authorization usually issued into a passport in form of a sticker or an attached travel document, allowing a foreigner to enter and temporarily stay on the territory of the Czech Republic / Schengen Area under specified conditions. Entry conditions and visa requirements differ for applicants, depending on nationality, the purpose of stay, the length of stay.

When employing foreigners in the Czech Republic, it is necessary to distinguish between the EU Nationals and Third Country Nationals.

EU Nationals are citizens of:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

Citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have similar rights as EU citizens.

EU citizens’ family members are family members of citizens of the above-listed countries, such as husband, wife or civil partner, children, parents, grandparents or any other family members specified by law. If you and your partner are not married or in a civil partnership, you must be able to show that you are in a durable relationship with each other.

More information about who is an EU citizen and EU family member can be found here:

Family Members of EU Citizens | Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila (mzv.cz)

The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union by the end of the year 2020, therefore their citizens are no longer considered EU Nationals and different rules may appear for current UK citizens, similar to Third Country Nationals. Further information on this matter can be found here:

BREXIT – Ministerstvo vnitra České republiky (mvcr.cz)

All other nationals are considered to be Third Country Nationals.

EU Nationals

As a EU National, you are not obliged to apply for any visa or special permit to enter or work in the country.

There is only one obligation for the EU nationals, which is the “reporting requirement” necessary in the event that the length of the intended stay in the Czech Republic is longer than 30 days. In this situation, within 30 days of entering the Czech Republic, an individual is required to report his/her presence to the Foreign Police Department (please take the Employment Contract with you):

Oddělení pobytových agend Brno

Address: Cejl 62b, 602 00 Brno

Tel.: +420 974 628 131

E-mail: krpb.ocp.opa.bm.sekret@pcr.cz

Business hours: Monday and Wednesday 8:00-17:00, Tuesday and Thursday 8:00-14:00

If you intend to stay in the Czech Republic for longer than 3 months, you can request a certificate of temporary residence or a permanent residence permit. For an EU national, the certificate of temporary residence or permanent residence permit is not a condition of the stay in the Czech Republic, therefore it is up to you whether you request this certificate to be issued or not. Same conditions applies for EU nationals family members.

For more information, please visit these links:

Third Country Nationals

The Third Country Nationals are mostly non-EU/EEA nationals, from other countries than listed on the previous page. As a Third Country National you can apply for two types of visa according to the presumed length of stay or for a Residence Permit in case of a longer stay.

Short-term visa for visiting purposes

A short-term stay is a stay of a maximum 90 days during any 180-day period. This visa can be used to enter the Czech Republic only for the purpose of visiting/tourism. It is not possible to employ you or pay you any compensations without the proper visa (study/scientific research). The same applies to other nationals if you hold only tourist visa. For the purposes of such short-term stays, European legislation divides Third countries into those whose citizens must hold a visa when crossing internal borders, and those whose citizens are exempt of such conditions for entry and short-term stay in the territories applying a common visa policy.

The list of countries that are exempt / need short-term visa for visiting purposes can be found in links below:

Exempt: States with Visa Exemption | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (mzv.cz)

Need visa: States with Visa Obligation | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (mzv.cz)

Requirements for the Third Country Nationals that need to apply for the short-term visa:

  • application form (https://www.mzv.cz/jnp/en/information_for_aliens/visa_form/index.html)
  • travel document (passport)
  • passport size photo (35 mm x 45 mm)
  • biometric features – fingerprints (done at the embassy)
  • fee
  • supporting documents proving purpose of journey
  • accommodation
  • financial means
  • intention to leave the Czech Republic / Schengen Area before the visa expiry
  • travel health insurance for the period of stay (duration of visa) in the Czech Republic

Travel health insurance recommended options:

VZP pojišťovna: Pojišťovna VZP, a.s. | Chráníme to nejcennější (pvzp.cz)

Slavia pojišťovna: Health insurance for foreigners – Slavia pojišťovna (slavia-pojistovna.cz)

The applicant files the application in person at the Embassy of Czech Republic in the country of which they are either a citizen or a long-term resident. In case there is no diplomatic mission of the Czech Republic in this state, the application is filed at the diplomatic mission which is accredited for that state (usually located in a neighbouring state). The application can also be filed in the visa centre. The application may be ideally filed three months before the trip. The decision on a Schengen (short-stay) visa is normally made within 7-15 days. Longer processing time is possible, but exceptional. The application should therefore not be filed less than 15 days before the trip. The application filed less than 15 days before the trip may not be processed in time.

A visitor older than 15 years is required to register at a local branch of an Alien Police Inspectorate within three days after arrival in the Czech Republic. In case of staying in a hotel, the accommodation provider can usually makes the registration for the hotel guests.

The address of the Alien Police Inspectorate is:

Oddělení pobytových agend Brno

Address: Cejl 62b, 602 00  Brno

Tel.: +420 974 628 131

E-mail: krpb.ocp.opa.bm.sekret@pcr.cz

Business hours: Monday and Wednesday 8:00-17:00, Tuesday and Thursday 8:00-14:00

Short-term visa for the purpose of study/scientific research

Short-term visa for the purpose of study or scientific research are Schengen visa valid for up to 90 days. It is necessary to apply for this kind of visa if the visiting researcher is going to be employed or receive any financial compensation during his/her stay in the Czech Republic. It is possible to apply for this visa personally at the corresponding Czech Embassy abroad.

The visa application requirements are the following:

  • application form (Visa Forms | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (mzv.cz))
  • travel document (passport)
  • printed passport size photo (35 mm x 45 mm)
  • biometric features – fingerprints (done at the embassy)
  • fee
  • hosting agreement or acceptance letter
  • proof of accommodation (e.g. hotel reservation, dormitory proof of accommodation)
  • financial means (for example bank statement, confirmation of stipend/grant etc.)
  • intention to leave the territory of the Czech Republic / Schengen Area before the visa expiry (for example air plane/bus ticket reservation, proof of financial means for the return trip, employment confirmation, real estate ownership confirmation, family relations confirmation etc.)
  • travel health insurance

Travel health insurance recommended options:

VZP pojišťovna: Pojišťovna VZP, a.s. | Chráníme to nejcennější (pvzp.cz)

Slavia pojišťovna: Health insurance for foreigners – Slavia pojišťovna (slavia-pojistovna.cz)

A visitor older than 15 years is required to register at a local branch of an Alien Police Inspectorate within three days after arrival in the Czech Republic. In case of staying in a hotel, the accommodation provider can usually makes the registration for the hotel guests.

The address of the Alien Police Inspectorate is:

Oddělení pobytových agend Brno

Address: Cejl 62b, 602 00  Brno

Tel.: +420 974 628 131

E-mail: krpb.ocp.opa.bm.sekret@pcr.cz

Business hours: Monday and Wednesday 8:00-17:00, Tuesday and Thursday 8:00-14:00

Long-term Residence Permit

All third country nationals are required to obtain a a long-term residence permit or a long-stay visa (different procedures, but both serve similar purpose) in case of planned stay exceeding 3 months. We recommend to researchers to file an application for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of scientific research  at an embassy, if you intend to temporarily stay in the Czech Republic for over 90 days. The application can be submitted in person at a Czech Embassy and there is no need for a separate work permit.

The application requirements are the following:

  • Application form (Tiskopis_zadosti_o_vydani_povoleni_k_trvalemu_pobytu_-_obcane_3_zemi.pdf)
  • hosting agreement (sent to you by ICRC via Fedex)
  • travel document (passport)
  • a photograph (35 mm x 45 mm)
  • a written commitment by the research organisation (sent to you by ICRC via Fedex)
  • Extract from the Penal Register (upon request)
  • Medical report (Ministry of Health document on prevention of the spread of infectious illnesses)

The documents cannot be older than 180 days (except for the passport and the photo if it corresponds to his/her actual appearance).

The time-limit for the decision is 60 days. After the visa is approved, you are contacted by the embassy. To obtain this kind of visa, it is necessary to submit a proof of travel medical insurance valid from the date of entry until the beginning of employment. You will receive a visa for a stay of over 90 days for the purpose of receiving a residence permit, with which you can travel to the Czech Republic.

After the arrival to the Czech Republic, you have to report to the Immigration office (OAMP) within 3 working days to register and provide biometric data necessary for issuing a residence card.

The address of the office is the following:

Oddělení pobytu cizinců Jihomoravský kraj – MOI office Brno
Tuřanka 1554/115b, 627 00 Brno
Tel.: +420 974 620 371, +420 974 620 372 (incl. telephone appointments)
Opening hours: Monday and Wednesday: 8.00 – 17.00, Tuesday and Thursday 8.00 – 14.00,  Friday: only by prior online or phone arrangement

It is possible to book an appointment using the telephone numbers mentioned above or at https://frs.gov.cz/en

Since the office is often busy, we recommend to arrange the appointment at least one month or more in advance (it is not possible to make it right before the arrival), and by law it is necessary  to register at the MOI office within three days of arrival. If the offered date of appointment does not fall within legal time limit (3 days), you can always visit the office without such appointment (if not told otherwise on the website).

Documents necessary to bring to the office:

  • passport with the appropriate visa in it
  • proof of accommodation (with a notarised signature) or rental agreement (without notarised signature) – please note that the immigration office will keep the document, so when signing the rental agreement, it is better make three copies (for the landlord, you and the immigration office)
  • financial report (necessary to prove a financial reserve; its amount depends on country; more information you can get from your embassy)
  • contract on concluded commercial insurance (covering the period from arrival to Czech Republic until the time you receive the employment contract)

It is possible that you will have to spend a few hours waiting at the immigration office, so we recommend you to bring some refreshments with you. Sometimes the biometric data are collected the same day as the registration, sometimes you get an appointment for another specific date.

After your data are collected, you are given a document with an appointment to pick up the card. If you are asked to pay a certain amount for issuing the visa, it will be mentioned in the document with instructions for the appointment (usually 2500 Kč or 1000 Kč). The fees are always paid in the form of a stamp (kolek). Kolek can be bought in advance at a post office or at the immigration office on the first floor at the end of the waiting room (from the lady at the desk).

After receiving the ID card from the immigration office, it is necessary to send us a scan/photo of the card, as it has to be kept in your employee file for possible checks from the State Labour Inspection Office or the Foreign Police. You are obliged to report any change (of address, employer, maritial status etc.) or loss of a residence card to the Ministry of the Interior and pay a fee for a new card. If you receive a new card in the future (e.g. after visa prolongation), it is necessary to send us the updated version.

Visa extension

The long-term residence permit can be prolonged for two years maximum. The length of the permit depends on the length or hosting agreement/contract. You can apply for the extension 60 days in advance at the earliest and one day before the expiration day at the latest.

In order to prolong the residence permit, you need to have:

  • A travel document (passport)
  • Hosting Agreement (provided by ICRC)
  • a written commitment by the research organisation that it will cover the costs relating to your residence as researcher in the Czech Republic after the residence permit expires (provided by ICRC)
  • Proof of Accomodation (nostrified) /rental contract (does not have to be nostrified) – provided by your flat landlord
  • Stamp (kolek) in the amount of 2500 Kč – possible to buy at the immigration office on the first floor at the end of the hall or at the post offices
  • A completed application form (green) – ticked extension of validity column

To get an appointment at the immigration office, you can either do it online at Welcome at Foreigners reservation system „(FRS)“ | Foreigners reservation system (gov.cz) or by calling to +420 543 213 313 or +420 543 214 316. More information about the visa extension for you and your family can be found here Long-term residence – Ministry of the interior of the Czech Republic (mvcr.cz)

 

Relevant additional info:

Covid-19 situation information for foreigners: Foreigners · Covid Portál (gov.cz)

Visa fees – prices differ depending on nationality, type of visa, length of stay: Visa Fees | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (mzv.cz)

 

Status of your visa application can be verified here: Status of your application | Foreigners reservation system (gov.cz)