Česky

A visa for a stay of over 90 days (long-term)

An application for a long-term visa for over 90 days can be submitted at a Czech Embassy abroad. You are obliged to submit the application only at the Czech Embassy in the state of which you are a citizen or which issued your current travel document or in the state in which you have a long-term or permanent residence permit and where you have been resident legally continuously for at least 2 years. You do not have to meet these conditions if you are a citizen of a state presented in the list of countries whose nationals are entitled to submit an application for a long-term visa at any Czech Embassy whatsoever (Decree No. 429/2010 Coll.).

An application for a long-term visa can only be submitted inside the Czech Republic in legally set cases.

You should submit the application on the completed form along with all the necessary requirements laid down by law. You should, however, always submit originals or official copies of the documents. All of the documents submitted must be made out in the Czech language or officially translated into Czech. Moreover, foreign public documents must be supported by a higher verification (Apostille, superlegalisation).
 

Along with the application for a long-term visa you must submit:

1. a travel document (original),

2. 1 photograph; not necessary if a pictorial recording has been made of the foreign national,

3. proof of accommodation,

4. document on the purpose of stay,

5. proof of funds,

6. a consent of parents or any other statutory representative or guardian to the permanent residence of a child in the Czech Republic. Consent of a parent is not required, if the parent, statutory representative or guardian making the request for a child, will stay with a child in the territory and if foreign national proves that he / she is a unable to declare consent due to reasons beyond his / her control,

7. an application fee, if needed,

8. document similar to an extract from the Penal Register record, issued by the state of which you are a citizen. The obligation to submit an extract from the Penal Register record does not relate to a foreign national under 15 years of age and does not have to be submitted if the embassy itself publishes that it can be replaced by an affidavit.

 upon request you are further obliged to submit

• document similar to an extract from the Penal Register record, issued the states in which, in the last 3 years, you have resided for a period longer than 6 months in its summary, or a signed affidavit in the event that this state does not issue such a document (not required from a foreign national under 15 years).

• a document proving the fulfilment of conditions set out in the measure of Ministry of Health on prevention of the spread of infectious illnesses.
   

Travel document and registrar documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate) shall be submitted in original. Certified copy is not sufficient for this purpose.

The other requirements of the application may be submitted in a form that has the same effect as the original (certified copy or authorised conversion).

The document confirming the purpose of stay can be submitted at least in the form of a certified copy

If your application is approved, prior to affixing the visa, you are obliged to submit a proof of medical travel insurance that corresponds to the specified conditions (not required if the foreign national subscribes to public health insurance or if the costs for health care are covered on the basis of an international agreement or if the foreign national can demonstrate that health care is covered in another manner), and, upon request, a document on paying the insurance presented in the proof of medical travel insurance.
 

Application procedure

The Czech Embassy is only competent for receiving an application for a long-term visa, the competent body for processing it is the MOI. During the procedure the Czech Embassy communicates with the applicant, invites him/her for a hearing or calls on him/her to pick up the visa.

The application procedures are governed by the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals (pdf, 2 MB), the Administrative Procedure Code (pdf, 549 kB), and any other associated acts.

Czech Embassy may invite you for an interview, request that you complete the requirements for the application; likewise the Czech Embassy is entitled to take your fingerprints or take a pictorial record of you.
 

An application for a long-term visa is considered inadmissible if:

• the foreign national had not booked the term for submission of his/her application  for  long term visa in advance,
• not all of the requirements specified by law were submitted with it,
• the administrative fee had not been paid upon the submission of the application,
• the foreign national refuses to have his/her fingerprints or a pictorial record taken,
• it was not filed on the prescribed form,
• it was not filed at the pertinent Czech Embassy.
• the foreign national had declared he /she has no knowledge of the Czech language and he/she  had not still managed to bring the interpreter with him/her or at least person  fulfilling  the conditions of the § 24 of the Act on  the Experts or Interpreters provided he/she was noticed by the embassy of this obligation.
   

In such a case, the Czech Embassy returns the application form, all of the requirements submitted and the administrative fee to the foreign national who filed an inadmissible application, whilst informing him/her of the reasons for considering the application to be inadmissible.

It is always necessary to file the application for a long-term visa in person (the Czech Embassy can only waive this obligation in well-substantiated cases).

The documents that you have been asked to submit by the MOI should always be submitted within the set deadlines. Naturally, during the procedure, you can submit other documents that you consider important for your application. Remember that travel documents must always be submitted in person.

The Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals (pdf, 2 MB) sets a standard deadline of 90 days for processing an application for a long-term visa from the day it was filed. In particularly complicated cases, it is 120 days from the day of filing the application and in certain cases (for the purpose of studies, pedagogical activity or research) within 60 days of filing the application.

This visa entitles the holder to multiple departure and entry to the Czech Republic.
 

Decision on granting a long-term visa

In the case of a positive appraisal of your application, the Czech Embassy at which you filed the application will contact you – in most cases by email - to arrange a date for picking up the long-term visa.
 

A decision on not granting a long-term visa

The MOI does not grant a long-term visa, if, for instance

1. you, upon request by the MOI or the Czech Embassy, do not report for an interview or do not submit the documents for verifying the data presented in the application for a long-term visa within the set deadline or despite conducting an interview or assessing the documents submitted, this data cannot be verified;

2. you fill in the application for granting a long-term visa untruthfully;

3. you submit forged or altered requirements or the data necessary for appraising the application presented in them does not correspond to the truth, or

4. you are recorded in the register of persona non grata,

5. you are included in the Schengen Information System,

6. there is a reasonable risk that during your stay in the Czech Republic you could threaten state security, seriously disturb public order or endanger the international relations of the CR,

7. there is a reasonable risk that during your stay in the territory of another signatory country you could threaten state security, seriously disturb public order or endanger international relations of signatory states, or

8. do not comply with the measures specified Provision of the Ministry of Health against the introduction of an infectious diseases (further document proving the fulfilment of conditions set out in the measure of Ministry of Health on prevention of the spread of infectious illnesses),

9. prior to affixing the long-term residence permit you do not submit a document on medical travel insurance that corresponds to the specified conditions and, upon request, a document on paying the insurance presented in the document on medical travel insurance, or

10. facts are ascertained indicating that after the cessation of the stay set out by the long-term residence permit you will not leave the territory or intend to abuse the long-term residence permit for another purpose,

11. the foreign national does not fulfil a condition for issuing the visa,

12. the foreign national had not fulfilled the propose of his/her present long-term visa or long-term residence permit unless he/ she proves that the propose of the long term residence  had not been fulfilled only temporarily  and due to serious reasons. the foreign national circumvented the law  in order to be granted  long-term visa all long-term residence permit for instance by marriage of convenience, by a false declaration of paternity or he / she  became member of statutory body of a company or a co-operative only for the purpose.
     

In the event of not being granted a long-term visa, the MOI will inform you in writing of the reasons for not granting the long-term visa. In such a case, within 15 days of receiving the information about not being granted the long-term visa, you may request the MOI directly for a new appraisal of the reasons for not granting a visa. Within 60 days, the MOI will inform you in writing of the result of the new appraisal of the reasons for not granting a visa.

 Česky

Purpose "studies"

Informaton about purpose of ‘‘Studies‘‘ can be found on the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.

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Special work visa

A special work visa is a visa for a stay of over 90 days in the country (referred to as a "long-term visa"). It will only be possible to issue this visa, if there is a regulation of the Government of the Czech Republic, which activates the process resulting in issuing these visas. In its regulation, the government can specify:

1. the sector or profession, for which the special work visa will be issued to foreign nationals;

2. the citizenship of the foreign national who will be eligible to apply for this visa;

3. the maximum number of applications, which can be filed over a certain period of time;

4. the deadline by which it will be possible to file an application for this visa; and

5. the condition that a job agency must not be the employer of the foreign national in the country.
   
    

The following must be attached to an application for a special work visa:

1. the original of a valid travel document;

2. a document on availability of accommodation for the period of residence in the country;

3. a photograph;

4. a document equivalent to an extract from the Register of Criminal Records, issued by the country, of which the foreign national is a citizen, The obligation to submit an extract from the Penal Register record does not relate to a foreign national under 15 years of age,

5. upon request, a document equivalent to an extract from the Register of Criminal Records, issued by the states, as well as by those countries, in which the foreign national has been staying during the last three years for an uninterrupted period longer than six months in its summary, or a statutory declaration if the given country does not issue such a document,

6. a decision to permit employment, issued by the Public Employment Service of the Czech Republic pursuant to the Employment Act,

7. a parental consent, if needed,

8. an application fee, if needed.
    

The required attachments of the application must not be older than 180 days, except for the travel document and the foreign national’s photograph, as long as it corresponds to his/her actual appearance. Before a visa for a stay of over 90 days is granted, the foreign national is also obliged to present a document on travel medical insurance for the period of residence in the country until he/she becomes a participant of the national medical insurance programme.

It will only be possible to issue a special work visa with a maximum period of validity of one year and it will not be possible to renew this visa, even if it is issued for a period of validity shorter than one year. At the moment when the quota of filed applications, defined in the government regulation, is submitted , it will no longer be possible to file an application for this visa because the number of applications set in the government regulation cannot be exceeded.

A stay in the territory of the Czech Republic with a special work visa is not counted towards the 5-year period of uninterrupted stay in the country, required for issuing a permanent residence permit. During a foreign national’s residence based on this visa, the foreign national will not be able to submit any application for any other residence permit.

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Purpose "business"

Informaton about purpose of ‘‘Business‘‘ can be found on the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.

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Purpose "family"

Informaton about purpose of ‘‘Family‘‘ can be found on the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.

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Purpose "sports"

Informaton about purpose of ‘‘Sports‘‘ can be found on the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.

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Purpose "culture"

Informaton about purpose of ‘‘Culture‘‘ can be found on the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.

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A visa for the purpose of collecting a residence permit - D/VR

Information about a visa for the purpose of collecting a residence permit – D/VR can be found on the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.

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Extension of the visa and the residence period for a visa for over 90 days

Information about the extension of the visa and the residence period for visa for over 90 days can be found on the Official Portal for Foreigners.

 Česky

Validity of a visa and length of stay

Visa for stay over 90 days is granted for a specific period of stay corresponding to the requisite purpose of stay and the validity of the submitted documents, however no longer than for 1 year. A visa sticker always contains two figures: the validity of the visa and the number of days you can stay.

The validity of the visa (indicated as "valid from-to") means the period during which the visa holder is authorized to stay (standard validity is 1 year). In addition, the period of authorized stay (indicated as "length of stay ... ... days") means the number of days the visa holder may stay.

In most cases, the beginning of the validity of the visa falls on the day the visa is issued by the embassy.

The indicated "length of stay" begins on the day the person enters the territory of the Czech Republic. This principle applies regardless of whether the person arrives directly to the Czech Republic or first enters the territory of another Schengen state.

Visa validity period of stay shorter then one year, can be extended repeatedly, provided that the purpose of stay is still the same, a maximum period of 1 year.

 Česky

"Bridging label"

Information about Bridging label can be found on the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.

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Reviewing the reasons for not granting a visa

Information about Reviewing the reasons for not granting a visa can be found on the Official Portal for Foreigners.

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Visa codes

Information can be found on the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.