Formal Requirements (Third-country Nationals)

Applications submitted outside the Czech Republic:

The documents attached to an application must meet the following requirements:

  • The documents cannot be older than 180 days. This does not apply to travel documents, civil registry office documents or your photograph if it shows your current appearance.
  • Documents in other than Czech or Slovak languages need to be provided in their original versions together with sworn translations into Czech language.
  • Travel documents, civil registry documents and documents proving the purpose of residence must be provided in their original versions.
  • Documents issued by a court, notary public or an authority outside of the Czech Republic must be certified with an apostille or a certification clause issued by a higher-level authority (so-called superlegalisation). For more information about the requirement for the verification of foreign public documents by a higher-level authority please click here.

Applications submitted in the Czech Republic and Extensions:

The documents attached to an application must meet the following requirements:

  • The documents must be originals or certified copies.
    • The Ministry of the Interior employees will only make copies of travel documents and civil registry office documents in their office. You must provide originals of these documents, which will be returned to you.
    • A document proving the purpose of your residence may be provided in its original version or as a certified copy and the Ministry of the Interior will keep it. You may provide the Ministry with a certified copy of the original document, but you have to take the original with you.
    • As for other documents (e.g. a lease agreement), the Ministry employees will keep the original documents and will not make any copies of them. You may provide the Ministry with a certified copy of the original whereby you do not need to bring in the original with you.
  • The documents cannot be older than 180 days. This does not apply to travel documents, civil registry documents nor your photograph if it shows your current appearance.
  • The document proving you have no outstanding debts cannot be older than 30 days on the day of application.
  • Documents in other than Czech or Slovak languages need to be provided in their original versions together with sworn translations into Czech language.
  • Documents issued by a court, notary public or an authority outside of the Czech Republic must be certified with an apostille or a certification clause issued by a higher-level authority (so-called superlegalisation). For more information about the requirements for the certification of foreign public documents by a higher-level authority please click here.