In order to apply you will need:

• Application form
• Travel document
• Proof of accommodation
• Proof of funds for the residence (finances) or a proof that all costs related to the stay will be covered by a public authority, legal entity or the host organisation
• Photograph

• Confirmation of registration in a relevant register (e.g. a confirmation of registration in a Trade Licensing Register or a Commercial Register, a confirmation of registration in a register obligatory to carry out a liberal profession).

• 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.

Upon request provide also:

• Medical Report
• Document similar to an Extract from the Penal Register Record, issued by other states where you have resided for a total of six months during the three years preceding your application.

Upon application you must pay a consular fee 5,000 CZK. For a complete list of consular fees, including exceptions for some countries, please see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Please review the formal requirements that the documents must meet.

You can fill in the application form online. Then print out the filled-in form and sign it.

You can also download a blank application form, print it out and fill it in by hand – it must be filled in legibly, in block capitals and in Latin characters. You can also collect the form free of charge at a Czech Republic’s diplomatic mission

Before submitting the application, contact the diplomatic mission and make an appointment. For a list of all the Czech Republic’s diplomatic missions and their contact details please see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

You must submit the application in person. In justified cases a diplomatic mission may waive the obligation to submit the application in person. You must add all the documents required by law to the application, pay a consular fee and use the correct form (printed). If you fail to do so, your application will be considered as inadmissible. Your application together with the documents and the fee will be returned to you.

The diplomatic mission’s employees may take your finger prints and visual record, and they may also do an interview with you.

The Ministry of the Interior will first assess if your application meets all the formal requirements and it will also check if you meet all the requirements to obtain the residence permit you are applying for. In such case you may be invited for an interview that will be conducted by the diplomatic mission upon the Ministry’s request.

In the course of the administrative proceedings you can:

• Add additional documents to your application.
• Be represented in the proceedings (a power of attorney).
• Ask for access to file.
• Withdraw the application (withdrawal of the application).

You can track the state of your proceedings online on the website under Status of my application or in your personal account. For more information on the state of your application you can submit a written application for a notification on the state of the proceedings.

On the website under Status of my application you can see the following states:

• Being processed: No decision has been taken yet. For more information on what you can do in the course of the administrative proceedings please see the previous section.
• Granted: The Ministry’s decision is affirmative. Please see the following section.
• Rejected: Your long-term visa application was rejected – either there is a reason for not granting the visa or your application was deemed inadmissible.
  • There is a reason for not granting the visa: In such case you will receive a notice informing you about the reasons for not granting the visa. You cannot appeal against this notice. If your application is not granted and you disagree with the reasons for not granting the visa, you can apply for a new assessment of the reasons for not granting the visa.
  • Your application was inadmissible. In such case you will receive a notice that the decision has been recorded in the file, explaining why the application was deemed inadmissible. The Ministry will return the whole application (the form, the documents and the consular fee) to you.

If the application is granted, come to the diplomatic mission and collect the visa. A diplomatic mission’s employee will contact you beforehand in order to schedule an appointment with you.

Before receiving the visa in your passport, you must provide a proof of travel medical insurance:

1. covering emergency and essential care for the first 90 days of your stay in the country together with a proof of comprehensive medical insurance for the rest of your stay, or
2. directly a proof of comprehensive medical insurance for the entirety of your permitted residence in the country.

The diplomatic mission can also ask you to provide a proof of payment for the insurance. A proof of travel medical insurance is not required in cases stipulated by law (e.g. your medical insurance is provided under an international agreement).

You must get registered at the Foreign Police within 3 business days from the day you arrived in the Czech Republic. If you wish to stay in the country longer than your visa allows you to, you must apply in good time for an extension of the validity of the visa and your residence in the country stated in the visa, or you must apply for a long-term residence permit.

In order to apply you will need:

• Application form
• Travel document
• Proof of accommodation
• Proof of funds for the residence (finances)
• Photograph if your appearance has changed
• Comprehensive medical insurance

• Proof of the purpose of residence (e.g. a confirmation of registration in a Trade Licensing Register or a Commercial Register, a confirmation of registration in a register obligatory to carry out a liberal profession).

Upon request also:

• A proof of payment for the insurance stated on the proof of travel medical insurance
• Medical report

Upon application you must pay an administrative fee 1,000 CZK in the form of stamps. 

You must add all the documents required by law to the application, pay the administrative fee and use the correct form (printed). Otherwise the application is inadmissible.

You must provide all the documents even though they do not meet all the formal requirements. Qualitative errors in the documents can be remedied later – when you are submitting the application, you need to provide everything.

Please review the formal requirements that the documents must meet.

You can fill in the application form online. Then print out the filled-in form and sign it.

You can also download a blank application form, print it out and fill it in by hand – it must be filled in legibly, in block capitals,  in Latin characters, and in Czech. You can also collect the form free of charge at one of the offices of the Ministry of the Interior.

You can submit the application at a Ministry of the Interior office, send it by post, Data Box or by e-mail with an advanced electronic signature, or you can submit it through an authorised representative.

If you wish to submit the application in person, please make an appointment online or by phone beforehand. Attention: a lack of free appointment slots will not be considered as a reason for a late application submission. If the offered appointment slot is after your time limit for submitting the application expires, send the application by post, Data Box or by e-mail with an advanced electronic signature, or visit a Ministry of the Interior office without an appointment – with no appointment reservation you have to wait for your turn.

If you are not going to submit your application in person, the date of its posting or the date of its sending by Data Box or email is important for complying with the given time limit. If you post the application at a post licence holder (most commonly a post office) the last day of your current resident permit’s validity, the time limit for submitting the application will be complied with. This applies even in the case that the application is delivered to the Ministry of the Interior after your residence’s validity has expired. We recommend, however, not to leave the submission for the last moment.

If you submit the application in person, you will receive a slip confirming the submission and a reference number assigned to your application. You need to know the reference number, for example, to be able to track the state of your proceedings. If you do not submit the application in person, you can learn the reference number by calling our information hotline. In this case, it is recommended to call the hotline no sooner than a week after the application was sent as it takes a few days to assign a reference number to an application.

If you have submitted your application within the given time limit, during the time when your application is being processed you are staying in the Czech Republic legally, even if your current residence permit or visa expires (for more information please see the section Fiction of Residence). This is the case, with some exceptions, until a final decision on your application is taken. At the Ministry of the Interior offices you can also apply for a certificate confirming permission for your residence (Bridging Visa). A Bridging Visa allows you, for example, to leave the Czech Republic and return again during the time when your application is being processed.

The Ministry of the Interior will assess your application in administrative proceedings. If any errors are detected in the attached documents, you will be prompted in writing to remedy such errors. In the notice, the Ministry will explain in detail what the errors are and what you have to do to remedy them. It will also set a time limit for you to do so. When justified and if you apply for it in writing, this time limit can be extended.

The Ministry of the Interior also checks if you meet the requirements to obtain the residence permit you are applying for. In such case you may be invited for an interview.

In the course of the administrative proceedings you can:

• Add additional documents to your application.
• Be represented in the proceedings (a Power of Attorney).
• Ask for access to your file.
• Ask for a stay in the proceedings.
• Withdraw the application (Withdrawal of the Application).

You can track the state of your proceedings online on the website under Status of my Application or in your personal account. If you were prompted to provide documents or to remedy errors, the time limit for processing your application is not running until the errors are remedied or for as long as it is established in the notice.

For more information on the state of your application you can submit a written Application for a Notification on the State of the Proceedings. You can find the most common reasons for why processing may take longer in the Database of Frequently Asked Questions.

On the website under Status of my application you can see the following states:

• Being processed: No decision has been taken yet. For more information on what you can do in the course of the administrative proceedings please see the previous section.
• Granted: The Ministry’s decision is affirmative. Please see the following section.
• Rejected: The Ministry rejected your application or closed the proceedings. In such a case you will receive the decision in writing. You can appeal against the decision within 15 days of the date you were notified of the decision.

• The decision to reject the application consists of three basic parts:
  1. The Statement: It contains specific legal provisions based on which the application was rejected. It may also advise you that you must leave the country, including the time limit in which you must do so.
  2. The Statement of Grounds: It explains why the application was rejected and what documents and proofs served as grounds for the decision on your application.
  3. Your rights: It informs you on how to proceed if you wish to appeal against the decision.

• The decision to close the proceedings consists of three basic parts:
  1. The Statement: It contains specific legal provisions based on which the proceedings were closed.
  2. The Statement of Grounds: It describes the procedure and grounds that led to the proceedings being closed.
  3. Your rights: It informs you on how to proceed if you wish to appeal against the decision.

If the application has been granted, make an appointment to receive the visa in your travel document. You can make an appointment online on the website or by phone.