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Adaptation-Integration Courses

 

The course offer will appear after registration and payment here: https://frs.gov.cz/en.

  

Foreign national who, as of January 1st, 2021, is issued a long-term residence permit for the territory of the Czech Republic, and also every foreign national who is issued a permanent residence permit after this date without the precondition of previous authorised stay in the territory is obliged to take the adaptation and integration course within one year of the date of collecting their residence permit.


Change of purpose and extension of long-term residence after 1 st, January 2021

If a third-country national, who before 1 st January 2021 had a long-term or permanent residence permit without the condition of previous residence in the territory of the Czech Republic, valid as of 1 st January 2021, including the fiction of residence, and after 1 st January 2021 there is only a change in the purpose of long-term residence or its extension, then he/she is not subject to the obligation to complete the adaptation and integration course.

If a third-country national has obtained a long-term residence permit (in the form of a biometric card, i.e. an ePKP) on the territory of the Czech Republic after 1 st January 2021 and is covered by one of the exceptions, the obligation may arise in the future when the purpose of long-term residence changes (e.g. from a study purpose to an employment card). In such a case, the obligation must be fulfilled within one year from the completion of the change of purpose of stay by issuing a long-term residence permit (in the form of a biometric card, i.e. ePKP).

In the case of conversion for holders of employee and blue cards issued under the government's Highly Skilled Employee and Key and Scientific Personnel programmes to a normal employee card, there is no obligation to complete the course - technically there is no change of purpose of residence.

  

WHAT IS THE ADAPTATION AND INTEGRATION COURSE?

This is a course during which foreign nationals will be acquainted with the rights and obligations connected with their stay in the territory of the Czech Republic, with the fundamental values of the Czech Republic, with everyday life, culture and customs prevailing in the Czech Republic. Course participants will also be provided information on organisations and institutions that provide advisory services to foreign nationals free of charge. For details, go to: http://www.vitejtevcr.cz/.

  

WHO EXACTLY MUST TAKE THE COURSE?

The obligation to take the adaptation and integration course applies to every foreign national who has been issued a long-term residence permit for the territory pursuant to § 42 or § 45 of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic and on amendment to certain acts, as amended, and also applies to every foreign national who is issued a permanent residence permit for the territory pursuant to § 66 or § 67 of this Act. Specifically, the course must be taken and completed by every foreign national who has been issued:  

  • a long-term residence permit for the territory
  • a long-term residence permit for the territory due to a change in purpose of stay
  • a permanent residence permit for the territory for humanitarian reasons, specifically for a foreign national who is the spouse of an asylee, whose marriage took place before the asylee entered the territory; for an asylee’s minor child or a child dependent on the care of an asylee if that child has not applied for asylum; or for a foreign national who was a citizen of the Czech Republic in the past
  • a permanent residence permit for the territory for reasons worthy of special consideration
  • a permanent residence permit for the territory, if the foreign national’s stay is in the national interest of the Czech Republic
  • a permanent residence permit for the territory for the child of a foreign national who holds a permanent residence permit for the territory of the Czech Republic and if the reason for the application is family reunification of such foreign nationals in the territory
  • a permanent residence permit for the territory after the cancellation of a previous permanent residence permit due to the former holder spending an continuously period of six years outside the territory of the Czech Republic, or due to the former holder spending an continuously period of twelve months outside the territory of the European Union
  • a permanent residence permit having spend an continuously period of four years in the territory for a foreign national residing in the territory after the completion of international protection proceedings

  

WHO DOES THIS OBLIGATION NOT APPLY TO?

Foreign nationals who have already taken this course or who have been issued a long-term residence permit or a permanent residence permit pursuant to § 66 or § 67 before January 1st, 2021 are not obliged to take the adaptation and integration course, under condition that their permit was valid as at January 1st, 2021. The obligation to take the adaptation and integration course does not apply also to foreign nationals residing in the territory of the Czech Republic on the basis of:  

  • a long-term residence permit for the purpose of study (residence purpose code "21", "22", "23" and "30")
  • a long-term residence permit for the purpose of protection in the territory (residence purpose code "88")
  • a long-term residence permit for the purpose of investment (residence purpose code "78")
  • a long-term residence permit issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
  • an intra-company employee transfer card (residence purpose code "79")
  • a European Union Member State intra-company employee transfer card (residence purpose code "80")
     

The obligation to take the adaptation and integration course furthermore does not apply to foreign nationals under 15 years of age on the date of legal effect of the decision to issue their residence permit, or to foreign nationals 61 years of age or over on that date. Nor will holders of employee cards and blue cards issued under the Highly Qualified Employee and Key and Scientific Personnel governmental programmes be required to take adaptation and integration courses.

  

AND WHAT ABOUT EUROPEAN UNION CITIZENS AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS?

The obligation to take the adaptation and integration course does not apply to European Union citizens and their family members.

  

DO I HAVE TO TAKE A COURSE IF I AM A PERMANENT RESIDENT?

Unless you are a permanent resident with no prior residency requirement (explained in detail in A WHO IS NOT REQUIRED?), definitely not.

If you are not sure whether you are required to take the adaptation and integration course, you can take the orientation quiz.
The quiz will only take a few minutes and you will need your biometric card to take it.

The link to the quiz is on the website of the Integration Centre Prague: Form | Adaptačně-integrační kurzy (icpraha.com)

  

WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR TAKING THE COURSE?

The obligation to complete the adaptation-integration course applies to foreigners who have been issued a long-term residence permit (in the form of a biometric card, i.e. ePKP) on the territory of the Czech Republic as of 1st January 2021, or who have received a permanent residence permit without the condition of previous residence on the territory, within one year from the date of receipt of the residence permit.

  

WHO IS THE COURSE ORGANISED BY AND WHERE DOES IT TAKE PLACE?

Adaptation and integration courses are administered by Centres for Support of Integration of Foreign Nationals (http://www.integracnicentra.cz/). There are eighteen such centres in the Czech Republic and it is up to the foreign national to choose which centre to take the course at. The course may be also organised by a different legal entity cooperating with a Centre for Support of Integration of Foreign Nationals. Taking a course that is neither directly organised nor administered by a Foreign National Integration Support Centre established pursuant to § 155a of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic and on amendment to certain acts, as amended, will not be recognised as satisfaction of the obligation.

  

WHO WILL TEACH THE COURSE AND IN WHAT LANGUAGE?

The course is taught by a qualified educator, in the Czech language. The course content is interpreted into English, Arabic, French, Mongolian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Ukrainian or Vietnamese by a qualified interpreter. On the basis of an agreement with the Centre for the Integration of Foreigners and with the consent of the Ministry of the Interior, the course may exceptionally be interpreted into other languages for larger groups.

  

HOW CAN I ENROL FOR THE COURSE?

Instructions for Registering with the FRS & Adaptation-Integration Courses (pdf, 2,5 MB)
Adaptation and integration courses are divided into courses intended for the public and courses not intended for the public. Courses intended for the public may be attended by every foreign national who:

  1. registers via the portal https://frs.gov.cz/kurzy/;

  2. pays the fee of CZK 1,500 and receives confirmation of payment;

  3. enrols for a specific course and receives an e-mail confirmation of this fact;
     

AIK-1-ENG.JPG

Courses not intended for the public take place on the basis of orders from legal entities in cooperation with a particular Foreign National Integration Support Centre. Again this requires registration via the portal https://frs.gov.cz/kurzy/ - then the necessary steps involving payment, organisation and course attendance of foreign nationals are organised by the legal entity itself. Payment for such courses is not made directly to the state!

Video guide to payment and registration for the adaptation-integration course

  

HOW MUCH DOES THE COURSE COST AND HOW CAN I PAY?

The amount payable to the state for a foreign national for attending an adaptation and integration course intended for the public is CZK 1,500; for courses not intended for the public, this amount is CZK 800 (the foreign national does not pay directly to the state, but pays to the legal entity). For a course intended for the public, a "variable symbol" will be generated for the foreign national after registering via the portal https://frs.gov.cz/kurzy/; the foreign national should then pay the amount into the Ministry’s bank account either by bank transfer or postal order. If the foreign national does not quote the variable symbol, prefix, account number and bank code during payment, the payment will be acknowledged. For a course not intended for the public, the payment for all those attending is made collectively by the legal entity that requested the course to be held and it will contact the participants directly.

  

WHERE IS INFORMATION ON COURSE DATES PUBLISHED?

Updated information concerning the type of course, the dates on which they are to held and the language into which they will be interpreted will be made available to the foreign national after payment of the amount payable for courses for the public, or payment directly to the legal entity in the case of courses not intended for the public.

  

HOW LONG DOES THE COURSE LAST?

The adaptation and integration course lasts four hours.

  

WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR ATTENDING THE COURSE?

The foreign national must report on the date and time at which and at the place where the course will be held, present their residence permit (ePKP) and confirm their attendance by signing the attendance sheet. The foreign national must attend for the entire duration of the course. There is no exam or test at the end of the course.

  

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

After attending the course the foreign national receives an attendance certificate. Keep this document, but there is no need to submit it to the Ministry of Interior offices.

  

WHAT HAPPENS FOR NOT SATISFYING THIS OBLIGATION?

Failure to satisfy the obligation of taking the adaptation and integration course within one year of the foreign national collecting their residence permit is an offence which carries a fine of up to CZK 10,000.

  

The most common problems:

Always include the account number when making a payment

  • Payment for adaptation and integration courses is sent to the MV account that contains the prefix. To avoid confusion, start filling in the account number from the prefix and enter all numbers accurately. This is the format: 0100140003605881/0710. Another format is: 10014-3605881/0710. So you must always enter the account prefix 10014 or the course will not be paid.
     

When making a payment, you must always indicate the variable symbol.

  • When you register in the adaptation-integration course system, the payment details, including your variable symbol, will be displayed in the Payment Terms section after you have ticked the consent to attend a public course. This variable symbol is UNIQUE for each participant (it cannot be used to pay for another person), so you must fill in the variable symbol to correctly pair your payment. If the variable symbol is not filled in, the payment cannot be linked and you cannot register for the adaptation-integration course.
     

Unique QR code

  • Each participant of the adaptation-integration courses has a specific QR code in the payment conditions, which is generated for the payment with the given unique variable symbol. If you are making a payment via QR code please keep in mind that this QR code is only for you. Therefore, do not share your QR code with anyone else to make a payment on behalf of another person.
     

Before you pay for the adaptation and integration course, please check whether you are obliged to take it

  • If you are not sure whether you are obliged to attend an adaptation-integration course, check your obligation first. Do not pay the amount in advance if you are not sure. The system does not allow automatic refunds of the amount paid.
     

Pairing payments takes several days

  • Once you have paid the amount, you must wait a few days before the payment is paired and you can enrol in the adaptation and integration course. Therefore, please wait about 7 days before dealing with the fact that you have sent a payment and cannot enrol in the adaptation-integration course.

  

  

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