Česky

Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway or Switzerland

Crossing state borders

• The state borders of the Czech Republic, which are internal borders within the Schengen area, can be crossed at any point without a border check on persons, irrespective of their nationality.

• Border checks are performed only at external Schengen borders, i.e. at international airports in the Czech Republic on flights originating in or ending in countries outside of the Schengen area.

• If a citizen of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland does not have a travel document and cannot obtain one, at the time of the border check the police will allow him/her to prove identity and the fact that he/she is a citizen of the EU or one of the aforementioned countries by means of another document.

• The obligation to submit a travel document does not apply to persons younger than 15 years of age if their data is recorded in the travel document of an accompanying person. The possibility of a child to be entered into his/her parent’s travel document will end on 26 June 2012. After this date, children will be required to have their own travel document. This rule also applies to children entered into their parent’s IDs used for travelling in the Schengen. The fact that it will no longer be possible for a child to travel without his/her own travel document will not affect the validity of a parent’s travel document with his/her child’s data in it.
   

The rules for crossing external borders are specified in detail by the Schengen Borders Code.
 

Duties after arrival

• One of the obligations ensuing from the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals (pdf, 1 MB) for citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland is the "reporting requirement" 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 appropriate Foreign Police Department that holds jurisdiction in the location of his/her stay in the Czech Republic.

• This obligation does not apply if the person providing accommodation submits the registration forms on behalf of the citizen of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland. The reporting requirement also does not apply to persons younger than 15 years of age, consular staff of a foreign state or the personnel of an international governmental organisation accredited in the Czech Republic and their family members who are registered with the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or to foreign nationals whose accommodations are secured through the Ministry of the Interior.
   

Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland are also bound to report the change of surname, marital status, changes in data contained in the residence card (i.e. certificate of temporary residence or permanent residence permit). In case of a stay without any residence card, these changes are to be reported to the Foreign Police. In case any residence permit/certificate was issued, changes are reported to the MOI. Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland can temporarily stay in the Czech Republic without any special permit, solely on the basis of a travel document or an identity card.

If they intend to stay in the Czech Republic for longer than 3 months, they can request a registration certificate to be issued.

 Česky

Family members of EU citizens - non-EU citizens

Crossing state borders

• The state borders of the Czech Republic, which are internal borders within the Schengen area, can be crossed at any point without a border check on persons, irrespective of their nationality.

• Border checks are performed only at external Schengen borders, i.e. at international airports in the Czech Republic on flights originating in or ending in countries outside of the Schengen area. The border check consists of a so-called minimum check, during which the person’s identity is compared with the travel documents submitted and the travel document’s validity is verified including family connections.

• If a family member of a citizen of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland does not have a travel document and cannot obtain one, at the time of the border check the police will allow him/her to prove identity and the fact that he/she is a family member of a citizen of the EU or one of the aforementioned countries by means of another document.

• The obligation to submit a travel document does not apply to persons younger than 15 years of age if their data is recorded in the travel document of an accompanying person.

• If they are subject to visa requirements, then a visa is required from family members of citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland. They do not require a visa if they hold a valid temporary or permanent residence permit issued by a different EU country Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland.

• The list of states whose citizens are required to have a visa is set by Annex I of Council Regulation No. 539/2001, as amended.

• Family members, who travel to the Czech Republic together with a citizen of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, or to visit a citizen from one of these states who is residing in the Czech Republic, can be granted a visa at the border crossing. In this case, the visa is granted by the Foreign Police and is affixed to the travel document.
   

The rules for crossing external borders are specified in detail by the Schengen Borders Code.
 

Duties after arrival

• Non-EU citizens who are family members of citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland are required to report their presence in the Czech Republic at the appropriate Foreign Police Department that holds jurisdiction in the location of his/her stay in the Czech Republic, that being:

• within 30 days of entering the Czech Republic, if their expected stay is longer than 30 days and if the citizen of the abovementioned states resides in the Czech Republic (the reporting duty is not mandatory in case of a stay under 30 days);

• within 3 working days of entering the Czech Republic, if the citizen of the abovementioned states does not reside in the Czech Republic.
   

This obligation does not apply if the person providing accommodation submits the registration forms on behalf of the foreign national. The reporting requirement also does not apply to persons younger than 15 years of age, consular staff of a foreign state or the personnel of an international governmental organisation accredited in the Czech Republic and their family members who are registered with the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or to foreign nationals whose accommodations are secured through the Ministry of the Interior.

Citizens of third countries, who are family members of EU citizens, are also bound to report the change of surname, marital status, changes in data contained in the residence card (i.e. EU citizen’s family member residence card). In case that a family member of an EU citizen does not apply for a new residence permit yet, he/she reports changes to the Foreign Police.   Otherwise he/she reports changes on MOI office.
 

Short-term stay (not exceeding 3 months)

Family members - non-EU citizens not subject to visa requirements can stay in the Czech Republic for up to 3 months without a visa - solely on the basis of a travel document.

Family members - non-EU citizens subject to visa requirements, can stay in the Czech Republic for up to 3 months without a visa on condition that they hold a valid passport and a valid document on a temporary or permanent residence permit issued by a different EU country, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, or a permanent residence card issued by a different EU country.

• Likewise, family members can stay in the Czech Republic temporarily without a visa if their short-term visa has become invalid. They must, however, reside in the Czech Republic with a citizen of the EU or the abovementioned states and their stay in the CR shall not exceed 3 months.

• Family members can file an application for a short-term visa at Czech Embassies. The requirements for a visa are set out in Art. 10 of the Visa Code. In contrast to other non-EU nationals, family members receive the visa for free. If the visa application is rejected, the family member has the right to be informed in writing of the reasons and the right to request that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs review the reasons for not granting the visa.

• For a short-term stay in its territory, the Czech Republic recognises a uniform Schengen visa (C) issued by another Schengen state on condition that the Czech Republic is not territorially exempt from the given visa’s validity.
   

A stay exceeding 3 months

• During a joint stay with a citizen of the EU or one of the abovementioned states, whose expected stay in the Czech Republic exceeds 3 months, family members are obliged to apply at the MOI for a temporary residence permit within 3 months of entering the Czech Republic.

• If the family member is not staying in the CR together with a citizen of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein or Switzerland, the same conditions relate to them during their stay as to other non-EU nationals who do not fall under the category of persons enjoying the Community right to free movement.

• Family members of EU citizens can also file for a permanent residence permit.