Residence permits

There are three options:

1. If you have arrived in the CR with a “visa for the purpose of collecting an employee card” issued by a Czech embassy, you have to go to the Immigration office within three business days and pick up your Employee card. Later you can extend the validity of the card or change the purpose of stay to a different residence permit.
2. If you have arrived in the CR with a short term visa for up to 90 days for the purpose of employment, or you are staying in the CR as a visitor without a visa, and you wish to continue to stay and work in the CR, you have to fill out a new application for the long-term Employee card at a Czech embassy abroad (to learn more about this process, read the guide Visa and Residency that explains your obligations before arrival). Expect to allow over three months for the proceedings.
3. If you have been staying in the CR with a long-term residence permit for some other purpose (study, business, family…) and you would like to switch the purpose of stay to employment, you can apply for the Employee card at the Immigration office in Brno. Read the answer to the question “How can I apply for an employee card?” below.

Similar to an Employee card, but different. It is a residential status and work permit designed for a long-term stay involving the performance of a highly skilled job.

An EU Blue card entitles a foreign national to stay and work in the CR the same way as the Employee card does. However, foreigners with the Blue card have some advantages – such as switching a job, adding up the periods of stay from all EU countries, having spouses with free access to the labour market from day one etc.

On the other hand, there are some higher requirements for the application – a university degree recognized in the CR, a gross salary higher than 150% of the Czech average (ie. over cca 65.012 CZK a month till 30.4.2025), longer processing time. And it is your first employer in the CR who has to agree and open a position available for a Blue card holder.

Find out more about the Blue card at the Immigration office website.

This answer assumes you have already been living in the CR with a long term visa or residence permit and you want to change the purpose of stay to employment. If your situation is different and you are not in the CR yet and you don’t have any long term visa or residence permit, please refer to the guide Visa & Residence.

Application for an employee card (formerly called long-term residence permit for the purpose of employment) can be filed during the validity of your long-term residence permit (for any purpose). The application can be filed at the local Immigration office (Tuřanka 115b, Brno).

You should submit the application on a completed form along with all the necessary requirements, including the employment contract. Don’t forget, in case you don’t have free access to the labour market (students and graduates of Czech schools, EU family members…), your employer first needs to open the position for a foreigner with the Labour office and wait for 30 days before you can apply.

You should always submit originals or notarized copies of the documents (copies can be done at any CzechPoint counter). Travel document, birth certificate, marriage certificate and a document proving the purpose of stay must be submitted in original. All of the documents submitted must be in the Czech or Slovak language or officially translated into Czech. Moreover, foreign public documents must be supported by a higher verification (see our guide on Authorizations or read the Ministry’s official guidelines on apostille or superlegalisation).

The requirements presented in submitted documents for the application must not be older than 180 days except for the travel document and the photograph of the foreign national if it corresponds to his/her actual appearance.

If the specified requirements have not been submitted with the application or it has other discrepancies, you will be asked in writing to remedy the discrepancies of your application in a prescribed time. The time limit for the decision on your application is discontinued in such case. During the proceedings, the Immigration office can invite you for an interview, request that you complete the requirements, take your fingerprints or take a picture of you.

The time limit for the decision is usually 60 days.

The fees for applications to the Immigration office are unified and to be fully paid at the moment of filing the application (2,500 CZK for new residence or renewal).

An extension of your Employee card is filed at the relevant MOI office on the territory of the Czech Republic (Tuřanka 115b in Brno).

You can submit your application at the Immigration office in person (anytime during office hours, just line up and be ready to wait for hours), in person at the appointment (call 974 801 801 or book online at frs.gov.cz; few weeks ahead of the time) or in an envelope via post (a registered letter) or via your personal data mailbox.

Note: all documents must be originals or notarized copies; and be in Czech language or have Czech certified translation attached. Since they do not make copies of original documents anymore at the Immigration office, we strongly recommend you make notarized copies of your documents prior to your visit to the office, with the exceptions of EHIC or passports which can be a normal copy and can not be notarized. The same recommendation applies when applying by post.

Application for extension of the residence permit can be filed as soon as 120 days before the expiration and no later than on the last day of the validity of the card. A change in the purpose of stay is permitted in certain situations.

Read more and see the list of required documents at the Ministry’s website and don’t forget to attach the “kolek” of value of the fee.

Change of address

Foreigners with a long-term visa or residence card are required to report a change of residence address within 30 days of it occurring if the change in the place of residence is expected to last longer than 30 days.

Foreigners with a permanent residence permit are required to report a change of residence within 30 days of it occurring if the change in the place of residence is expected to last longer than 180 days.

The new place of residence must be reported to the MOI office in the area of the new place of residence.

To report this change, in person or by post or by data mailbox you have to provide:

• Proof of accommodation at the new address signed by the property owner; certified copy
• A travel document (if it contains the visa or residence sticker); a regular copy
• A residence card (if it has been issued as a separate document); a regular copy
• in case you are sending it all by post, don’t forget to attach the “Application form for reporting changes“

There is no need to exchange a long-term residence permit biometric card for a new address when you move. The residence permit cards issued after Aug 1 2019 to holders of long-term residence permits no longer state the information on the holder’s registered address of residence. On request, the current place of residence in the country can be entered into their travel document, or a written certificate can be issued.

However, a permanent residence permit card containing the address needs to be exchanged and there is a fee (in “kolek” stamps) 1 000 CZK for and adult and 500,- for a child up to 15 years of age.

So, unless one wishes to obtain written confirmation of their current place of residence, instead of visiting the office in person, you can just send 1) the original or the certified copy of your new accommodation contract along with the 2) form for reporting changes as a registered mail in an envelope or use the data mailbox to contact the Immigration office (Tuřanka 115b).

Read more at the Ministry’s website.

Change of a passport / ID card number, names or surname or your family status

You are required to announce such changes within 3 working days of the change occuring / the new travel document being issued.

A change is reported to the MOI office by completing the “Form for reporting changes“.

You will be issued a new biometric card, therefore, you need to report this change in person to be able to provide biometric data for the new card at the same time. They recommend making an appointment at the relevant office as soon as possible.

When announcing this change, you need to bring/send:

• the new travel document with a new name/marriage certificate or a judgment on a divorce
• The Czech residence card, if it has been issued as a separate document
• a fee 1,000 CZK

More information at the Ministry’s website.

Your residence card should automatically come with an assigned personal “birth number” – rodné číslo. Most of the time, however, it is not issued within the same period (it is a different department of the Ministry of Interior) and is generated months later.

If you would like to learn that number, you have to get it from the Immigration office (MoI). They can tell you over the phone (974 801 801) if the number is ready or not.

To learn the number, you have to visit the MoI in person and ask for “rodné číslo”, or send a request from your data mailbox, or send a request letter (download the template) to the MoI office.

If you didn’t get the address printed on your residence card, ask right away at the Immigration office to give you the stamp with the address into your passport.
(It is not possible to get it at the Foreign police at Cejl)

Another option is to apply via postal mail for “A certificate of current residence” (download an application form at the bottom here). Fill out the application form, attach 50 CZK value stamp “kolek” inside the envelope, and send both to the Immigration office, Tuřanka 115b and you will get a certificate with a valid residence address back in 30 days.

A change of employer or even a position with the same employer or taking employment in an additional job or with an additional employer has to be reported to the Ministry of Interior and you have to wait for the approval.

The procedure is different for foreigners who A) don’t have free access to the labour market and B) who do have free access (if you study, are an EU family member, hold a Residence card for family reunification…).

A)

Changing an employer is only possible after six months of issuing the first employee card. This does not apply if you were made redundant by the employer. For cards issued under a special migration programme, changes are permitted only after the end of the card’s validity. The possibility to switch from an employer to a job agency is not possible.

Once again, this must be a job vacancy that has been announced by the future employer to the Labor office and appears (typically in 30 days) in the central record of vacancies available for employee cards.

You are required to file, in person or by post, or data mailbox the following:

• A form Employee card holder’s notification of change of employer, position or job for a different work position with a current or a different employer –  “Oznámení držitele zaměstnanecké karty o změně zaměstnavatele, pracovního zařazení nebo o zaměstnání na další pracovní pozici u stejného nebo dalšího zaměstnavatele” aka the application form for change of employer, work position, employment on another work position download Czech+English application here) has to be sent to the MOI office at least 30 days before the job should start. Note, that the notification form is followed by the Declaration of the employer on the professional competence -“Prohlášení zaměstnavatele o odborné způsobilosti cizince k výkonu požadovaného zaměstnání” and has to be signed by the new employer.
• new contract employment or an agreement relating to some other form of work (dohoda o pracovní činnosti “DPČ“), or at least an agreement on a future contract in which the parties agree to enter into either of these by an agreed deadline. The aforementioned documents must contain a stipulation which provides that regardless of the scope of work, the agreed monthly salary will not be lower than the basic monthly minimum wage and that the number of working hours will be at least 15 hours weekly (not applicable for the second job),
• current contract of employment from the last employer or dismissal notice or agreement of concluding the employment that proves that the period from the last day of employment until the delivery day to the Immigration office (!not the submission day at the post office!) has not acceded 60 days (to the
• documents proving the professional qualifications for performance of the requested job; this only applies if such qualification is requested in the description of the position filed with the Labour office and if the document previously submitted to the MoI CR ceased to be valid (for example, if a certificate on acquisition of professional qualifications which the foreign national had attached to the application for an employee card for the original job was limited in time and is invalid at the time when the application for consent is to be decided on) or different professional qualifications are necessary for the performance of the requested job.

Applicants have to wait up to 30 days for the ministry’s approval that the conditions for making the change of employer have been met and only after receiving the approval can a foreigner start the work. If the application is approved, the Immigration Office will deliver the administrative decision to you in writing, and you can start working on the job concerned from the date on which the decision becomes legally effective.

If the conditions for granting the consent have not been met, the Immigration Office will deliver an administrative decision in writing; this serves as confirmation that consent has not been granted. In such a case, you can file a completely new notification for the same and hope for a positive outcome this time.

The validity of an employee card will end if a foreign national, after the end of the employment for which the employee card was issued, fails to deliver (not only submit at the post office) the notice of a change of his/her employer within 60 days of the end of the employment, or if such a notice is regarded as a notice that has not been approved.

B)

The information mentioned above does not apply for holders of employee cards who have free access to the labor market in the Czech Republic (according to § 98, Act no. 435/2004 – such as students, graduates of Czech schools and universities, EU family members, holders of residence cards for family reunification code 95 etc.) or who possess a work permit and they want to change employer, job position or take up employment in an additional job at the same employer or another employer.

These foreign nationals are obliged to notify the Immigration office about the change within 3 working days from the first day of the new employment. The most preferred way is to do it by a specialized form called „The application form for notify the change of employer, work position or another employment by same or another employer (designed for foreign nationals with free access to the labor market according to § 98 on Act of Employment…“, download at the very bottom here.

Permanent residence is available for individuals who have stayed in the Czech Republic continuously for a period of time longer than 5 years.

This permit should be requested in person at the regional Immigration office of the Ministry of Interior.

You are required to submit the following documentation:

Note: all must be originals or notarized copies and have Czech certified translation attached

• Application form
• A travel document
  • Passport and Czech residence card
• 2 photographs
• A document confirming the condition of 5 years of continuous stay in the Czech Republic
  • Long-term residence OR passport stamped from Foreign police OR confirmation from Foreign Police OR contract with employer OR tax declaration OR insurance declaration from VZP OR confirmation of study period OR other
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
• Proof of accommodation
  • Accommodation contract or Confirmation of accommodation
  • The address and the landlord’s name on the contract have to be the same as in the state land registry
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
  • In case your contract with landlord/property owner is older than 6 months you only need to have an addendum under the contract that it is still valid as of the date or a Confirmation of accommodation filled in the form: “Potvrzení o zajištení ubytování (fyzické osoby)” The Confirmation, unlike the original contract, needs the have the landlord’s signature notarized
• Proof of funds
  •  Confirmation of income from employment, business, commercial profits or statement from an account held in a bank or other financial institution in the foreign national’s name, proving regular and constant monthly income for at least the last 6 months.
  • May not be lower than the sum of the amounts for the subsistence minimum and for the cost of housing. Currently around 12.000 CZK a month.
• A Czech language exam certificate A2
  • Training materials available at www.cestina-pro-cizince.cz
  • The test costs 1500 CZK, first try is refunded, you can pick up your free voucher at the Immigration office

Where to take your Czech language exam?

For example at the Masaryk University Language Centre - Courses of Czech and other languages, with classrooms right in the centre of Brno, and headed by the biggest university in Brno. You can also take your Czech language test for your permanent residence permit with them.

• Komenského nám. 2
• +420 549 493 811
• cjv@rect.muni.cz
• cjv.muni.cz/en

Learn more at the Ministry’s official page with requirements.

• You must always be insured within the public health insurance plan from the date you acquire the permanent residence, regardless of whether you still have a valid health insurance contract with a private provider or you are abroad
• Right to be registered as a job seeker at the Labour office, your health insurance is covered by the government and you may receive unemployment benefits
• If you do not have a job or you are not registered at the employment office, you have an obligation to pay your health insurance yourself
• Right to be employed without a work permit
• In the case of old age, disability, being widowed or orphaned you have a right to receive retirement pension if meeting certain conditions
• You have an obligation to pay social insurance tax always when economically active, whether you are employed (paid by employer) or an entrepreneur (paid by yourself)
• You have the right to apply for social benefits: welfare benefits and state benefits in material distress
• Right to equal, free education
• You have an obligation to send your children (aged 6-15 years) to an elementary school regularly
• Right to apply for Czech citizenship meeting the statutory conditions, usually after another five years
• You are still required to report Ministry of Interior any change of address, family status, passport number etc. within 30 working days of the change

Before leaving Brno and the CR, you and your family members are obliged to hand in the residence card to the Immigration Office.

Note: This obligation does not relate to foreigners with a visa or a travel identity card for the purpose of departing from the CR – “departure order”.

This obligation can also be met by sending the document to the relevant MOI office according to the place (residence) you are registered at in the Czech Republic. If this is the case, it is necessary to send the document by registered mail with a letter that foreigner ends his/her residence in the Czech Republic.

Don’t forget to cancel your waste collection fee registration with the municipality too.

Yes.

You can apply for the same type of long-term residency as was the preceding long-term visa issued by a Czech embassy outside of the CR (if you don’t know what this means, go to the guide Visa and Residency that explains your obligations before arrival).

The application for a long-term residency for a business purpose must follow the business visa and can be filed at the local Immigration office.

This answer assumes you have been already living in the CR with a long term visa and you want to apply for a subsequent residence permit. If your situation is different and you are not in the CR yet and you don’t have any long term visa, please refer to the guide Visa & Residence.

Application for a long-term residence permit can be filed as soon as 120 days before the expiration and no later than on the last day of the validity of a long-term visa.

You can submit your application at the Immigration office in person (anytime during office hours, just line up and be ready to wait for hours), in person at the appointment (call 974 801 801 or book online at frs.gov.cz; few weeks ahead of the time).

You should submit the application on a completed (“green”) form along with all the necessary requirements given individually for the selected purpose of stay.

All supporting documents (proof of accommodation, employment contract, business license, marriage certificate, birth certificate…) must be originals or notarized copies; and be in the Czech language or have Czech certified translation attached. Since they will keep the documents and not make copies of original documents anymore at the Immigration office, you have to make notarized copies of your documents prior to your visit to the office; this does not apply to an insurance card, copy of passport, or identity card which can be a normal copy and can not be notarized.  Moreover, foreign public documents must be supported by a higher verification (see our guide on Authorizations or read the Ministry’s official guidelines on apostille or superlegalisation).

The requirements presented in submitted documents for the application must not be older than 180 days except for the travel document and the photograph of the foreign national if it corresponds to his/her actual appearance.

If the specified requirements have not been submitted with the application or it has other discrepancies, you will be asked in writing to remedy the discrepancies of your application in the prescribed time. The time limit for the decision on your application is discontinued in such a case. During the proceedings, the Immigration office can invite you for an interview, request that you complete the requirements, take your fingerprints, or take a picture of you.

The time limit for the decision is usually 60 days.

The fees for applications to the Immigration office are unified and to be fully paid at the moment of filing the application (2,500 CZK for new residence or renewal).

An extension of your residence permit is filed in person or by post at the relevant MOI office on the territory of the Czech Republic (Tuřanka 115b in Brno).

You can submit your application at the Immigration office in person (anytime during office hours, just line up and be ready to wait for hours), in person at the appointment (call 974 801 801 or book online at frs.gov.cz; few weeks ahead of the time) or in an envelope via post (a registered letter) or via your personal data mailbox.

Note: all documents must be originals or notarized copies; and be in Czech language or have Czech certified translation attached. Since they do not make copies of original documents anymore at the Immigration office, we strongly recommend you make notarized copies of your documents prior to your visit to the office, with the exceptions of EHIC or passports which can be a normal copy and can not be notarized. The same recommendation applies when applying by post.

Application for extension of the residence permit can be filed as soon as 120 days before the expiration and no later than on the last day of the validity of the card. A change in the purpose of stay is permitted in certain situations.

Read more at the Ministry’s website.

Change of address

Foreigners with a long-term visa or residence card are required to report a change of residence address within 30 days of it occurring if the change in the place of residence is expected to last longer than 30 days.

Foreigners with a permanent residence permit are required to report a change of residence within 30 days of it occurring if the change in the place of residence is expected to last longer than 180 days.

The new place of residence must be reported to the MOI office in the area of the new place of residence.

To report this change, in person or by post or by data mailbox you have to provide:

• Proof of accommodation at the new address signed by the property owner; certified copy
• A travel document (if it contains the visa or residence sticker); a regular copy
• A residence card (if it has been issued as a separate document); a regular copy
• in case you are sending it all by post, don’t forget to attach the “Application form for reporting changes“

There is no need to exchange a long-term residence permit biometric card for a new address when you move. The residence permit cards issued after Aug 1 2019 to holders of long-term residence permits no longer state the information on the holder’s registered address of residence. On request, the current place of residence in the country can be entered into their travel document, or a written certificate can be issued.

However, a permanent residence permit card containing the address needs to be exchanged and there is a fee (in “kolek” stamps) 1 000 CZK for and adult and 500,- for a child up to 15 years of age.

So, unless one wishes to obtain written confirmation of their current place of residence, instead of visiting the office in person, you can just send 1) the original or the certified copy of your new accommodation contract along with the 2) form for reporting changes as a registered mail in an envelope or use the data mailbox to contact the Immigration office (Tuřanka 115b).

Read more at the Ministry’s website.

Change of a passport / ID card number, names or surname or your family status

You are required to announce such changes within 3 working days of the change occuring / the new travel document being issued.

A change is reported to the MOI office by completing the “Form for reporting changes“.

You will be issued a new biometric card, therefore, you need to report this change in person to be able to provide biometric data for the new card at the same time. They recommend making an appointment at the relevant office as soon as possible.

When announcing this change, you need to bring/send:

• the new travel document with a new name/marriage certificate or a judgment on a divorce
• The Czech residence card, if it has been issued as a separate document
• a fee 1,000 CZK

More information at the Ministry’s website.

Your residence card should automatically come with an assigned personal “birth number” – rodné číslo. Most of the time, however, it is not issued within the same period (it is a different department of the Ministry of Interior) and is generated months later.

If you would like to learn that number, you have to get it from the Immigration office (MoI). They can tell you over the phone (974 801 801) if the number is ready or not.

To learn the number, you have to visit the MoI in person and ask for “rodné číslo”, or send a request from your data mailbox, or send a request letter (download the template) to the MoI office.

If you didn’t get the address printed on your residence card, ask right away at the Immigration office to give you the stamp with the address into your passport.
(It is not possible to get it at the Foreign police at Cejl)

Another option is to apply via postal mail for “A certificate of current residence” (download an application form at the bottom here). Fill out the application form, attach 50 CZK value stamp “kolek” inside the envelope, and send both to the Immigration office, Tuřanka 115b and you will get a certificate with a valid residence address back in 30 days.

Permanent residence is available for individuals who have stayed in the Czech Republic continuously for a period of time longer than 5 years.

This permit should be requested in person at the regional Immigration office of the Ministry of Interior.

You are required to submit the following documentation:

Note: all must be originals or notarized copies and have Czech certified translation attached

• Application form
• A travel document
  • Passport and Czech residence card
• 2 photographs
• A document confirming the condition of 5 years of continuous stay in the Czech Republic
  • Long-term residence OR passport stamped from Foreign police OR confirmation from Foreign Police OR contract with employer OR tax declaration OR insurance declaration from VZP OR confirmation of study period OR other
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
• Proof of accommodation
  • Accommodation contract or Confirmation of accommodation
  • The address and the landlord’s name on the contract have to be the same as in the state land registry
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
  • In case your contract with landlord/property owner is older than 6 months you only need to have an addendum under the contract that it is still valid as of the date or a Confirmation of accommodation filled in the form: “Potvrzení o zajištení ubytování (fyzické osoby)” The Confirmation, unlike the original contract, needs the have the landlord’s signature notarized
• Proof of funds
  •  Confirmation of income from employment, business, commercial profits or statement from an account held in a bank or other financial institution in the foreign national’s name, proving regular and constant monthly income for at least the last 6 months.
  • May not be lower than the sum of the amounts for the subsistence minimum and for the cost of housing. Currently around 12.000 CZK a month.
• A Czech language exam certificate A2
  • Training materials available at www.cestina-pro-cizince.cz
  • The test costs 1500 CZK, first try is refunded, you can pick up your free voucher at the Immigration office

Where to take your Czech language exam?

For example at the Masaryk University Language Centre - Courses of Czech and other languages, with classrooms right in the centre of Brno, and headed by the biggest university in Brno. You can also take your Czech language test for your permanent residence permit with them.

• Komenského nám. 2
• +420 549 493 811
• cjv@rect.muni.cz
• cjv.muni.cz/en

Learn more at the Ministry’s official page with requirements.

• You must always be insured within the public health insurance plan from the date you acquire the permanent residence, regardless of whether you still have a valid health insurance contract with a private provider or you are abroad
• Right to be registered as a job seeker at the Labour office, your health insurance is covered by the government and you may receive unemployment benefits
• If you do not have a job or you are not registered at the employment office, you have an obligation to pay your health insurance yourself
• Right to be employed without a work permit
• In the case of old age, disability, being widowed or orphaned you have a right to receive retirement pension if meeting certain conditions
• You have an obligation to pay social insurance tax always when economically active, whether you are employed (paid by employer) or an entrepreneur (paid by yourself)
• You have the right to apply for social benefits: welfare benefits and state benefits in material distress
• Right to equal, free education
• You have an obligation to send your children (aged 6-15 years) to an elementary school regularly
• Right to apply for Czech citizenship meeting the statutory conditions, usually after another five years
• You are still required to report Ministry of Interior any change of address, family status, passport number etc. within 30 working days of the change

Before leaving Brno and the CR, you and your family members are obliged to hand in the residence card to the Immigration Office.

Note: This obligation does not relate to foreigners with a visa or a travel identity card for the purpose of departing from the CR – “departure order”.

This obligation can also be met by sending the document to the relevant MOI office according to the place (residence) you are registered at in the Czech Republic. If this is the case, it is necessary to send the document by registered mail with a letter that foreigner ends his/her residence in the Czech Republic.

Don’t forget to cancel your waste collection fee registration with the municipality too.

Yes.

You are entitled to file an application for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of scientific research at a Czech embassy if you have signed a hosting agreement with a research organisation in the CR.

(If you are already staying in the territory of the CR on a visa for a stay over 90 days or on a long term residence permit for some other purpose, you can file the application with the Czech Immigration office.)

For the complete list and requirements contact your local Czech embassy or visit the Immigration office website.

As a researcher, you may also ask for help with the visa at EURAXESS centre in the CR.

This answer assumes you have been already living in the CR with a long term visa and you want to apply for a subsequent residence permit. If your situation is different and you are not in the CR yet and you don’t have any long term visa, please refer to the guide Visa & Residence.

Application for a long-term residence permit can be filed as soon as 120 days before the expiration and no later than on the last day of the validity of a long-term visa.

You can submit your application at the Immigration office in person (anytime during office hours, just line up and be ready to wait for hours), in person at the appointment (call 974 801 801 or book online at frs.gov.cz; few weeks ahead of the time).

You should submit the application on a completed (“green”) form along with all the necessary requirements given individually for the selected purpose of stay.

All supporting documents (proof of accommodation, employment contract, business license, marriage certificate, birth certificate…) must be originals or notarized copies; and be in the Czech language or have Czech certified translation attached. Since they will keep the documents and not make copies of original documents anymore at the Immigration office, you have to make notarized copies of your documents prior to your visit to the office; this does not apply to an insurance card, copy of passport, or identity card which can be a normal copy and can not be notarized.  Moreover, foreign public documents must be supported by a higher verification (see our guide on Authorizations or read the Ministry’s official guidelines on apostille or superlegalisation).

The requirements presented in submitted documents for the application must not be older than 180 days except for the travel document and the photograph of the foreign national if it corresponds to his/her actual appearance.

If the specified requirements have not been submitted with the application or it has other discrepancies, you will be asked in writing to remedy the discrepancies of your application in the prescribed time. The time limit for the decision on your application is discontinued in such a case. During the proceedings, the Immigration office can invite you for an interview, request that you complete the requirements, take your fingerprints, or take a picture of you.

The time limit for the decision is usually 60 days.

The fees for applications to the Immigration office are unified and to be fully paid at the moment of filing the application (2,500 CZK for new residence or renewal).

An extension of your residence permit is filed in person or by post at the relevant MOI office on the territory of the Czech Republic (Tuřanka 115b in Brno).

You can submit your application at the Immigration office in person (anytime during office hours, just line up and be ready to wait for hours), in person at the appointment (call 974 801 801 or book online at frs.gov.cz; few weeks ahead of the time) or in an envelope via post (a registered letter) or via your personal data mailbox.

Note: all documents must be originals or notarized copies; and be in Czech language or have Czech certified translation attached. Since they do not make copies of original documents anymore at the Immigration office, we strongly recommend you make notarized copies of your documents prior to your visit to the office, with the exceptions of EHIC or passports which can be a normal copy and can not be notarized. The same recommendation applies when applying by post.

Application for extension of the residence permit can be filed as soon as 120 days before the expiration and no later than on the last day of the validity of the card. A change in the purpose of stay is permitted in certain situations.

Read more at the Ministry’s website.

Change of address

Foreigners with a long-term visa or residence card are required to report a change of residence address within 30 days of it occurring if the change in the place of residence is expected to last longer than 30 days.

Foreigners with a permanent residence permit are required to report a change of residence within 30 days of it occurring if the change in the place of residence is expected to last longer than 180 days.

The new place of residence must be reported to the MOI office in the area of the new place of residence.

To report this change, in person or by post or by data mailbox you have to provide:

• Proof of accommodation at the new address signed by the property owner; certified copy
• A travel document (if it contains the visa or residence sticker); a regular copy
• A residence card (if it has been issued as a separate document); a regular copy
• in case you are sending it all by post, don’t forget to attach the “Application form for reporting changes“

There is no need to exchange a long-term residence permit biometric card for a new address when you move. The residence permit cards issued after Aug 1 2019 to holders of long-term residence permits no longer state the information on the holder’s registered address of residence. On request, the current place of residence in the country can be entered into their travel document, or a written certificate can be issued.

However, a permanent residence permit card containing the address needs to be exchanged and there is a fee (in “kolek” stamps) 1 000 CZK for and adult and 500,- for a child up to 15 years of age.

So, unless one wishes to obtain written confirmation of their current place of residence, instead of visiting the office in person, you can just send 1) the original or the certified copy of your new accommodation contract along with the 2) form for reporting changes as a registered mail in an envelope or use the data mailbox to contact the Immigration office (Tuřanka 115b).

Read more at the Ministry’s website.

Change of a passport / ID card number, names or surname or your family status

You are required to announce such changes within 3 working days of the change occuring / the new travel document being issued.

A change is reported to the MOI office by completing the “Form for reporting changes“.

You will be issued a new biometric card, therefore, you need to report this change in person to be able to provide biometric data for the new card at the same time. They recommend making an appointment at the relevant office as soon as possible.

When announcing this change, you need to bring/send:

• the new travel document with a new name/marriage certificate or a judgment on a divorce
• The Czech residence card, if it has been issued as a separate document
• a fee 1,000 CZK

More information at the Ministry’s website.

Your residence card should automatically come with an assigned personal “birth number” – rodné číslo. Most of the time, however, it is not issued within the same period (it is a different department of the Ministry of Interior) and is generated months later.

If you would like to learn that number, you have to get it from the Immigration office (MoI). They can tell you over the phone (974 801 801) if the number is ready or not.

To learn the number, you have to visit the MoI in person and ask for “rodné číslo”, or send a request from your data mailbox, or send a request letter (download the template) to the MoI office.

If you didn’t get the address printed on your residence card, ask right away at the Immigration office to give you the stamp with the address into your passport.
(It is not possible to get it at the Foreign police at Cejl)

Another option is to apply via postal mail for “A certificate of current residence” (download an application form at the bottom here). Fill out the application form, attach 50 CZK value stamp “kolek” inside the envelope, and send both to the Immigration office, Tuřanka 115b and you will get a certificate with a valid residence address back in 30 days.

Permanent residence is available for individuals who have stayed in the Czech Republic continuously for a period of time longer than 5 years.

This permit should be requested in person at the regional Immigration office of the Ministry of Interior.

You are required to submit the following documentation:

Note: all must be originals or notarized copies and have Czech certified translation attached

• Application form
• A travel document
  • Passport and Czech residence card
• 2 photographs
• A document confirming the condition of 5 years of continuous stay in the Czech Republic
  • Long-term residence OR passport stamped from Foreign police OR confirmation from Foreign Police OR contract with employer OR tax declaration OR insurance declaration from VZP OR confirmation of study period OR other
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
• Proof of accommodation
  • Accommodation contract or Confirmation of accommodation
  • The address and the landlord’s name on the contract have to be the same as in the state land registry
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
  • In case your contract with landlord/property owner is older than 6 months you only need to have an addendum under the contract that it is still valid as of the date or a Confirmation of accommodation filled in the form: “Potvrzení o zajištení ubytování (fyzické osoby)” The Confirmation, unlike the original contract, needs the have the landlord’s signature notarized
• Proof of funds
  •  Confirmation of income from employment, business, commercial profits or statement from an account held in a bank or other financial institution in the foreign national’s name, proving regular and constant monthly income for at least the last 6 months.
  • May not be lower than the sum of the amounts for the subsistence minimum and for the cost of housing. Currently around 12.000 CZK a month.
• A Czech language exam certificate A2
  • Training materials available at www.cestina-pro-cizince.cz
  • The test costs 1500 CZK, first try is refunded, you can pick up your free voucher at the Immigration office

Where to take your Czech language exam?

For example at the Masaryk University Language Centre - Courses of Czech and other languages, with classrooms right in the centre of Brno, and headed by the biggest university in Brno. You can also take your Czech language test for your permanent residence permit with them.

• Komenského nám. 2
• +420 549 493 811
• cjv@rect.muni.cz
• cjv.muni.cz/en

Learn more at the Ministry’s official page with requirements.

• You must always be insured within the public health insurance plan from the date you acquire the permanent residence, regardless of whether you still have a valid health insurance contract with a private provider or you are abroad
• Right to be registered as a job seeker at the Labour office, your health insurance is covered by the government and you may receive unemployment benefits
• If you do not have a job or you are not registered at the employment office, you have an obligation to pay your health insurance yourself
• Right to be employed without a work permit
• In the case of old age, disability, being widowed or orphaned you have a right to receive retirement pension if meeting certain conditions
• You have an obligation to pay social insurance tax always when economically active, whether you are employed (paid by employer) or an entrepreneur (paid by yourself)
• You have the right to apply for social benefits: welfare benefits and state benefits in material distress
• Right to equal, free education
• You have an obligation to send your children (aged 6-15 years) to an elementary school regularly
• Right to apply for Czech citizenship meeting the statutory conditions, usually after another five years
• You are still required to report Ministry of Interior any change of address, family status, passport number etc. within 30 working days of the change

Before leaving Brno and the CR, you and your family members are obliged to hand in the residence card to the Immigration Office.

Note: This obligation does not relate to foreigners with a visa or a travel identity card for the purpose of departing from the CR – “departure order”.

This obligation can also be met by sending the document to the relevant MOI office according to the place (residence) you are registered at in the Czech Republic. If this is the case, it is necessary to send the document by registered mail with a letter that foreigner ends his/her residence in the Czech Republic.

Don’t forget to cancel your waste collection fee registration with the municipality too.

Yes.

If you are a family member of a nonEU citizen, you may apply for a long term residence for the purpose of family reunification with your spouse. The application for a long-term residency, following the long-term visa (read more in the guide Visa & Residence), can be filed at the local Immigration office.

If you are a family member of an EU citizen – being a spouse, child, parent or a partner, you can apply for a Temporary residence permit for a family member of an EU citizen. There are several conditions one could meet to be considered as an EU citizen’s family member, which could be found directly at the web pages of MoI.

This answer assumes you have been already living in the CR with a long term visa and you want to apply for a subsequent residence permit. If your situation is different and you are not in the CR yet and you don’t have any long term visa, please refer to the guide Visa & Residence.

Application for a long-term residence permit can be filed as soon as 120 days before the expiration and no later than on the last day of the validity of a long-term visa.

You can submit your application at the Immigration office in person (anytime during office hours, just line up and be ready to wait for hours), in person at the appointment (call 974 801 801 or book online at frs.gov.cz; few weeks ahead of the time).

You should submit the application on a completed (“green”) form along with all the necessary requirements given individually for the selected purpose of stay.

All supporting documents (proof of accommodation, employment contract, business license, marriage certificate, birth certificate…) must be originals or notarized copies; and be in the Czech language or have Czech certified translation attached. Since they will keep the documents and not make copies of original documents anymore at the Immigration office, you have to make notarized copies of your documents prior to your visit to the office; this does not apply to an insurance card, copy of passport, or identity card which can be a normal copy and can not be notarized.  Moreover, foreign public documents must be supported by a higher verification (see our guide on Authorizations or read the Ministry’s official guidelines on apostille or superlegalisation).

The requirements presented in submitted documents for the application must not be older than 180 days except for the travel document and the photograph of the foreign national if it corresponds to his/her actual appearance.

If the specified requirements have not been submitted with the application or it has other discrepancies, you will be asked in writing to remedy the discrepancies of your application in the prescribed time. The time limit for the decision on your application is discontinued in such a case. During the proceedings, the Immigration office can invite you for an interview, request that you complete the requirements, take your fingerprints, or take a picture of you.

The time limit for the decision is usually 60 days.

The fees for applications to the Immigration office are unified and to be fully paid at the moment of filing the application (2,500 CZK for new residence or renewal).

If you are an immediate (eg. spouse, child) or extended (eg. partner) family member of an EU citizen –  you can apply for a Temporary residence permit. There are several conditions one could meet to be considered as an EU citizen’s family member which could be found directly at the web pages of MoI. You need to have a history and live together on the same address.

The residence permit takes circa two to three months to be issued.

The Immigration office may invite you and your EU family member for an interview or send a Foreign Police patrol to visit you at your residence address to see if you really share the household.

A major advantage of filling in the application for this temporary residence permit is that you receive bridging label (for two months each) allowing you to stay legally in the country from the day of turning in the application until it is decided.

With such bridging label you can enter the Czech Republic, but can’t enter other EU+ countries.

You are required to submit the following documentation:

• Application form
• A travel document
  • Passport and Residence card
• 2 photographs
• A document confirming the relationship with an EU family member (spouse, partner sharing a household, child, dependent parent or sibling)
  • Superlegalized or apostilled: birth certificate OR marriage certificate OR medical report confirming dependency OR other (like declaration of partnership and shared household)
  • If you are not married, you can apply as a partners living together, providing an accommodation contract with both names, a letter of history and intention (history of your relationship and plans for future), any evidence that you share a living cost, spent enough time together – six months or more, photographs of a family visit or vacation … or anything more.
• Proof of medical insurance valid for the CR
  • in a case of extended family members – a private comprehensive medical insurance for the entire duration of the expected stay in the CR
• Proof of accommodation
  • Accommodation contract or Confirmation of accommodation with both partners’ names on it
  • The address and the landlord’s name on the contract have to be the same as in the state land registry
  • This document should not date back further than 6 months
  • In case your contract with the landlord/property owner is older than 6 months you only need to have an adendum under the contract that it is still valid as of the date or a Confirmation of accommodation filled in the form: “Potvrzení o zajištení ubytování (fyzické osoby)“. The Confirmation, unlike the original contract, needs to have the landlord’s signature notarized. So, it might be easier to ask your landlord to sign a new contract.
• Proof of funds
  • only in a case of extended family members

Note: all documents must be originals or notarized copies; and be in Czech language or have Czech certified translation attached. Since they do not make copies of original documents anymore at the Immigration office, we strongly recommend you make notarized copies of your documents prior to your visit to the office, with the exceptions of EHIC, passports or identity cards (EU citizens) and proof of accommodation which can be a normal copy and can not be notarized. The same recommendation applies when applying by post.

You can submit your application at the Immigration office in person (anytime during office hours, just line up and be ready to wait for hours), in person at the appointment (call 974 801 801; few weeks ahead of the time) or in an envelope via postal mail (a registered letter)  to the Immigration office address (see in the General info below). Do not forget to keep your submission form (podací lístek) stamped by the post office.

However, we do not recommend that you apply via post if you are a nonEU family member of an EU citizen because you would not be able to get your application number and track the status of your application online. Also, you would not be able to get a bridging visa, which is used as a confirmation of the legality of your stay in case you do not have any other valid stay in the Czech Republic at that moment, into your passport.

For more details and download the application form, visit the official Ministry portal.

An extension of your residence permit is filed in person or by post at the relevant MOI office on the territory of the Czech Republic (Tuřanka 115b in Brno).

You can submit your application at the Immigration office in person (anytime during office hours, just line up and be ready to wait for hours), in person at the appointment (call 974 801 801 or book online at frs.gov.cz; few weeks ahead of the time) or in an envelope via post (a registered letter) or via your personal data mailbox.

Note: all documents must be originals or notarized copies; and be in Czech language or have Czech certified translation attached. Since they do not make copies of original documents anymore at the Immigration office, we strongly recommend you make notarized copies of your documents prior to your visit to the office, with the exceptions of EHIC or passports which can be a normal copy and can not be notarized. The same recommendation applies when applying by post.

Application for extension of the residence permit can be filed as soon as 120 days before the expiration and no later than on the last day of the validity of the card. A change in the purpose of stay is permitted in certain situations.

Read more at the Ministry’s website.

Change of address

Foreigners with a long-term visa or residence card are required to report a change of residence address within 30 days of it occurring if the change in the place of residence is expected to last longer than 30 days.

Foreigners with a permanent residence permit are required to report a change of residence within 30 days of it occurring if the change in the place of residence is expected to last longer than 180 days.

The new place of residence must be reported to the MOI office in the area of the new place of residence.

To report this change, in person or by post or by data mailbox you have to provide:

• Proof of accommodation at the new address signed by the property owner; certified copy
• A travel document (if it contains the visa or residence sticker); a regular copy
• A residence card (if it has been issued as a separate document); a regular copy
• in case you are sending it all by post, don’t forget to attach the “Application form for reporting changes“

There is no need to exchange a long-term residence permit biometric card for a new address when you move. The residence permit cards issued after Aug 1 2019 to holders of long-term residence permits no longer state the information on the holder’s registered address of residence. On request, the current place of residence in the country can be entered into their travel document, or a written certificate can be issued.

However, a permanent residence permit card containing the address needs to be exchanged and there is a fee (in “kolek” stamps) 1 000 CZK for and adult and 500,- for a child up to 15 years of age.

So, unless one wishes to obtain written confirmation of their current place of residence, instead of visiting the office in person, you can just send 1) the original or the certified copy of your new accommodation contract along with the 2) form for reporting changes as a registered mail in an envelope or use the data mailbox to contact the Immigration office (Tuřanka 115b).

Read more at the Ministry’s website.

Change of a passport / ID card number, names or surname or your family status

You are required to announce such changes within 3 working days of the change occuring / the new travel document being issued.

A change is reported to the MOI office by completing the “Form for reporting changes“.

You will be issued a new biometric card, therefore, you need to report this change in person to be able to provide biometric data for the new card at the same time. They recommend making an appointment at the relevant office as soon as possible.

When announcing this change, you need to bring/send:

• the new travel document with a new name/marriage certificate or a judgment on a divorce
• The Czech residence card, if it has been issued as a separate document
• a fee 1,000 CZK

More information at the Ministry’s website.

Your residence card should automatically come with an assigned personal “birth number” – rodné číslo. Most of the time, however, it is not issued within the same period (it is a different department of the Ministry of Interior) and is generated months later.

If you would like to learn that number, you have to get it from the Immigration office (MoI). They can tell you over the phone (974 801 801) if the number is ready or not.

To learn the number, you have to visit the MoI in person and ask for “rodné číslo”, or send a request from your data mailbox, or send a request letter (download the template) to the MoI office.

If you didn’t get the address printed on your residence card, ask right away at the Immigration office to give you the stamp with the address into your passport.
(It is not possible to get it at the Foreign police at Cejl)

Another option is to apply via postal mail for “A certificate of current residence” (download an application form at the bottom here). Fill out the application form, attach 50 CZK value stamp “kolek” inside the envelope, and send both to the Immigration office, Tuřanka 115b and you will get a certificate with a valid residence address back in 30 days.

Permanent residence is available for individuals who have stayed in the Czech Republic continuously for a period of time longer than 5 years.

This permit should be requested in person at the regional Immigration office of the Ministry of Interior.

You are required to submit the following documentation:

Note: all must be originals or notarized copies and have Czech certified translation attached

• Application form
• A travel document
  • Passport and Czech residence card
• 2 photographs
• A document confirming the condition of 5 years of continuous stay in the Czech Republic
  • Long-term residence OR passport stamped from Foreign police OR confirmation from Foreign Police OR contract with employer OR tax declaration OR insurance declaration from VZP OR confirmation of study period OR other
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
• Proof of accommodation
  • Accommodation contract or Confirmation of accommodation
  • The address and the landlord’s name on the contract have to be the same as in the state land registry
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
  • In case your contract with landlord/property owner is older than 6 months you only need to have an addendum under the contract that it is still valid as of the date or a Confirmation of accommodation filled in the form: “Potvrzení o zajištení ubytování (fyzické osoby)” The Confirmation, unlike the original contract, needs the have the landlord’s signature notarized
• Proof of funds
  •  Confirmation of income from employment, business, commercial profits or statement from an account held in a bank or other financial institution in the foreign national’s name, proving regular and constant monthly income for at least the last 6 months.
  • May not be lower than the sum of the amounts for the subsistence minimum and for the cost of housing. Currently around 12.000 CZK a month.
• A Czech language exam certificate A2
  • Training materials available at www.cestina-pro-cizince.cz
  • The test costs 1500 CZK, first try is refunded, you can pick up your free voucher at the Immigration office

Where to take your Czech language exam?

For example at the Masaryk University Language Centre - Courses of Czech and other languages, with classrooms right in the centre of Brno, and headed by the biggest university in Brno. You can also take your Czech language test for your permanent residence permit with them.

• Komenského nám. 2
• +420 549 493 811
• cjv@rect.muni.cz
• cjv.muni.cz/en

Learn more at the Ministry’s official page with requirements.

The EU and EFTA citizens’ family members (who are otherwise third-country nationals) are eligible to request permanent residence after 2 years of continuous stay in the Czech Republic and being a family member of Czech or EU/EFTA for at least one year, if the EU family member already has the permanent residence card or is a Czech citizen.

This residency should be requested in person at the regional Immigration office of the Ministry of Interior in person

You will need these documents for your application:

Note: all must be originals or notarized copies and have Czech certified translation attached

• Application form
• A travel document
  • Passport or identity card for an EU citizen
• 2 photographs
•  A document confirming the condition of 2 years of your continuous stay in the Czech Republic
  • Long term residence OR temporary residence OR passport stamped from Foreign police OR confirmation from Foreign Police OR contract with employer OR tax declaration OR insurance declaration from VZP OR confirmation of study period OR other.
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months
• A document confirming the family relation between you and a Czech citizen or other EU national lasting at least one year (citizen of the CR must be registered with permanent residence and citizen from another EU Member State must have a permanent residence permit for the Czech Republic)
• A birth certificate OR marriage certificate OR medical report confirming dependency OR other. Unmarried couples provide a statement confirming their relationship, they might be invited for an interview at OAMP, sharing of accommodation is helpful in such case
• Proof of accommodation
  • Accommodation contract or Confirmation of accommodation
  • The address and the landlord’s name on the contract have to be the same as in the state land registry
  • This document should not date back longer than 6 months

In case your contract with landlord/property owner is older than 6 months you only need to have an adendum under the contract that it is still valid as of the date or a Confirmation of accommodation filled in the form: “Potvrzení o zajištení ubytování (fyzické osoby)” The Confirmation, unlike the original contract, needs the have the landlord’s signature notarized

Learn more at the Ministry’s official page with requirements.

• You must always be insured within the public health insurance plan from the date you acquire the permanent residence, regardless of whether you still have a valid health insurance contract with a private provider or you are abroad
• Right to be registered as a job seeker at the Labour office, your health insurance is covered by the government and you may receive unemployment benefits
• If you do not have a job or you are not registered at the employment office, you have an obligation to pay your health insurance yourself
• Right to be employed without a work permit
• In the case of old age, disability, being widowed or orphaned you have a right to receive retirement pension if meeting certain conditions
• You have an obligation to pay social insurance tax always when economically active, whether you are employed (paid by employer) or an entrepreneur (paid by yourself)
• You have the right to apply for social benefits: welfare benefits and state benefits in material distress
• Right to equal, free education
• You have an obligation to send your children (aged 6-15 years) to an elementary school regularly
• Right to apply for Czech citizenship meeting the statutory conditions, usually after another five years
• You are still required to report Ministry of Interior any change of address, family status, passport number etc. within 30 working days of the change

Before leaving Brno and the CR, you and your family members are obliged to hand in the residence card to the Immigration Office.

Note: This obligation does not relate to foreigners with a visa or a travel identity card for the purpose of departing from the CR – “departure order”.

This obligation can also be met by sending the document to the relevant MOI office according to the place (residence) you are registered at in the Czech Republic. If this is the case, it is necessary to send the document by registered mail with a letter that foreigner ends his/her residence in the Czech Republic.

Don’t forget to cancel your waste collection fee registration with the municipality too.

Yes.

If you didn’t get the address printed on your residence card, ask right away at the Immigration office to give you the stamp with the address into your passport.
(It is not possible to get it at the Foreign police at Cejl)

Another option is to apply via postal mail for “A certificate of current residence” (download an application form at the bottom here). Fill out the application form, attach 50 CZK value stamp “kolek” inside the envelope, and send both to the Immigration office, Tuřanka 115b and you will get a certificate with a valid residence address back in 30 days.

Your residence card should automatically come with an assigned personal “birth number” – rodné číslo. Most of the time, however, it is not issued within the same period (it is a different department of the Ministry of Interior) and is generated months later.

If you would like to learn that number, you have to get it from the Immigration office (MoI). They can tell you over the phone (974 801 801) if the number is ready or not.

To learn the number, you have to visit the MoI in person and ask for “rodné číslo”, or send a request from your data mailbox, or send a request letter (download the template) to the MoI office.

If you didn’t get the address printed on your residence card, ask right away at the Immigration office to give you the stamp with the address into your passport.
(It is not possible to get it at the Foreign police at Cejl)

Another option is to apply via postal mail for “A certificate of current residence” (download an application form at the bottom here). Fill out the application form, attach 50 CZK value stamp “kolek” inside the envelope, and send both to the Immigration office, Tuřanka 115b and you will get a certificate with a valid residence address back in 30 days.