Visa Requirements for EU-Citizens (and IS, NO, CH, LI)
Before an EU citizen is able to live in Czech Republic a couple of important issues need to be considered:
- Visa - for 'Schengen' citizens not needed,
- Temporary Residence Permit - for extended stays over 90 days,
- Work Permit - for 'Schengen' citizens not needed,
- report duty - within 30 days of arrival in Czech Republic.
Visa
If you have a passport of one of the 'Schengen' countries then you are allowed to enter and stay up to 3 months in Czech Republic without any Visa or Residence Permit. This is a great benefit compared to 'before Schengen'.Temporary Residence Permit
For stays intended longer than 3 months or for employment / business purposes you must apply for a Temporary Residence Permit. If you are married, and your spouse is a 3rd-Country National, both of you need to apply for a special Temporary Residence Permit.In practice it's only possible to obtain a Temporary Residence Permit (přechodní pobyt) since a Permanent Residence Permit (trvalý pobyt) is never granted immediately and there are a lot of requirements, even marrying a czech citizen or becoming businessowner (jednatel) only gets you one with years of delay (this used to be not the case).
Since several documents are required for the permits it is highly recommended to call the czech embassy for details while still being in your home country. Most likely you will need several papers, (such as proof of your last residence address or an extract of the criminal record if you intention is to do business and you have been staying shorter then 3 months in CZ).
Ask for international versions, translating from English to Czech is cheaper and faster than from a non-standard language. None of the documents should be older than 180 days, and although officially not a requirement, we recommend to get an apostille stamp on every foreign document. It can save a lot of trouble lateron.
Unlike 3rd-Country Nationals, EU Citizens can freely come to Czech Republic and after living here several months, apply for the Temporary Residence Permit at the Foreign Police in Czech Republic.
If your aim is to become tax-resident in Czech Republic, it is not clever to postpone getting your temporary residence permit, because it functions as proof for determining your tax-residency for the date of registration.
When applying, a health insurance document needs to be shown and a statement that you will not apply for social benefits. Those documents are not required if you are employed, running a business, or are member of the board (but you will need proof that that is the case).
In some rare cases a medical record proving that you do not suffer from a serious (dangerous) illness needs to be shown.
One of the most important czech documents is the permission of the building owner to have your temporary residence address there. Without it you can not apply.
The processing time for the application is up to 180 days, up to 60 days if submitted here.
In practise, the best way to apply is when you already have arrived in Czech Republic.
There is no real need to apply when you are still in your home country, unless your spouse comes from a country without visa-free entry. In that case, this spouse must have a valid residence permit if he / she wants to accompany you.
A peculiarity of the 'Temporary Residence Permit' is that it has a starting-date but no end-date, so it is in fact a 'very long-term Residence Permit'. Brussels whistled the CZ back on the end-date, so now it is 'indefinite', so you can ask yourself if there is any benefit in a 'Permanent Residence Permit'.
Temporary Residence Permit for 3rd-Country National Spouse
A 3rd-Country National married to an EU-Citizen / Czech enjoys the same rights as his / her partner.However, both must apply for a special special temporary Residence Permit on the basis of marriage.
Also, the 3rd-Country National may still need a valid C Visa to enter the Schengen area (!)
After receiving the special temporary Residence Permit the 3rd-Country National does not need (to renew) a D Visa or Work Permit anymore, so it is highly beneficial to apply!
Permanent Residence Permit
A Permanent Residence Permit may be applied for on the basis of:- Residing for 5 years on a Temporary Residence Permit,
- Being married to a Czech person, 2 years after marriage,
- Reaching pension-age, having lived here 3 years,
- Being a former CZ citizen.
Nowadays the applicant also needs to pass a Czech language test (!)
The processing time for the application is up to 60 days if submitted in Czech Republic.
The validity of the 'permanent' Residence Permit is 10 years, and can be extended every time by 10 years, between 90 and 30 days before date of expiration.
Health Insurance
Health insurance is a requirement, and if you have no health insurance valid in Czech Republic, a basic insurance (about 5.000 CZK annually) is easy to get. By far the largest czech insurer is VZP, but there are many others, like OZP and Maxima.Although more eleborate and expensive commercial insurances exist, the basic insurance is all you need for Czech Republic, you'll end up in the same hospital!
Alexio can also get you a more elaborate EU / international health insurance or travel insurance, since the basic emergency insurance of 5.000 CZK is only valid inside Czech Republic.
An employee will have basic health insurance through the employer.
When self-employed with a tradelicence, you are obligated to pay monthly health contributions, in return you get basic health insurance. There is no need to have a second emergencz health insurance.
Some agents sell commercial health insurances which you do not need. Money for these insurances is not refundable, even if you register at the same insurance company as employee or self-employed.
Please talk to us before taking out such an insurance.
No Work Permit required for EU
Eu citizens and their familymembers do not need a Work Permit, because they have the same legal status as Czech citizens. But: the company must register an employee with an EU passport at the labor office (!)EU Temporary Residence Permit for Family Members
A family member is defined as:- spouse,
- parent - in case of an EU citizen under 21 years of age who is being taken care of by such family member and with whom he/she lives in a common household,
- child under 21 years of age or such a child of an EU citizen's spouse,
- dependent direct relative in the ascending or descending line or such relative of an EU citizen's spouse.
Report Duty
If your stay is shorter than 30 days there is no need to report your presence. If your stay is longer then 30 days then you will have to report within the first 30 days of your stay your presence at the Foreign Police, unless the accomodation provider does this for your (which they rarely do).For EU Citizens who already received a Residence Permit 'before Schengen' slightly different rules may apply!