Schengen C Visa and D Visa Application
Non-Schengen citizens (so-called 3rd-Country Nationals) usually need a Visa to enter the Schengen-zone, of which Czech Republic is part since 21.12.2007.
Some 3rd-Country Nationals are allowed to stay in Czech Republic up to 90 days for tourist purposes and have a so-called visa-free entry. A list of Visa-free entry countries can be found below.
Many 3rd-Country Nationals (from Africa, Middle East, Far East, South America) can only apply for a Schengen Visa (C, D, C+D) at the embassy in their home country.
If they would come here on a tourist Visa, an embassy in a country surrounding Czech Republic will not even accept their application for a different Visa type, according to vyhláška č. 462/2008 Sb.
Schengen Visa types in more detail
All Schengen Visa Types
- A Visa: an Airport Visa, allows you to stay at the airport less than 1 day,
- B Visa: a Transit Visa, allows you to travel through Czech Republic, max. 5 days,
- C Visa: short-term, for stays up to 90 days, within the entire Schengen zone
- D Visa: long-term, for stays longer than 90 days, up to 1 year, only in Czech Republic,
- C+D Visa: 'mixed-term', this type you need for relocating to Czech Republic.
Visa types A and B are not suitable for immigrating to Czech Republic. You are only allowed to stay for a very limited time and those types can not be extended or changed into another type.
For relocating to Czech Republic only one type is practical, and that is the C+D Visa.
Visa-Free Entry for some 3rd Country Nationals
3rd Country Nationals with a Visa-free entry are allowed to stay for tourist purposes a maximum of 3 months (90 days) within a 6 month (180 days) period in the Schengen area, after that they have to leave the Schengen area.If the stay will be longer than 3 months or for non-tourist purposes, a long-term D Visa needs to be applied for at the Czech embassy / consulate in the home country or outside the Czech Republic.
It is not possible to apply for a D Visa inside Czech Republic.
List of countries without entry Visa requirement:
Andorra, Antiqua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Holy Seat, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore (max. 30 days), Republic of Korea, U.S.A., Uruguay and Venezuela.
This list changes regularly.
Short-term C Visa up to 90 days (C Visa)
In order to get a C Visa you will have to apply for a 'Schengen Visa' in your homecountry outside the Schengen-zone. It is highly recommended to call the czech embassy or consulate for details. Most likely you will need several papers from townhall, some of them with apostille. Ask for international versions, translating from English to Czech is cheaper and faster than from a non-standard language.The C-type allows you to spend a maximum of 3 months within a 6 month period in the Schengen area (not only in Czech Republic), either as single-entry or multiple-entry variety.
If you are planning to travel around Europe in the first 90 days, you must have a multiple-entry C Visa, because if you would visit a non-Schengen country, you are not allowed to re-enter the Schengen-zone with a single-entry C Visa!
It used to be quite common make a trip every three months to Slovakia, Germany, Austria or Poland to get the 3-month short-term / tourist Visa extended for another 3 months, but that definitely doesn't work anymore since 'Schengen'. You really need to leave the Schengen area, and still the 3 out of 6 months-rule applies, so after a total of 90 days stay, you need to leave for at least 90 days.
In order to apply for a short-term C Visa you will need to provide proof of enough financial means (min. 140.000 CZK / year - person) to stay and leave Czech Republic unless you have received a Work Permit for a job in Czech Republic or a police-verified letter of invitation for a visit. Also a document proving accomodation during the stay is needed, a proof of health insurance, and (very important) a declaration of the reason of stay (study, Work Permit, family). No documents can be older than 180 days.
It can take up to 30 days to process your application.
A C Visa can be extended 30 to 3 days before the expiration of the C Visa at the Foreign Police in Czech Republic. Processing will take up to 7 days.
Note: A Visa application / extension may be rejected by the Foreign Police if you have no valid reasons, the reason of stay has changed or other undisclosed reasons.
In that case you will have to do the whole Visa application process again.
Long-term D Visa, over 90 days, but maximum 1 year
The same requirements as for a C Visa apply, but in addition you will need an extract from the foreign criminal record or a sworn statement in case the country does not issue such a document.Both documents need an official apostille and need to be translated into Czech.
In some cases the Foreign Police can ask for a medical record proving you do not suffer from a serious (dangerous) illness.
It can take up to 120 days to process your application (for students, teachers and researchers 60 days).
A D Visa can be extended 90 to 14 days before the expiration of the D Visa at the Foreign Police in Czech Republic, but not over a year. After 5 years on a D Visa, it is possible to apply for a long-term Residence Permit, not sooner.
A Visa application / extension may be rejected by the Foreign Police if you have no valid reasons, the reason of stay has changed or other undisclosed reasons.
In that case you will have to do the whole Visa application process again.
D Visa for Business purposes, extension up to 2 years
The Foreign Police now issues Business D-Visas extensions that are valid for up to 2 years, but not not always and not to everybody. People renewing their 1-year Business Visa have a good chance to get a renewal of 2 years instead of ony 1 year.In order to get such a Visa you must comply to all the rules, such as proof of a residence address and business address, and registrations at the trade license register and commercial court for the entire period. If only one of those documents has an end-date before the 2 years are over, then the Visa will be 'shortened' to that end-date.
The great benefit is that instead of 5 times applying and renewing (every year) the Visa before applying for the Permanent Residence Permit, this now only needs to be done 3 times, saving a lot of costs and hassle.
Applying for a C+D Visa
If you intend to work, do business or study in Czech Republic for longer than 3 months, you'll have to to apply for a combined C+D Visa, which allows you to travel around in Europe for the first 90 days.After the 90 days it becomes a Czech Republic-only D Visa.
Especially for 3rd-Country Nationals the Foreign Police rules have become much more strict.
In practise there are only 3 ways to get a Visa for Czech Republic:
- having a jobcontract AND workpermit from a CZ-based company,
- registering a trade license (you need a Business Visa),
- founding an s.r.o. company (you need a Business Visa)
Changing a Visa-Free Entry / Tourist Visa into a D Visa - not recommended
There are people that travel to Czech Republic without the need for an entry Visa (US citizens in particular) or on a Tourist Visa and hope to change it into a D Visa. This is a hassle, because the D Visa can only be applied for outside Czech Republic, so this means at least 2 trips (application and picking up the Visa) abroad (to Dresden, Bratislava, Vienna or any other embassy / consulate outside Czech Republic) and there are several difficulties with this.how people get into problems:
- They do not have all required documents, so the embassy rejects the visa application, forcing them to come back, possibly several times if they are unfortunate,
- The processing takes longer than days left on the tourist Visa, so they have to leave before they can pick upt the D Visa,
- They do not have the required minimum of 140.000 CZK for a year's living expenses,
- The reason for stay (especially živnostenský list) is rejected, and there is not enough time to apply again,
- The Work Permit application takes 6 weeks and is rejected, and there is not enough time to apply again.
Here at Alexio we are always willing to help people, but one also needs to be realistic.
Avoid risking everything by coming here on a Visa-free entry or on a Tourist Visa only to find out that you are forced to leave after 90 days. Every Visa application is accepted / rejected on an individual assessment - no 2 cases are the same, you can't estimate your 'chance of succes' based on a 'similar story'.
To emigrate to a new country is a life-changing event, so you better plan that step carefully, and apply for the C+D Visa the official way, through the embassy / consulate while you are still in your home country.
And if you got yourself already in trouble, contact us rightaway, you can't afford to waste time.
Alexio will not accompany you to an embassy abroad, but we can advice you what seems the most logical to do. We can prepare the Visa application documents for you, but we do not guarantee the application will be successful. It is the Foreign Police that makes the decisions.
1/7 - Schengen Visa and Residence Permit Guide for 3rd-Country Nationals
2/7 - Schengen C Visa and D Visa Application for Czech Republic
3/7 - Applying for a Residence Permit for Czech Republic
4/7 - Visa / Residence Permit Requirements for Czech Republic
5/7 - Purpose of Stay (Visa / Residence Permit type) in Czech Republic
6/7 - The Foreign Police in Prague and other cities in Czech Republic
7/7 - Visa, Residence Permit, Work Permit Services for Czech Republic