A Residency Permit is valid for 10 years and then has to be renewed. There are two different situations that allow you to apply for a Residency Permit. Firstly, they are issued in cases of family reunions. Secondly, they are issued if you have already lived in the Czech Republic for eight years, without interruption.
The application for a residence permit has to be made at any Czech embassy outside the Czech Republic. Only if the applicant has already been in the Czech Republic for eight years on a long-stay visa, the application may be filed in the country directly.
Family reunion
A foreigner may apply for the permit if he intends to be living with a Czech citizen who is a permanent resident of the Czech Republic. However, both people have to be related. The following degrees of relationship qualify for a residence permit. You are
- a spouse of a Czech citizen
- older than 70 years and live alone (and are unmarried and the parent of an adult Czech citizen)
- younger than 18 years and in the care of a Czech parent after a divorce
- an adult child of a Czech citizen who is older than 70 years and who is living alone
Some cases of adoption are taken into consideration. However, since these cases are even more specific it is generally advised to check that with your local consulate or embassy. More information and official contact details can be found on www.mzv.cz .
8-year stay
If you have legally lived in the Czech Republic for eight years without interruption you qualify to apply for a Residency Permit. This is possible, for example, if you have any kind of long-stay visa which has already been renewed eight times. Although the description says “without interruption”, this does not mean that you are not allowed to leave the country at all. Short stays abroad, for vacation etc., are accepted.
Documentation needed for a residence permit
Irrespective of the type of residence permit, you will need the following documentation for your application:
- a passport which is valid for at least another year
- three passport-size photos
- proof of sufficient financial funds to stay in the Czech Republic, which was at least 5,000 USD in 2005, to be proven by a bank account statement
- documents concerning your accommodation in the Czech Republic (may be a lease contract which has to be notarised; also see the Certification of Documents section.)
- a criminal history record from the Czech police (can be applied for along with the permit at the embassy)
- a criminal history record from the applicants country (except US nationals)
- a stamped addressed envelope
For family reunion reasons, you will also need a document proving the relationship to a Czech citizen. This may be a birth or marriage certificate.
If you apply on the basis that you have lived in the Czech Republic for eight years, your long-stay visa is needed as proof.
After you have mailed the application and all the documents to the local embassy, the data is checked for its correctness. If all documents are provided and the application is filled in properly, it is handed over to the Czech Immigration Police and the passport is sent back to you. Eventually, the decision whether or not to grant a residency permit lies with the Immigration Police, which may request further documents. That process may take up to 180 days.
Picking up the Residency Permit
If you have applied for family reunion reasons, you will be requested by your embassy to provide your passport again. You will then receive a temporary visa which allows you to enter the Czech Republic in order to pick up your Residency Permit. You have to pick it up at an appropriate Immigration Police Office. This will usually be the closest to your accommodation in the Czech Republic.
If you are already allowed to enter the Czech Republic or are already living there, you may simply go to the Immigration Police Office and pick up the permit.