Permanent residence

 Česky

Permanent residence permit for an EU citizen

As an EU citizen, you can request permanent residence

  

A)
after 5 years of continuous residence in the Czech Republic.

Conditions for issuing a permanent residence permit

To obtain this permit you must meet these conditions:

1. 5 years of continuous temporary residence in the Czech Republic

2. All of the requirements mentioned below must be provided with the application.

3. There shall be no reasons for refusing or suspending the processing of your application.
    

Filing an application

An application for permanent residence can be filed at the MOI offices. With regards to the possible personal contact with the office where the application was filed, it is best to file the application at the office nearest to where you are registered. The application must be submitted in person.

You should submit the application on a completed form along with all the necessary requirements given below:

1. a travel document / document on identity (It is necessary to submit an original),

2. a document confirming meeting the condition of 5 years continuous temporary residence,

3. 2 photographs,

4. a proof of accommodation,

5. an application fee CZK 200,-.
    

The requirements for the application shall not be older than 180 days with the exception of the travel document, public documents (i. e. a birth certificate, marriage notarial act etc.) and the photograph of the applicant if it corresponds to his/her actual appearance. All the documents have to be submitted in originals or notarized copies. Travel document and public documents must be always submitted in the original.

All of the presented documents have to be made out in the Czech language or Slovak language or officially translated into Czech. Documents made out in other languages will be accepted without an official translation just in cases defined by the Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and the Council. This applies mainly to the public documents issued by the Member States' authority to citizens of this Member State and accompanied by a multilingual standard form. You can find the list of these public documents at this link.

All the other documents have to be submitted in original with an official translation to Czech. Translation of public documents could be made by a person registered in the list of interpreters in accordance to the Section 16(3) of the Administrative Procedure Code or by a person registered in the list of qualified persons to carry out certified translations to the Czech in the other Member State, in accordance with national law, in accordance to the Regulation (EU) 2016/1191.

  

B)
after 2 years of continuous temporary residence in the Czech Republic - as a so-called immediate family member of another EU citizen

As an EU citizen who is also a family member of another EU citizen, you can apply for a permanent residence permit after 2 years of continuous residence in the Czech Republic if you have been a family member of the other EU citizen for at least 1 year. However, you must be a so-called immediate family member.
 

Conditions for issuing a permanent residence permit

To obtain this permit you must meet these conditions:

1. You must be a so-called immediate family member of an EU citizen.

2. 2 years of continuous temporary residence in the Czech Republic, if for at least 1 year you are a family member of a citizen of the CR who is registered with permanent residence in the territory or you are a family member of a citizen from another EU Member State, who has been issued a permanent residence permit for the Czech Republic.

3. All of the requirements given below must be submitted with the application.

4. There shall be no reasons for refusing or suspending the processing of your application.
    

Filing an application

n application for permanent residence can be filed at the MOI offices. With regards to the possible personal contact with the office where the application was filed it is best to file the application at the office nearest to where you are registered. The application must be submitted in person.

You should submit the application on a completed form along with all the necessary requirements given below:

1. a travel document / document on identity (it is necessary to submit an original),

2. a document confirming the fact that you are a family member of an EU citizen,

3. a document confirming meeting the condition of 2 years continuous temporary residence,

4. 2 photographs,

5. a proof of accommodation,

6. an application fee CZK 200,-.
    

The requirements for the application shall not be older than 180 days with the exception of the travel document, public documents (i. e. a birth certificate, marriage notarial act etc.) and the photograph of the applicant if it corresponds to his/her actual appearance. All the documents have to be submitted in originals or notarized copies. Travel document and public documents must be always submitted in the original.

All of the presented documents have to be made out in the Czech language or Slovak language or officially translated into Czech. Documents made out in other languages will be accepted without an official translation just in cases defined by the Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and the Council. This applies mainly to the public documents issued by the Member States' authority to citizens of this Member State and accompanied by a multilingual standard form. You can find the list of these public documents at this link.

All the other documents have to be submitted in original with an official translation to Czech. Translation of public documents could be made by a person registered in the list of interpreters in accordance to the Section 16(3) of the Administrative Procedure Code or by a person registered in the list of qualified persons to carry out certified translations to the Czech in the other Member State, in accordance with national law, in accordance to the Regulation (EU) 2016/1191.
 

The application procedure

The application procedures are governed by the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals (pdf, 1.9 MB), the Administrative Procedure Code (pdf, 549 kB), and any other associated acts.

If the specified requirements were not submitted with the application or the application has other discrepancies, the MOI worker accepting the application from the foreign national will help in removing these discrepancies or invite them back to remove the discrepancies giving an adequate deadline for this and inform them of the consequences of not removing the discrepancies within the deadline, at the same time the proceedings for such an application can be halted.

It is possible to submit any missing requirements in person, by means of your proxy or by post. The documents that you have been asked to submit should always be submitted within the set deadlines. Not providing the requirements is a reason for suspending the application procedure. Naturally, during the procedure you can submit any other documents that you consider important for your application. Remember that travel documents must be submitted in person.

The Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals (pdf, 1.9 MB) sets a deadline of 60 days from filing the application in the Czech Republic, during which the MOI is required to make a decision on your application. If the procedure is halted, the deadline for making a decision is also halted. This deadline is also halted or is extended in other legally set cases.

At any time during this procedure you can ask to inspect the documentary material and familiarise yourself with it. You can also be called upon by the Ministry to familiarise yourself with the documents before issuing a decision.
 

Decision on issuing a permanent residence permit

In the event of a positive settling of your application, which was filed at the MOI, this office will contact you by telephone and arrange a date for issuing the permanent residence permit. If it is not possible to contact you by telephone, you will be asked to pick it up in writing at the contact address that you gave in the application. To pick up the permit you must always report in person to the relevant MOI office taking with you a travel document/identity document. The deadline for picking up the permit is 30 days from delivering the request to pick up the permanent residence permit. If you do not pick up the permit within the deadline, the procedure will be suspended.

You will be issued a permanent residence permit.

The permanent residence permit issued to EU citizens is a public document. It is issued as a separate document with a photograph. It proves the holder’s name(s), surname, date and place of birth, nationality, the travel document number, the registered place of residence in the Czech Republic, the birth number and other data concerning residence in the Czech Republic. It is issued for 10 years. Its validity can be extended for 10 years, repeatedly if needs be.

The MOI informs the Central Office of the General Health Insurance Provider of the Czech Republic of the day the decision on permanent residence permit came into legal effect and you will be automatically entered into the register of General Health Insurance Provider policyholders. On the day the decision on permanent residence permit comes into legal effect, the Act on Public Health Insurance will relate to you, including the rights and obligations ensuing from this Act.
 

A decision to reject an application for issuing a permanent residence permit

The MOI will reject an application for a permanent residence permit, if

1. there is reasonable risk that the applicant could endanger state security or seriously disrupt public order,

2. the applicant circumvented the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals with the aim of obtaining a permanent residence permit, (e.g. he/she intentionally entered into marriage or intentionally declared his agreement with fatherhood),

3. the applicant is registered in the register of undesirable persons and there is still reasonable risk that during his/her stay in the Czech Republic he/she could endanger state security or seriously disrupt public order,

4. the applicant endangers public health as he/she suffers from an illness mention in the conditions set out in the measure of Ministry of Health on prevention of the spread of infectious illnesses, if he/she requested a permanent residence permit without the condition of previous temporary residence in the Czech Republic and such an illness was contracted within 3 months of entering the Czech Republic,

5. the applicant circumvented fraudulent dealing with the aim to obtain permanent residence permit,

6. the applicant is included in the Information System of contractual states, if it concerns a family member of an EU citizen that is not an EU citizen, and the relevant authority that included the foreign national into this system provides additional information, assessment of which indicates that there is still a reasonable risk that during his/her stay in the territory of another Schengen state he/she could threaten its security or seriously disrupt public order,

7. the applicant did not meet the general conditions for issuing a permit.
    

If an application is rejected, the decision on rejection will be delivered to you by post at the address given in the application as the contact address. You may appeal against this decision in compliance with the notes given in the decision.

  

Department for Asylum and Migration Policy, July 28th, 2023