Long-term residence permits are issued for applicants whose purpose of stay in the Czech Republic is either study (for stays of over 365 days), scientific research, family reunification (in specific cases), employee card or blue card.

Visas for collecting long-term residence permits are issued with validity of 6 months and length of stay of 60 days. The long-term residence permit cards are only issued by the Ministry of Interior after the applicant's arrival in the Czech Republic.

Where to apply

Visa applications must be submitted at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington or at the Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles or New York according to the U.S. residence address of the applicant (your residence address = address on your driver's licence).
The Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles has jurisdiction over the following U.S. states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, as well as U.S. unincorporated territories of American Samoa, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands.

Visas can only be issued by the same Embassy or Consulate General where the application was submitted. The Consulate strongly recommends that the applicants do not travel to the Czech Republic without a valid visa.

Who may apply at the Czech Consulate General in Los Angeles

US passport holders if they reside within our jurisdiction (see above).

Citizens of other countries:
- if they reside within our jurisdiction, and
- if they have been legally residing in the United States (based on a valid Green Card or a valid US long-term visa) for a continuous period of 2 years or longer.

Applicants who have lived in the USA for less than 2 years are not eligible and shall apply in their country of origin.

Requirements

Chapters below specify requirements for different types of long-term residence permit.
For more detailed information about the requirements, please, visit the website of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic.

IMPORTANT

All documents must be presented in original or as a notarized copy made from the original, AND with one plain photocopy of each document  (i.e. one long-term residence permit application file contains two complete sets of documents).
All documents (except the travel document or ID card, debit/credit card, and bank account statement and notarizations, if written in English) must be written in Czech or accompanied with a certified translation into the Czech language; the Consulate does not provide translations of the documents submitted with visa applications.
If a notarized copy is to be submitted instead of the wet-signed original: (a) When a document was issued in the Czech language (only), the notarized copy of the document can only be executed in the Czech Republic, or at a Czech consulate/embassy overseas; (b) When a document was issued in the English language or is bilingual, the notarized copy of the document can be executed by a notary public in the USA, or at a Czech consulate/embassy overseas.
All copies (1-sided or 2-sided, black & white or color) shall be made on American standard letter size sheet (8.5 inches x 11 inches).
No document (except the travel document, and the debit/credit card) may be older than 180 days.
All submitted documents (except the travel document) are sent to the Ministry of Interior in Prague and neither the originals nor the notarized copies can be returned.

Decision about visa application

Applications for long-term residence permits are approved by the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic (not by the Consulate). Without the approval, the Consulate is not authorized to issue the visa and the Consulate is not able to speed up the visa approval process. Therefore, the Consulate encourages applicants to submit their applications on time.

In case the visa is refused, the applicant has right to appeal. The appeal should be addressed to the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic that made the decision about the application, within 15 days after receiving the information about the refusal of the application.

What exactly is a "visa" that will be issued after the application process is finished?

"Visa" is a special paper sticker containg security elements, photo and personal information of the applicant, including validity period and type of visa. After issued, the sticker is affixed inside the passport, usually on page no. 10 or 12, and stamped over. That is why the Consulate keeps the passport during the visa process.

In case of a long-term residence permit application, the visa issued is not the actual "residence permit". In this case, the visa entitles the applicant to withdraw his/her residence permit identity card at the correspondent office of the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior. That is why the visa validity is always only 180 days with a permited stay of 60 days.

May I have my passport back during the visa process if I need it to travel in the meantime?

We strongly recommend to have a second U.S. passport to travel in the meantime so that your other trips do not interfere with your Czech visa process.
However, in justified cases you may pick up your passport personally during the visa process once the visa process has started.
If you rather wish to receive your passport by mail, we require you to provide 2 (two) pre-paid and pre-addressed envelopes while submitting your application instead of just one. Also, please, include a letter signed by you requesting the passport to be returned once the visa process has started.
Aprox. 7 days before you need the passport for your trip, send us an email to make sure that we have already started processing your application and that we are planning to mail the passport back to you.
We expect you to return the passport to us as soon as possible.

Interview

Consulate is authorized to interview the applicant for long-term visa or long-term residence permit. Interview with the applicant will be conducted in Czech language while submitting the application and the written record of the interview will be part of the application file. In case you do not speak Czech, you may bring an authorized/official interpreter with you at your own expense.

Upon arrival in the Czech Republic

Holders of Czech long-term residence permits(*) shall, within one year of the date of collecting their residence permit, attend an Adaptation and Integration Course in the Czech Republic. During the 4-hour course, foreginers are acquainted with the rights and obligations connected with their stay in Czech Republic, with the fundamental values of the Czech Republic, with everyday life, culture and customs in the Czech Republic.

Adaptation and integration courses are administered by Centers for Support of Integration of Foreign Nationals: There are eighteen centers across the Czech Republic, and foreiners are free to choose which center to attend the course at. The course is held in Czech, with multilingual interpreting available (English, Spanish, etc.).

Foreigners register for the course online individually. Course locations, dates and languages available will display after paying the course fee of CZK 1,500.00.

In-person course attendance is mandatory. There is no exam or test at the end of the course, but the foreigner must attend for the entire duration of the course. An attendance certificate is issued after the course. Failure to attend the course is an offence which carries a fine of up to CZK 10,000.00.

Further information is provided on the website of the Czech Ministry of the Interior.

(*) Excepting:
- minors under 15 years of age,
- foreigners aged 61 and over,
- EU citizens and family members of EU citizens,
- holders of long-term residence permit for the purpose of study,
- holders of employee cards issued under the Highly Qualified Employee or under the Key and Scientific Personnel governmental program,
- holders of intra-company employee transfer card.