Foreigners moving to Czech Republic for a short period of time or for a longer period of time might need to apply for a visa, depending on their nationality. The Czech authorities can issue three main categories of visas – the transit visa, the Schengen visa and the national visa. You can find more details in the following article.
Each of these documents is issued following specific steps and the Czech Republic visa processing time can vary based on the type of document required, but also on the accuracy of the documents required for the issuance of the visa. If you need information on this subject, our immigration lawyer in Czech Republic can provide assistance.
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How long does it take to obtain a Czech visa?
In the case of persons who need a visa for Czech Republic, it must be noted that the document has to be issued prior to arriving in this country and this is why one must take all the necessary measures in order to obtain the document in due time. The Czech Republic visa processing time is, therefore, of high importance regardless of the type of visa one needs. Currently, one should expect the following:
• applications which are made in person with the local authorities can be processed in 7 days if there aren’t many requests for the respective category of visa;
• applications can also be made by post and in this case, they can be processed in 14 days;
• however, according to the data provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, the average period of time is of 15 days, provided that the application is completed as needed (in the case in which the application is not completed as required by the Czech immigration law, the process has to be started from the beginning);
• in particular cases, the Czech Republic visa processing time can increase to 30 days, depending on the situation;
• in exceptional cases, the Czech Republic visa processing time was known to increase up to 60 days.
Persons moving to Czech Republic should thus take all the necessary precautions in order to have their visa document issued in due time, as if the document has not yet been issued at the moment when the person needs to travel to this country, then the person’s access in the country can be denied.
The Czech Republic visa processing time can be influenced not only by the standard procedure that is carried out by the Czech authorities, but also on the nationality of the applicant and the additional documents he or she must add to the file, the time spent by the authorities in the home country of the applicant with the issuance of documents that are necessary for the Czech visa file and other similar matters.
Please note that the Czech Republic visa processing time, regardless of its duration, can end with a denial on the right of arriving in this country under a visa. Still, the applicant has the right of knowing why the decision was taken and, since the day in which the negative answer was received, the applicant can request information in a period of 15 days.
How many visa applications were received by Czech Republic?
As we mentioned above, the Czech Republic visa processing time can also be influenced by the number of applications received by the Czech authorities. It must be noted that most of the visas issued here were requested by those moving to Czech Republic on a short-term basis, as follows:
• in 2019, the Czech Republic received 813,000 visa applications;
• most of the applications, 91% of them more exactly, were made for those relocating to Czech Republic for a period of less than 90 days (Schengen visa);
• compared to 2018, the number of applications increased by 12.7%;
• persons who were rejected during the Czech Republic visa processing time were charged with a fee of EUR 60 when appealing the decision;
• currently, only 62 nationalities are exempted from applying for a Schengen visa when moving to Czech Republic or in other Schengen state.
Persons who want to obtain a Schengen visa have to submit compulsory documents, amongst which we mention: the application form, a travel medical insurance with a value of at least EUR 30,000, a valid passport with a validity date three months longer than the date at which the person will leave the Schengen zone, proof of accommodation and other requirements imposed by the Czech immigration law.
A visa for long-term stays will require foreigners to present similar documents, as well as specific papers that provide more information on the purpose of stay (long-term visas can be issued for study purposes or employment). You can contact our immigration lawyer in Czech Republic for more details on the types of visas you can request in this country.
If you plan to apply for Czech citizenship, you must know that the processing of your application can take approximately 1-2 months.
However, to get to this point, you will need to live in this country for a period of 10 years (for most of the applicants). The processing of the application can take, the most, up to 6 months. Then, successful applicants will be able to obtain a Czech citizenship certificate.
Foreigners can start the citizenship procedure in less than 10 years if they fall in any of the special categories for citizenship by naturalization.
For instance, permanent residence in Czech Republic can be obtained in 5 years, but for EU nationals, the period is reduced to only 3 years (which implies an overall stay of 8 years), while for persons married to Czech nationals, only 2 years of stay are required.
