If you are a citizen of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein, and Switzerland or citizen/holder of travel documents of a state, with which there exists visa-free regime you may stay temporarily in the Czech Republic/Schengen area without a visa. But if you are coming from other countries, you need to apply for a visa. There are two types of visa depending on how long are you planning to stay: a short term and a long term visa.

Short-term visas up to 90 days

A uniform Schengen short-stay visa will allow you to stay in the Schengen area for the duration identified in the visa, which can be 90 days at most. It can be issued for one entry, two entries or multiple entries and also as an airport transit visa.

Where do I apply for a short-term visa?

If you want to apply for the short-term visa, you must file your application at the Czech Republic diplomatic mission in your state. In case there is no diplomatic mission of the Czech Republic in your state, the application is to be filed at the diplomatic mission which is accredited for your state (which is usually located in a neighboring state or at the diplomatic mission of another Schengen area state). The application can also be filed in the visa center or through an accredited travel agency (you can find more info at websites of the diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic that use this service).

The application can be filed three months before the trip and we recommend not to file the application less than 15 days before the trip.

What is a „90/180 rule“?

If you will be granted a visa, don´t forget that there is a „90/180 rule“, which means that the short-term stay in the Schengen area cannot exceed 90 days within 180 days. So if you stayed in Schengen area for 90 days, you are required to leave the Schengen are. Please note that it is your responsibility to count the days and not to exceed the allowed number of days.

Long-term visa (exceeding 90 days)

If you expect to stay in the Czech Republic more than 90 days (which means that your stay cannot be covered by a Schengen short-stay visa), you should file an application for a long term visa (visa type D). It can be issued for a variety of purposes – health, culture, sport, visit (upon invitation), family, study, research or entrepreneurship. Please note that the maximum duration of a long stay visa is 1 year.

Where do I apply for a long-term visa?

Long-term visa applications are also to be submitted to the diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic which then forwards the application to the Ministry of the Interior for an evaluation and decision.

Not sure what type of visa to apply for or what documents do you need to submit when applying? Or do you have other questions? Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Eliska Flidrova

flidrova@expatlegal.cz

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