According to the applicable legislation (Act No. 2/1969 Coll. on Establishment of Ministries and other Central Bodies of the Czech Republic State Administration), the government authority in charge of the residence of aliens in the Czech Republic is the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. Useful information and advice regarding the conditions of the residence of aliens in the Czech Republic can be found on the Interior Ministry website at www.mvcr.cz under "Advice and Services for Foreigners".

The issuance of Czech visas and long-term residence permits is governed by the ActNo. 326 /1999 Coll. on the Residence of Aliens in the Territory of the Czech Republic, as amended. Accordingly, the visa and residence permit procedures fall within the jurisdiction of the Czech Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The full text of the Aliens Residence Act is also available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior (www.mvcr.cz) in English and Czech.

Applications for long-stay visas (visas for a stay exceeding 90 days), long-term and permanent residence permits are considered by the Czech Republic Aliens Police.

Aliens who intend to stay in the Czech Republic for more than three months should apply for a long-stay visa.

Applicants for a long-stay visa are personally required to submit the application form together with other required documents at a Czech diplomatic mission. All documentation must be submitted together with the photocopies.

On receiving a long-stay visa application and other required documents, the mission will forward it to the Czech Republic Aliens Police for consideration and processing. Each application is considered separately. The result is sent back to the mission, which will notify the applicant. If the visa is granted, the mission will affix a visa sticker to the applicant's travel document.

INFORMANION ON VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR:
- employees
- businesspersons
- self-employed
- dependant of someone coming in one of the above categories.

When applying for the visa over 90 days all the above mentioned categories of foreigners are required to submit the following documents:

- Application form - completed and signed by the applicant
- Passport
- Two recent passport-sized photographs
- Document proving the purpose of stay; this can be:

a) in case of employment - a work permit (to be applied for by the prospective employer at the local employment office in the Czech Republic) or at least the reference No. of your work permit application including the name of the respective employment office
b) in case of business - a confirmation by a business entity (an individual business person or a commercial company) registered in the Czech Republic
c) in case of corporate business (mebres of a statutory body of a legal entity) - articles of association or a notarial deed and an extract from the Companies Register
d) in case of self-employment - a trade licence
e) in case of dependancy - a respective Registrar`s document, i.e. marriage/full birth certificate (it has to be a duplicate or a certified copy as the document will not be returned to the applicant)
f) in case of any other purpose please contact our Visa Section

- Confirmation of available accommodation (a lease contract).
- Documents proving the applicant`s possession of sufficient funds to cover his/her living expenses in the Czech Republic. This can be:
a) a recent bank statement
b) an internationally recognized credit card
c) a letter from the sponsor/ family member in the Czech Republic confirming that he/she will support the applicant during the visit together with the bank statement of the sponsor.
The minimum funds stipulated by the immigration rules according to the length of stay are as follows:
-- for the first month of stay the amount of 36 000,- Czech crowns plus 4 800,- Czech crowns for every additional month (that is CZK 88 800,-/year);
-- in case of self-employment the amount of 120 000,- Czech crowns;
-- juveniles should have at least half of the above stated amounts.

- Those nationals who are not covered by the respective bilateral agreement or an equivalent for the purposes of health insurance must be insured for their stay in the Czech Republic.

- Extract from the Criminal Register (does not concern applicants under 15 years of age) of the applicant's country of citizenship as well as the country where he/she spent 6 continuous months (or longer) in the past 3 years. Only Subject Access Certficate will be accepted as form of the UK criminal records checks.

- Medical report - only if requested by the Embassy

- Proof of health insurance including receipt:

Travel health insurance covering medical expenses, including emergency hospital treatment and repatriation, for the entire duration of the stay in the Czech Republic (minimum of medical coverage EUR 60 000). The insurance company must be registered with the Czech National Bank and allowed to carry business in the Czech Republic. List of these insurance companies is available here.

For the visa procedure, however, this document is not required. Nevertheless it is necessary to present it on collection of the appropriate visa.

Please note:
* All documents have to be originals or certified copies.
* The date of issue of the documents must not be older than 6 months; this does not apply to passports and registrar´s documents such as birth certificates.
* Foreign documents (other than Czech) must be legalized (provided with an apostille) or superlegalized (if not stated otherwise in an agreement between the country concerned and the Czech Republic); British documents are legalized by Legalization Office of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Norfolk House (West), 437 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 2AH ( tel.: 01908 295 111, fax: 01908 295 122; website: www.fco.gov.uk).
* Foreign documents must be officially translated into Czech.
* Fees can be paid in cash or by postal orders. Cheques or bank cards cannot be accepted.
* Applicants should make an appointment in advance.
* The visa is issued for the maximum period of 6 month with the possibility of renewal.
* To avoid possible financial loss the applicant should not buy a ticket before obtaining the respective visa. The visa officer may ask you for further documents. Production of those listed above does not guarantee that the visa will be issued.

* Holders of Vietnamese and Ukrainian passports can apply for a long-term visa at the Embassy/Consulate of the Czech Republic in their country of residence only.

* If you wish to make an appointment for a long-term visa application please telephone 020 7243 7942, Monday to Friday between 2:00 and 4:00 pm. Alternatively, you can e-mail us at visa.london@embassy.mzv.cz.

On arrival in the Czech Republic:
* Following their arrival in the Czech Republic foreign nationals must register within 3 business days with the district office of the Foreign Nationals Department of the Czech Police (Cizinecká policie).
* The renewal of this type of visa should be done in the Czech Republic at the Foreign Nationals Department of the Czech Police (Cizinecká policie). It should be applied for 3 months prior to the Visa´s expiration date but no later than 14 days before the expiry date.