The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bern informs that from January 1, 2011, applications for the visa to enter the Czech Republic and application for the long-term and permanent residency in the Czech Republic can be lodged only at visa sections of the Embassies of these Embassies of the Czech Republic in the Schengen area: Athens, Berlin, Bratislava, Madrid, Stockholm, Warsaw and Vienna.

The regional visa centres will be established as follows:

- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Athens (at present locally competent for Greece only)

- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Berlin (Germany, Denmark)

- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bratislava (Slovakia, Hungary)

- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Brussels (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands)

- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Madrid (Spain, Portugal)

- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Stockholm (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Iceland)

- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Warsaw (Poland, Latvia, Lithuania)

- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vienna (Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Malta, Slovenia).

Visa sections of all the other Embassies and Consulates General of the Czech Republic in the Member States of the Schengen area will be closed by December 31, 2010.

The regionalisation will by no means influence other consular services of the Czech Embassies/Consulates General.

The regionalisation will refer to applications of all kinds of residence permits in the Czech Republic (visa up to 90 days of stay, visa over 90 days of stay, long term residency permit and permanent residency permit).

The decision about regionalisation was motivated by a significantly lower number of visa applications at the Czech Embassies/Consulates General in the Member States of the Schengen area and by the efforts in order to improve the efficiency of the Czech Embassies/Consulates General.

If you need any further information, please visit the Embassy Bern website by clicking on the following link:

http://www.mzv.cz/bern/en/visa_and_consular_information/index.html

 

Visa-free travel – shortterm stays

 from Switzerland to the Czech Republic

 from the Czech Republic to Switzerland

 

The Czech Republic is a Member state of the EU since 2004. It is also a fullfledged member of the Schengen Area and a signatary of the Treaty on Free movement of Persons and Goods (http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/top_layer/index_en.htm) .

Switzerland, although otherwise not a full member of the EU, also signed the above mentioned Treaty with validity for the new EU-states as of May 1st 2011.

Therefore a separate visa for shortterm travel (up to 90 days of stay) is not requested for these persons:

 

-          holders of swiss residence permits of all types

-          swiss nationals

-          nationals of other Schengen memberstates

 

Sufficient documents for travel are: a valid passport (in the case of third-state-citizens including a valid schengen visa) or a valid identity card with a machine readable zone[1] in the case of third state citizens together with a swiss/ or other EU-schengen residence permit.