I. Who is a family member of an EU citizen?

A family member of an EU citizen is a family member of a citizen of any of the EU country or Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, who is a:

• spouse,
• parent if it concerns someone who supports an EU citizen under 21 with whom they live in a common household,
• child under 21 or such a child of the spouse of an EU citizen and
• dependent direct relative in an ascending or descending line or such a relative of the spouse of an EU citizen.

A dependent person is understood to be a third-country national supported by a European Union citizen or the spouse thereof who:

• is systematically preparing for a future profession up 26 years of age;
• cannot systematically prepare for a future profession or perform gainful activities due to illness or injury; or
• is not capable of performing systematic gainful activities due to a chronic adverse health condition.

A family member of an EU citizen can also be understood to be a foreign national who can credibly prove that:

a) they are a relative of an EU citizen that is not specified above if:

1. they lived in a common household with an EU citizen in the country whose citizenship they hold or in the country in which they held long-term or permanent  residence;
2. they are supported by an EU citizen; or
3. they cannot care for themselves without the personal care provided by an  EU citizen due to a chronic adverse health condition; or

b) they are in a permanent relationship with an EU citizen that is comparable to a family relationship and that they share a common household.

The provisions of the Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals pertaining to family members of European Union citizens will be also be applied to a foreign national who is a family member of a citizen of the Czech Republic

 

II. Short-term stay (up to 90 days)

Visa Waiver

• Family members – non-EU citizens subject to visa requirements, can stay in the Czech Republic for up to 3 months without a visa on condition that they hold a valid passport and a valid document on a temporary or permanent residence permit issued by a different EU country, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, or a permanent residence card issued by a different EU country. 
   
• Likewise, family members can stay in the Czech Republic temporarily without a visa if their short-term visa has become invalid. They must, however, reside in the Czech Republic with a citizen of the EU or the abovementioned states and their stay in the Czech Republic shall not exceed 3 months.

 

How to make an appointment to submit an application

1. Contact the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Jakarta via the email address jakarta@embassy.mzv.cz. In the subject line of the message, state "Family member of an EU citizen".

The registration request must include the following information:

• name and surname of the applicant
• date of birth
• passport number
• the purpose of applying
• contact details (phone, e-mail)

In the e-mail attachment send supporting documents to prove the status of a family member of an EU citizen, i.e. marriage certificate, birth certificate, tenancy agreement to prove joint household, airline tickets or travel passes from joint holidays, etc.

2. Wait for the embassy's response. After receiving your email, the embassy will first evaluate whether you meet the criteria for proving the status of a family member of an EU citizen. If the criteria are met, you will then be assigned a date for submitting the application in person at the embassy. This category of visa applications is usually accepted on Fridays during the office hours of the embassy.

3. Arrive at the embassy at the appointed time. All supporting documents need to be submitted in the original along with other application details on the day of submission. A standard part of the visa process is also a personal interview with the applicant lasting approx. 30 minutes.

4. Wait for the decision of the embassy. The representative office contacts the applicant directly after completing the visa process. For communication purposes, please include a current email address and contact telephone number in the submitted visa application.

5. Come to the embassy to receive the travel document after the visa process has been completed.

 

Requirements

To process an application for a short-term visa for a stay of up to 90 days as a family member of an EU citizen, the applicant must submit the following documents in person:

• fully completed "Schengen visa application" form
• valid travel document of the applicant
• passport photograph
• documents proving the existence of an EU citizen (copy of an EU citizen's identity card or passport)
• a document confirming that you are a family member of an EU citizen (marriage certificate, birth certificate, proof of dependency, serious health reasons, proof of the existence of a permanent relationship)
• proof that the EU citizen already resides in the Czech Republic, where you will follow him or proof of the planned trip of the EU citizen and the accompanying applicant to the Czech Republic (e.g. flight reservation)

In case of missing proof of the EU citizen identity and the family relationship, the applicant cannot be considered to be a family member of an EU citizen and standard rules of procedures will be applied.

 

Timeframe for processing the application

The timeframe for processing the application of a family member of an EU citizen who is not an EU citizen himself is 14 days from the date of submission of the application. However, in justified cases,  especially if the supporting documentation is not sufficient, this period can be extended up to 45 days.

Fees

The visa application for family members of EU nationals is free of charge.

 

Appeal Procedure

The procedure in case of the visa refusal is the same for family members as for any other Schengen visa applicants. The request for an appeal must be lodged within 15 days of the receipt of visa refusal via the diplomatic mission, at which the visa application has been filed. The appeal should include the name of the applicant and describe the reasons, why the applicant considers the refusal decision to be in contrary to the law. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review the request in 30 days from the receipt of the appeal. The information on the outcome of the review is sent to the applicant via the same diplomatic mission.

The important difference for EU family members is the right for further appeal to the court. Thus,if this appeal is rejected, a family member can apply for a legal administrative review by a regional court.

The request for legal administrative review must be delivered to the regional court no more than 30 days after receipt by the family member of the appeal rejection letter and must be delivered to that regional court in the district where the family member would register his/her arrival, i.e. where he/she would reside  (www.justice.cz). The address of the intended residence in the Czech Republic must be clearly evident from the visa application.

The above information pertains to Schengen visa applications that family members of EU citizens lodge at diplomatic missions.

 

Lodging of a Schengen visa application at a border crossing of the Czech Republic

Family member of an EU citizen can lodge a Schengen visa application at a border crossing of the Czech Republic. Family member must substantiate the reasons for lodging the application at a border.

Information on the application procedure for permanent residence permit of a family member is available on the www.mvcr.cz website.

 

Inquiries

In case of any inquiries regarding the visa procedure, applicants can contact the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Jakarta via the email address jakarta@embassy.mzv.cz.

 

 

The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Jakarta draws the applicants´ attention to the fact that the decisions on granting a Schengen visa to a family member of the EU citizen are not taken automatically. Diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic conduct application examination to establish whether one of the refusal reasons set out in Section 20.5 of the Act No 326/1999 Coll., on Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic, has been fulfilled:

 

a) the applicant presents a counterfeited or falsified travel document,

b) there is a reasonable suspicion that the applicant suffers from a serious disease,

c) there is a substantiated risk that the applicant, during his/her stay in the Czech Republic, might endanger the security of the state or seriously disrupt public order,

d) the applicant has been entered into the Information System of the Schengen area Contracting States and a competent authority, which initiated inclusion of a family member of the EU citizen into such records confirms that there is still a substantiated risk that he/she might, during his/her stay in the territory of a Schengen area Contracting State, endanger the security of, or disrupt public order in this state,

e) the applicant violated the Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals with the aim to obtain a visa, in particular if he/she entered into a marriage or declared paternity just for the purpose of acquiring a visa,

f) the applicant has acted fraudulently with the aim to obtain a visa for stay on the territory (for example by presenting fake documents to support the visa application or providing false information during an interview),

g) the application examination establishes that the applicant no longer is a family member of the EU citizen or that he/she will not accompany or join him/her.

 

Marriages of convenience are characterized as follows, in accordance with the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council no. COM (2014) 604 final, along with the Handbook on addressing the issue of alleged marriages of convenience between EU citizens and non-EU nationals in the context of EU law on free movement of EU citizens:

(1) „standard“ marriage of convenience – both spouses enter marriage for the sole purpose to violate EU law,

The embassy of the Czech Republic in Jakarta points out particularly Section 341 of the Act No 40/2009 Coll., Penal Code, which contains a provision that facilitating unauthorized stay on the territory of the Czech Republic constitute a crime.

(2) marriage by deception – marriage whereby the EU citizen is deceived by a third-country national by promise of proper and durable family life; such marriage is typically, although not necessarily, preceded by a brief internet or holiday encounter,

(3) forced marriage – often related to human trafficking,

(4) bogus marriage – contrary to marriage of convenience, such marriage is not illegal, but is linked to forged or misused documents.