Financial Means
SCHENGEN VISAS
When applying for a Schengen visa, you need to prove that you possess sufficient financial means for your stay and return. You can submit a bank statement, paid travel agency invoice, officially verified invitation, international bank card etc.
These are generally required documents whereby financial means can be proved. Other specific documents proving possession of sufficient financial means (such as bank statements for the last three months, employment confirmation, or salary proof) can be requested based on the harmonized list of supporting documents that are agreed by all Schengen Area Member States locally. You can access information on whether this pertains to you on the website of the European Commission or of the consulate where you will lodge your application.
For a stay of 30 days and less, the applicant is required to possess at least 1,565 CZK* per day (reflecting the existential minimum, which is set at 3,130 CZK per day – half of this amount is required for the visa purposes).
For a stay over 30 days (90 days maximum), the applicant is required to possess at least 15x 3,130 CZK. This amount increases by 2x 3,130 CZK per each full month = 46,950 CZK + 6,260 for each full month.
LONG-TERM VISAS AND RESIDENCE PERMITS
When you apply for a long-term visa or a residence permit, you need to prove that you possess sufficient financial means for your stay in the Czech Republic. You can submit a bank statement showing that you possess the required amount and that the money can be used in the Czech Republic, confirmation about salary in the Czech Republic (employment agreement can be submitted), stipend confirmation, or international bank card (upon request a bank statement tied to the card).
The applicant is required to possess at least 15x 3,130 CZK*. This amount increases by 2x 3,130 CZK per each full month = 46,950 CZK + 6,260 for each full month.
Applicants for long-term visas for the purpose of ENTREPRENEURSHIP are required to posses at least 50x 3,130 CZK = 156,500 CZK.
STUDENTS can also submit, besides the above mentioned, for example a written undertaking of a state institution / legal person showing that it will arrange the student´s stay in the Czech Republic by providing financial means in the amount of 3,130 CZK per month or a confirmation that the school will cover the expenses. Students can also submit a stipend or grant gained on the basis of international agreement by which the Czech Republic is bound. If these finances will not cover the entire required sum, students prove that they have financial means to cover the difference.
Applicants YOUNGER THAN 18 show only half of the above mentioned sums.
Additional information on substantiating financial means when applying for long-term visas, long-term residence permits or permanent residence permits may be found on the website of the Ministry of the Interior.
*CZK = Czech Crowns
Legal sources:
- Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code)
- Act No 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic and Amending Certain Acts (available in Czech)
- Act No 110/2006 Coll., on subsistence and existential minimum
- Directive No 436/2022 Coll. from December 14, 2022, on increasing amounts of subsistence and existential minimum
Useful links: