RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS

Given the volume of visa submissions, the Consulate General is unable to individually confirm receipt of shipments from applicants. We recommend that applicants take note of the tracking number from the postal/courier provider of their choice, in order to check the delivery status.

Upon receiving your application, our Visa Section performs all checks necessary to verify that the application file is admissible and complete. Depending on the number of applications received at the same time, the checks may take several business days.

If the received application file is complete, we log in the application for further processing. Next, the original of the application file with all supporting documentation is physically shipped to the decision making authority, the Czech Ministry of the Interior.

Unlike the application files, applicants' passports remain at the Consulate General until the end of the application process. If needed, please study the chapter May I have my passport back during the visa process if I need it to travel in the meantime? (see bottom of the linked page).

If the received application file is incomplete:

• In case of minor oversights, the Consulate General will reach out to the applicant via e-mail to suggest possible corrections;
• In case of substantial shortcomings, the application is classified as inadmissible and the Consulate General is obliged, by law, to return the entire file to the applicant for completion.
   

STATUS OF AN APPLICATION

A unique reference number („ŽOV“, starting with „LOSA202“) is allocated to each visa application when our Consulate General successfully logs it in for further processing. You can look up your individual Visa Application Number (ŽOV) in the files below. The files are sorted by months in which an application was logged in. The files are updated by the Consulate General periodically.

October, November & December 2022 (PDF, 100 KB)
January, February & March 2023 (PDF, 89 KB)
April, May & June 2023 (PDF, 105 KB)

The inclusion of your entry in a file above is our Consulate General's sole confirmation that your visa submission was found complete and that it was logged in for further processing.

Once the Czech Ministry of the Interior physically takes over the application file for further processing, it is possible to check the status of a long-term visa application online, searching by the Visa Application Number (ŽOV).

If the ŽOV search does not return any result (status: „Not found“), bear in mind that your application may still be in transit from our Consulate to the Czech Republic. Wait for a few days to perform a new search. At times, the transit may take up to 3 weeks.
 

PROCESSING TIMES

Processing times for long-term visas and long-term residence permits are set by Czech law. The processing times depend on the purpose of stay, and they range from 60 days (studies, scientific research, employee card) until 270 days (family reunification).

The Czech Ministry of the Interior can reach the decision on an individual application at any time within the legal timeframe. The Ministry is also authorized to extend the processing time in special cases.

While your application is being processed (status: „In Process“), please wait until the end of legal processing time.

Kindly note that the Consulate is unable to expedite or fast-track the visa process. The Consulate will not have any further information on the status of a pending application, or on a date when the Czech Ministry of the Interior will decide on the application. Therefore, the Consulate General does not answer such enquiries.

While your application is being processed, the Consulate General may reach out to you in order to request action so that the application process can continue. Our standard requests/prompts for the applicants are to:

• Visit the Consulate General for a supplementary in-person interview;
• Submit a proof of valid medical travel insurance; OR
• Re-submit passport to the Consulate General.
   

END OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS

The application process ends soon after a decision from the Czech Ministry of the Interior is received by the Consulate General.

If the ŽOV search returns the status „Decided – APPROVED“, the Czech Ministry of the Interior completed the processing of the application and will shortly instruct our Consulate to issue a visa for you. Depending on the number of instructions received at the same time, it may take 1-3 business days for the Consulate to issue the visa sticker.

If the ŽOV search returns the status „Decided – REJECTED“, the Czech Ministry of the Interior decided that the visa cannot be issued. Instead of a visa, the Ministry issued a written explanatory note regarding their decision. This note also contains applicant's options for repealing the decision. The explanatory note from the Ministry is sent to the applicant by certified mail from our Consulate General. It may take 4-6 weeks for the note to reach the applicant.

At the end of the application process, the Consulate General will:

• Return the passport automatically to the applicant (if we had been provided with a pre-paid return envelope); OR
• Request the applicant via e-mail to collect the passport in person, or to submit a pre-paid return envelope (if no usable envelope from the applicant is available).