Registration Certificate

Who can apply for a registration certificate?

EU citizens, citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Also citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland if they were staying in the country by December 31st 2020 (as per the Brexit withdrawal agreement).

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How long is a registration certificate valid for?

A registration certificate issued to EU citizens is valid for 10 years. A registration certificate issued to citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland who were legally staying in the Czech Republic by December 31st 2020 (as per the Brexit withdrawal agreement) is valid for 5 years. The validity of the registration certificate cannot be extended. This means that when the certificate expires, you must apply for it again or you can apply for a permanent residence permit.

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What does a registration certificate look like?

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What obligations and restrictions does a registration certificate mean?

During your stay in the Czech Republic you have to follow the obligations for foreigners stipulated by law.

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What does a registration certificate enable you to do? 

As part of the registration certificate application process, an employee of the Ministry of the Interior will also apply for a personal identity number for you. This does not apply to the foreigners who have already obtained a personal identity number or to Slovak citizens born before 1993. You need to provide a personal identity number, for example, when buying a car.

If you wanted to apply for a permanent residence permit, a registration certificate helps you to prove how long you have been staying in the Czech Republic. A registration certificate also enables you to vote in municipal and European Parliament elections. A registration certificate makes many administrative processes that you might need to go through during your stay in the Czech Republic significantly easier.

Who can apply for a registration certificate?

You can apply for a registration certificate if you are going to stay in the Czech Republic for a period longer than three months and you are an EU citizen or a citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. You can also apply for a registration certificate if you are a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and you were staying in the country by December 31st 2020 (as per the Brexit withdrawal agreement).

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How and where can you apply?

You can submit a registration certificate application personally at a Ministry of the Interior office, send it by post, Data Box or by e-mail with a recognised electronic signature, or you can submit it through an authorised representative.

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When do you have to submit the application?

You can apply at any time.

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What is the administrative fee?

200 CZK.

The administrative fee can be paid by bank transfer or by credit card at the Ministry of the Interior office.

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What is the time limit to process the application?

A maximum of 30 days. The time limit is not running if the proceedings are suspended or if there is a legal ground for it.

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STEPS TO FOLLOW IN ORDER TO APPLY FOR A REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC:

• 1. Prepare necessary documents

  In order to apply you will need:

  • Application form
  • Travel document – if you send your application by post, an ordinary copy is sufficient. You will provide an original when you come to collect the registration certificate
  • Proof of accommodation
  • Medical insurance – if the purpose of your stay is studies, family purposes or other
  • Photograph – if the application is submitted electronically, the photograph can be provided upon issuance of the registration certificate
  • An original of a document proving a family relationship – if you are an EU citizen and you state as the purpose of your stay family purposes or if you are applying in name of a child born in the Czech Republic (e.g. an original of a marriage certificate, birth certificate, decision of a competent authority on custody or a decision on adoption of the child)

  Upon application you must pay an administrative fee 200 CZK.

  Please review the formal requirements that the documents must meet.

• 2. Fill in the application form

  You can fill in the application form online. Then print out the filled-in form and sign it.

  You can also download a blank application form, print it out and fill it in by hand – it must be filled in legibly, in block capitals and in Latin characters. You can also collect the form free of charge at one of the Ministry of the Interior offices.

• 3. You can send the application or you can make an appointment at an office of the Ministry of the Interior

  You can submit the application at a Ministry of the Interior office, send it by post, Data Box or by e-mail with a recognised electronic signature, or you can submit it through an authorised representative.

  If you wish to submit the application in person, please make an appointment online or by phone beforehand. Although a timely appointment reservation saves your time, it is not a necessary condition for submitting the application – with no appointment reservation you have to wait for your turn. Applicants younger than 15 years of age must submit their applications through one of their legal rguardian (most frequently one of their parents).

  If you submit the application in person, you will receive a slip confirming the submission and a reference number assigned to your application. You need to know the reference number, for example, to be able to track the state of your proceedings. If you do not submit the application in person, you can learn the reference number by calling our information hotline. In this case, it is recommended to call the hotline no sooner than a week after the application was sent as it takes a few days to assign a reference number to an application.

• 4. Wait for the decision

  The Ministry of the Interior will assess your application in administrative proceedings. If any errors are detected in the attached documents, you will be prompted in writing to remedy such errors. In the notice, the Ministry will explain in detail what the errors are and what you have to do to remedy them. It will also set a time limit for you to do so. When justified and if you apply for it in writing, this time limit can be extended.

  The Ministry of the Interior also checks if you meet the requirements to obtain the residence permit you are applying for. In such case you may be invited for an interview.

  In the course of the administrative proceedings you can:

  • Add additional documents to your application.
  • Be represented in the proceedings (a power of attorney).
  • Ask for access to file.
  • Ask for a stay in the proceedings.
  • Withdraw the application (withdrawal of the application).

  You can track the state of your proceedings online on the website under Application submitted or in your personal account. If you were prompted to provide documents or to remedy errors, the time limit for processing your application is not running until the errors are remedied or for as long as it is established in the notice.

  For more information on the state of your application you can submit a written application for a notification on the state of the proceedings. You can find the most common reasons for why processing may take longer in the database of frequently asked questions.

• 5. Learn the result of the administrative proceedings

  In the Status of your application section you may see one of these outcomes:

  • Being processed: Your application is still being processed. For more information on what you can do during the processing period, see the previous step.
  • Preliminarily assessed positively: The Ministry of the Interior has preliminarily assessed your application positively. Proceed to the next step.
  • Rejected: The Ministry of the Interior has rejected your application or discontinued the administrative procedure. In such case, you will receive written notification on the decision or resolution. You may appeal against the decision or resolution within 15 days from the day the notification was delivered.

  • The decision to reject the application consists of three parts:
    1. The Statement: Legal grounds on which your application has been rejected. It may also state any obligation to leave the Czech Republic, including the period for departure.
    2. The Grounds of the statement: It explains why the application was rejected and what documents and proofs served as grounds for the rejection.
    3. Your rights: It informs you on how to proceed if you wish to appeal against the decision.

  • The resolution to discontinue the administrative procedure consists of three basic parts:
    1. The Statement: Legal grounds on which the administrative procedure was discontinued.
    2. The Reasoning: It explains the processing and grounds that led to the discontinuation of the administrative procedure.
    3. Your rights: It informs you on how to proceed if you wish to appeal against the resolution.

  Načítavání obsahu

• 6. Collect the prepared registration certificate

  The last step is to collect the registration certificate. The time limit for collection is 30 days.

A registration certificate cannot be extended. When the certificate expires and you wish to stay longer in the Czech Republic, you can submit a registration certificate application again. You can also apply for a permanent residence permit.