Long-term Visa - General Information

A visa for a stay longer than 90 days (long-term visa) is a visa that entitles you to reside in the Czech Republic for more than 90 days.

To acquire a long-term visa in the Czech Republic the foreigner must prove that he/she is going to reside in the Czech Republic for a specific purpose.  The purpose of residence is usually an activity lasting more than 90 days and requiring the foreigner’s constant presence in the Czech Republic. However, not every purpose, i.e., activity, can be a reason for granting a long-term visa.

How long is this visa valid for?                     

For a maximum of 1 year.

What does this type of visa look like?

What obligations and restrictions does this residence permit mean?

You must fulfil the purpose of your stay for the whole duration of your residence permit. You must also follow the obligations for foreigners stipulated by law.

What does this residence permit enable you to do?

If you hold a valid residence permit, you can leave and re-enter the Czech Republic repeatedly. You can also travel within the Schengen Area without a visa.

How and where can you apply?

You can only apply in person at one of the Czech Republic’s diplomatic missions:

  • in a country that issued you with a travel document or which you are a national of, or
  • in a state in which you have been granted a long-term or permanent residence permit and have been legally residing there continuously for at least 2 years (for EU countries, you can apply only in Dresden visa centre), or
  • at any of the Czech Republic’s diplomatic missions if you are a national of one of these countries.

For a list of all the Czech Republic’s diplomatic missions please see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Under what conditions can you apply for an extension of the validity of your visa for a stay longer than 90 days?

If you hold a valid long-term visa issued for a period shorter than 1 year and you are going to stay in the Czech Republic for the same purpose for which you have stayed until now.

A long-term visa including extensions can be valid in total for a maximum of 1 year.

  1. If your current long-term visa is valid for a period shorter than one year, you can apply to extend the visa repeatedly but only up to the total period of one year.
  2. If you want to stay in the Czech Republic for a period longer than one year, you must apply for a long-term residence permit.

Example: Your visa is valid from September 1st 2021 to December 31st 2021. You can only extend it until August 31st 2022. If you want to stay in the Czech Republic for another year (from September 1st 2022 onwards), you must apply for a long-term residence permit.

How and where can you apply?

You can submit the application to extend your residence permit’s validity 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.

Applicants under 15 years of age must submit their applications through one of their legal representatives (most frequently through one of their parents), using one of the above-mentioned ways.

What is the time limit to process the application?

14 days.

The time limit is not running if the proceedings are suspended or if there is a legal ground for it.

Attention: an application to extend a long-term visa’s validity and of the stay it allows is inadmissible if:

  • not all the documents required by law are provided,  
  • you have not paid the administrative fee, 
  • you have not used the correct form.