Beauty Zlata Praha, Czech castles, natural spas, quality cars, beer and hospitality traditions leave no one indifferent. Several hundred thousand Russians visit the country annually, and tracking the readiness of a visa to the Czech Republic helps them to correctly plan their trip. There are several options and, knowing the real state of affairs, you can do other things.
Registration speed
About 5% of the Czech Republic's GDP today comes from the tourism industry. The country is part of the European Union and the Schengen area with a single visa legislation. On the other hand, an agreement on visa facilitation of May 25, 2006 is in force between Russia and the EU, according to article 7 of which 10 days are given for consideration of the request. And in urgent cases, three.
The website of the Embassy of the Czech Republic says that a Schengen visa for tourism and medical treatment is considered within five working days, and in some cases, the processing time for an application is up to 30 days. It is in such an uncertain situation that it becomes necessary to check the readiness of the Czech visa.
Thus, first of all, the timing of issuing visas is determined by the generally accepted procedure and the type of entry permit. Normally, a tourist visa is issued 14 days in advance. It is often faster if the employees of consulates and visa centers are not very busy, and documents are submitted during a period when holidays are not expected and the institutions will work 100%.
If the package of documents does not meet the requirements, obtaining an entry permit will be delayed. In this regard, the method of presentation is also important. If you do it personally, there will be less bureaucratic delays.
Travel agencies do not always pay due attention to clients' documents.
The speed of issue is influenced by the remoteness of consulates. In the cities where they are, time is not wasted on sending documents. In this case, it is worth asking whether a visa to the Czech Republic is ready in five to seven days.
National (work) visas require more time to evaluate documents and applicants for obtaining, therefore, they are issued within three months.
According to the rules, documents for any visa are also submitted no earlier than three months before the planned trip.
Where information is available
The easiest way to track a visa to the Czech Republic is at the institution to which the application and documents are submitted:
- Embassy and consulates of the Czech Republic.
- Visa centers.
- Travel agencies.
The embassy issues a receipt confirming the acceptance of documents, which indicates the date of issue of the finished passport. In addition, you can track a visa to the Czech Republic by the registration number that was provided when submitting documents.
There are consulates in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. There are visa centers in many large Russian cities. However, it should be borne in mind that these are just intermediaries who apply to the consular service through their own channels.
Travel agencies provide such services by phone, in person and online, but they also operate according to their own schedule and rules.
What is required
To find out the status, usually only the receipt number and the applicant's surname are needed. If documents were submitted through intermediary agencies, they must explain the rules for tracking readiness. Most often, this can be a special phone number or a website on which you will have to fill out a form with passport data. It is better to take your passport with you to the embassy.
Tracking options
How to find out about the readiness of a visa to the Czech Republic, they will tell you when submitting documents. You just need to ask the staff of the institution. There are several proven options for this:
- through the Internet;
- directly at the consular section;
- at the visa center;
- by phone or using the SMS informing service, if provided.
Unfortunately, tracking a visa to the Czech Republic on the embassy website is not possible. But there is a lot of other useful information here.
Via the website of the Visa Application Center
The provision of services via the Internet is an integral part of the work of visa centers. This is perhaps the most convenient way to understand if the exit stamp is ready in the passport.
Visa Application Centers have a common Internet resource vfsglobal.com, which allows solving the problem remotely. Checking the readiness of a visa to the Czech Republic online has the following algorithm:
- Log in to the site.
- Select the section "Information on the status of the application".
- In the next window, you need to change the language to Russian, if necessary, and fill out the form: enter the registration number and surname, then enter the captcha and click on the "Confirm" icon.
- A window with the current status of the application will open.
In this way, you can check the readiness of the Czech visa in Moscow or any other city.
Residents of St. Petersburg additionally have the opportunity to use a special service on the website of the Single Document Center www.7771000.ru. This will require approximately the same steps:
- Open the resource and enter the "Single Visa Application Center" section.
- Select the link "Check readiness".
- An online visa readiness check service will open, carrying out practical tracking of a visa to the Czech Republic on the website. To use it, in the form you need to write the number of the receipt issued when submitting documents, then control characters and click on the "Send" icon.
- Information about the real situation with the visa at the current time should appear in a new window.
In addition, there are other resources. For example, the Online Visa Application Center allows you to check the readiness of a visa to the Czech Republic with a few mouse clicks. On this site, it is enough to enter only the email address used to send the application.
All options are simple and time-saving.
If the required information does not appear, you can use the contact by phone. A contact number is available on any resource. In any case, after an online check, it is recommended to make a call to the service and re-clarify the status. Moreover, this can be done by any person who has the necessary information about the applicant.
At the visa center
It is possible to check the readiness of the visa through the Czech Visa Application Center only during working hours. The necessary up-to-date information about holidays, weekends and working hours is always available on the portal. A list of regional visa centers with addresses can be found on the official website of the Czech Embassy www.mzv.cz.
It is recommended to make an appointment beforehand. You need to arrive in person at the agreed time, without delay, with a passport and a receipt issued earlier.
Via SMS
Usually, tracking a visa to the Czech Republic does not raise any questions at all. Employees of the centers independently inform customers about their readiness using SMS, messages via Viber, WhatsApp and other messengers. Sometimes they call by phone.
SMS-informing is a paid service that is ordered when submitting documents.
The cost depends on the consular district (on the vfs.global website you can determine which region your region belongs to). In Moscow and St. Petersburg, the option costs 150 rubles, and in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk - 100 rubles. It is worth remembering that ready-made documents are stored for only 45 days, after which they will have to go to the capital or wait a long time for their return.
Readiness degrees
It is not enough to know the status of a visa to the Czech Republic, it is important to correctly assess the real situation. The visa center response may contain the following information:
- Incomplete package - not all documents provided.
- Confirmed - the package of securities has been checked and accepted.
- Rejected - visa documents were not accepted. The reason is usually given.
- Correction - corrections required, which are also indicated.
- The application was sent from the visa center - a package of documents was sent for consideration to the embassy.
- The application is considered at the embassy.
- The application arrived at the visa center - this means that tracking the status of the Czech visa is no longer required, since it is ready.
Receiving procedure
Documents are issued from 9.00 to 16.00 daily, except Saturday and Sunday. You can pick up a ready-made passport in person, it can be done by a trusted representative or a relative. The applicant will need:
- passport;
- receipts received upon application submission;
- agency contract.
The representative will need:
- original certified power of attorney. If it is in the package of documents, a copy with the mark of the employee of the visa center will be required;
- an identity document and a copy of its main spread.
A close relative should prepare:
- passport and a copy of the first page;
- a document certifying kinship and a copy thereof;
Original receipts and an agency agreement will be required for any option. More information about the list of documents can be found on the website of the visa center. In a number of large cities, visa centers provide courier delivery services (DHL or FOX EXPRESS). The cost is different everywhere, and there is a price list on the site.
For those who have passed biometrics in the last 59 months, there is an opportunity to receive the "Visa to Home" service. This option starts at € 100.
The "Premium Service" service costing 42 euros allows you to receive an SMS notification service and a personal manager who will track a Schengen visa to the Czech Republic for a client.
Conclusion
A permit to enter the Czech Republic and everything connected with it is not much different from the procedure for obtaining a visa for another country in the Schengen zone. It is worth remembering the possible reasons for the refusal. This is a topic for another article, but as an advice I would like to recommend sending only accurate, verified data and original documents.
