Emigration to the Czech Republic is a lengthy process of legalization on the territory of the republic, starting with obtaining a visa to enter the country and ending with obtaining citizenship. However, it is by no means obligatory - the majority of migrants live in the country under practically the same conditions and without citizenship. One of these grounds is a permanent residence permit. Permanent residence in the Czech Republic is essentially the last stage of legalization, which gives the right to the longest possible residence in the country without a Czech passport. Today we will dwell on the procedure for obtaining it.
Pros of Czech permanent residence
Permanent residence permit (Povolení k trvalému pobytu) is one of the three legal statuses of residence in the Czech Republic for foreigners and is, in fact, the most profound way of legalization. The preceding statuses are obtaining a visa and a long-term residence permit.
Permanent residence is the final stage of emigration, because its presence guarantees a foreigner, for example, from Ukraine, the fullest scope of rights and freedoms.
The advantages provided by trvalý pobyt include:
- long-term validity - a residence permit is issued for a 10-year period with the possibility of re-issuing it for the same period;
- to obtain it, any period of legal stay in the country is counted;
- the ability to apply for status both in the Czech Republic and from outside the country;
- the right to free employment, use of public health systems, education, and so on;
- EU resident status, which gives the right not only to unimpeded movement, but also to reside in the European Union;
- the right to Czech citizenship.
Conditions for obtaining povolení k trvalému pobytu
To move to live in the Czech Republic for permanent residence, a foreigner must comply with a number of conditions established by Section IV of Law No. 326/1999 "On the Residence of Foreigners" (Zákon o pobytu cizinců na území České republiky).
So, the main condition is a long stay / residence in the Czech Republic for at least 5 years (§ 68 of the law). This period, as a rule, includes the period of stay in the country on long-term visas or long-term residence permits, which can be obtained for family reunification, training, employment, research, investment in the Czech economy, and so on.
In addition, the 5-year period of compulsory stay also includes:
- the period of residence of the person applying for refugee status and asylum seeker;
- period of residence on the basis of a temporary residence permit, including the procedure for considering the application;
- half of the period of residence in the Czech Republic on the basis of a student visa or student residence permit;
- half of the time taken to consider the issue of granting international protection, including appeal against the decision;
- the period of actual residence outside the republic, if the foreigner had to leave for an uninterrupted period not exceeding 6 consecutive months and 310 days in total (or 1 year in the presence of noteworthy circumstances), including undergoing treatment, training, and so on;
- the period of actual stay outside the Czech Republic on a business trip, if it does not exceed 560 days in aggregate and continuously for 10 months.
In addition to complying with the condition of the mandatory period of residence, the law imposes other requirements and conditions on Russians, Ukrainians and other foreigners from third countries. In particular, in order to obtain a long-term residence permit, a foreigner must prove:
- the availability of sufficient means of subsistence on the territory of the Chechen Republic, as well as the legitimacy of the sources of their receipt;
- no previous convictions and no serious wrongdoing;
- availability of sufficient communication skills and knowledge of the Czech language at a sufficient level.
In case of a positive decision, a foreigner who has received permanent residence status must submit his biometric data. To do this, he must be present at the competent authority at the time of the announcement of the decision on his issue. It is not possible to pass a biometric examination in all departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, at the moment the necessary equipment is available only in 21 offices throughout the country. The easiest way to do this is to go to Prague, where 5 such centers operate simultaneously.
The availability of sufficient means of subsistence must be proven not only for the applicant, but also for his family members.
Thus, § 71 of Law no. 326/1999 requires that the monthly foreigner should not be lower than the subsistence minimum and the highest amounts of standard housing costs established for the purpose of calculating the housing allowance. In addition, the presence of a place of permanent residence must also be proven, which is confirmed by documents on the right of ownership or the right to use the residential premises.
Subsequently, persons who have issued Trvalý pobyt are included in the register of insured persons of state health insurance, which imposes certain obligations on them to pay insurance premiums.
The main ways to get Trvalý pobyt
The answer to the question whether it is difficult to obtain permanent residence in the Czech Republic depends on the category to which the foreigner belongs. Thus, all the conditions described above, including the obligatory 5-year period of residence in the Czech Republic, are designed for general cases, in particular, provided for citizens of third countries.
But the law provides for a number of privileged categories, the period of compulsory residence for which can be reduced. Among these main categories of recipients are:
- family members of EU citizens - the period of compulsory stay in the Czech Republic is reduced to 2 years;
- holders of the EU Blue Card - the period of compulsory card ownership reduces the period to 2 years in the Czech Republic, with the cumulative ownership of the card in other EU countries for 5 years;
- foreigners with proven Czech origin (compatriots), as well as their spouses and children, have the right to permanent residence without observing the period of compulsory residence;
- the requirement for a compulsory period of residence is also canceled for asylum seekers who became spouses of Czechs before the filing of an asylum application, as well as for refugee children;
- international protection applicants in accordance with § 67 of Act no. 326/1999 - the period of stay after emigration is reduced to 4 years.
Procedure for obtaining permanent residence in the Czech Republic
Moving to the Czech Republic, as it has already become clear, does not at all permit permanent residence. To obtain it, you must live at least 5 years for various reasons. Taking this into account, the status registration algorithm will provide for:
- entering the country on the basis of a long-term visa;
- registration of a residence permit, employment, long-term residence in the specified status;
- personal filing of an application with the competent authorities;
- processing the request by the competent authorities, if necessary - returning the request for revision and elimination of deficiencies. The employee of the competent authority is obliged to instruct the applicant about the necessary changes and a reasonable time for their introduction;
- in case of a positive assessment - receiving from the competent authorities an invitation to the office to make a decision on the issuance of permanent residence and the delivery of biometric data. Such an invitation is sent by mail or agreed by telephone;
- biometric data must be submitted within 60 days, after which the foreigner is issued a permanent residence certificate, which is an identification document;
- after that, the competent services notify the Central State Insurance Company in order to include the new owner of permanent residence in the register of insured persons of general health insurance.
Where to apply for registration
For Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and other representatives of third countries, a unified procedure for applying for permanent residence has been established, which provides for contacting the territorial division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the address of their permanent registration, the Department of Asylum and Migration. The contacts and addresses of the divisions can be found here.
The application must be submitted and completed by the applicant personally, the submission of documents through a representative is not allowed.
Persons referred to in § 66 of Law No. 326/1999 and who are entitled to receive permanent residence without complying with the mandatory period of residence in the Czech Republic are also entitled to apply for permanent residence at the Czech Embassy, for example from Kazakhstan, Ukraine or Russia.
This right belongs to spouses of Czech asylum seekers, refugee children, former holders of Czech passports, Czechs by origin, and so on. In this case, a foreigner is issued a visa to enter the country, after which he must, within 3 days after such entry, arrive at the territorial division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to agree on further procedures.
A package of required documents
The main document for obtaining permanent permanent residence is an application. According to section 70 of Act no. 326/1999, it must comply with the statutory form and must contain:
- name, surname, all previous names and surnames, date and place of birth, country of origin, gender, nationality, marital status, profession, work experience, employer's address, last place of residence abroad and other similar personal data;
- personal data, citizenship, date and place of birth, and other personal data on the spouse;
- personal data, citizenship, date and place of birth, profession - in relation to parents;
- data on children, their place of residence, citizenship and occupation;
- information about brothers and sisters, if available.
The form of the document can be found below.
Together with the application, the applicant must submit a package of documents, including:
- 2 photos 35x45 mm of the established sample;
- a travel document, including a Russian passport, an identity card of an EU citizen, any other identification document that meets the requirements;
- documents demonstrating compliance with the length of stay in the Czech Republic - permanent long-term visa, long-term residence permit, employment contract, and so on;
- proof of the availability of funds for permanent residence after immigration, in particular, a document on the monthly income (in accordance with the government decree of the Czech Republic No. 409/2011, the subsistence minimum for an adult is 3.41 thousand kroons, in accordance with the government decree No. 407/2017, the maximum standard for housing costs in 2021 is 7.87 thousand kroons per person), which meets the requirements specified here;
- a police clearance document on the territory of the Czech Republic or another similar document of a foreign state;
- placement document (certificate of ownership of an apartment or the right to use it);
- an examination certificate of the knowledge of the Czech language at the proper level;
- other documents, at the request of the migration authorities.
In addition, in addition to obtaining permanent residence for children, you will need:
- birth certificate of a child;
- notarized consent of the second parent or guardian not residing in the Czech Republic.
At the same time, some of the above documents for children may not be required, for example, a police clearance certificate and a language proficiency certificate.
All documents are submitted in original with certified copies or apostille. They must be issued no later than 180 days before their submission, with the exception of official documents such as certificates of civil status, passports, and so on.
Processing time and administrative fee
The length of time to wait for a decision on granting permanent residence depends on the place of filing the application and the package of documents. So, if the application was submitted to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the territory of the Czech Republic, the period for considering the issue is no more than 2 months. If the place of submission of documents is the foreign embassy of the Czech Republic, the term is extended to 6 months. At the same time, if the applicant is given a period to eliminate defects or provide missing documents, the procedure for processing the request is suspended, which means that the period may be further extended.
When applying for and obtaining a residence permit certificate, the applicant must pay an administration fee.
For adult applicants, it is 1.5 thousand kroons when submitting an application and 1,000 kroons for issuing a certificate. For children, the fee is 700 and 300 CZK respectively.
Why can they refuse
The legislator does not rule out that the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs may refuse to issue a residence permit. According to § 75 of Act No. 326/1999, the reasons for such a refusal are:
- provision of altered, forged or distorted information and forged documents;
- applying for family reunification if the foreigner already lives in the Czech Republic with another spouse;
- the fact that a foreigner has been convicted of crimes on the territory of the Czech Republic or another country of his residence;
- lack of documents confirming the existence of legal sources of livelihood;
- making a decision on the undesirability of his stay in one of the EU countries in relation to a foreigner;
- non-compliance with medical requirements or other requirements for privileged categories of permanent residence recipients;
- failure to fulfill the purpose under which the last residence permit was issued to a foreigner before applying for permanent residence;
- a threat to the security of the state, the threat of undermining public order, a reasonable risk of such a threat, and so on.
In case of refusal, the decision on it will be sent by mail to the address indicated for contacts. The decision must necessarily indicate the reason for the refusal.
If the applicant considers it illegal, he has the right to appeal it within 15 days from the date of receipt of the decision by sending the appeal by mail or submitting it personally to the appropriate department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
If the objections are not taken into account by the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the decision is not changed, the documents must be submitted to the Commission for Foreigners, which makes the final decision on the complaint.
When can you get citizenship
After receiving a certificate of permanent residence in the Czech Republic, a foreigner has the right to apply for citizenship. To do this, he must live in the Czech Republic on the basis of a permanent residence permit:
- at least 3 years, if he is a citizen of another EU country;
- at least 5 years if he is a citizen of a third country;
- any time if the cumulative period of his residence on the basis of a long-term visa / residence permit / permanent residence is 10 years.
At the same time, a foreigner must also have a place of work and means of living, a place of such residence, have no criminal record, no tax customs debts.
In addition, a prerequisite is not only knowledge of the Czech language, but also of the cultural, geographical, historical and constitutional foundations of the Czech Republic. A plus for Russians is that since 2021, the need for a preliminary refusal of a Russian passport has disappeared. This allows you to retain Russian citizenship after receiving Czech, effectively becoming stateless.
Conclusion
Thus, Russians wishing to obtain Czech permanent residence should remember that:
- for its registration, provided that there are no benefits, they will need to live in the Czech Republic for at least 5 years;
- at the same time, a prerequisite will be the presence of a stable income, an official place of residence, knowledge of the language and compliance with other mandatory conditions;
- the registration procedure is carried out by the local department for migration at the office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the place of residence;
- after submitting the application, the applicant will have to wait no more than 60 days, after which he will be informed about the decision by phone or mail;
- if the decision turns out to be positive, he will have to submit biometric data, which will be stored on a chip in the certificate of permanent residence.
