Granting Citizenship of the Czech Republic

Foreign nationals permanently residing in CZ or stateless persons permanently residing in CZ can apply for Czech citizenship.

The Ministry of the Interior (MI) may only grant Czech citizenship to an applicant satisfying all the following conditions:

The applicant:

• has been in lawful permanent residence in the Czech Republic for a period of at least five years and his/her residence has been more or less continuous
• submits the required registry documents
• has not been convicted of any wilful criminal offence within the last five years
• can prove their knowledge of the Czech language in an interview with the relevant authority (this does not apply to an applicant from the Slovak Republic)
• meets all obligations arising from the provisions of a special legal regulation governing entry into and residence in the Czech Republic  as well as obligations resulting from special provisions regulating public health insurance, social security, pension insurance, taxation, and other mandatory fees.
• can prove that by being granted citizenship of the Czech Republic they will lose their current citizenship or can prove that they have lost their current citizenship
  • This does not apply to a stateless person or a recognised refugee; a document proving loss of citizenship is obtained after the Ministry of the Interior issues the applicant with a so-called “promise to grant Czech citizenship“

The Ministry of the Interior may waive the above conditions of application for the issue of Czech citizenship for reasons stipulated by the relevant act of law.

• Applicant for citizenship of the Czech Republic

Upon submitting the application at the corresponding office according to the permanent residency status of the applicant, the office will complete a questionnaire with the applicant and verify his knowledge of Czech language in an interview. Then it will send the Czech Citizenship Application together with its statement and other documents to the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. The office will send all these documents via foreign policy, which will also attach its statement.

Note: A husband and wife can send a joint application. Parents, or one of them, can include one child younger than 18 in their application. A child younger than 18 can receive citizenship individually (that is by submitting an independent application) by its legal representative. The following steps are the same as when parents submit an application that already includes a child.

Office of Prague district 10

Department of civil law, section of birth register, Czech citizenship and internal administration

Vršovická 68, 101 38 Prague 10

Authorised person: Ing. Michal Olša, DiS.
Phone 267 093 552
E-mail: MichalO@praha10.cz

Office C117

Office hours:

• Mon, Wed: 8 a.m. – 12 noon; 1 p.m. – 5.30 p.m.
• Thu: 8 a.m. – 12 noon

Applicant for citizenship of the Czech Republic:

• A written application in free form, which must clearly state:
  • who is submitting it
  • what the subject matter is
  • which authority it is intended for
  • brief justification
  • date and signature
• A completed Questionnaire in support of an application for Czech citizenship
  • original printed forms are available at the relevant authority
• Birth certificate
• Passport
• Permanent residence permit
• Document proving that by being granted Czech citizenship the applicant will lose their current citizenship, or a document proving loss of citizenship (obtained after the Ministry of the Interior issues a "promise to grant Czech citizenship")
• Curriculum Vitae
• If the applicant has entered into marriage:
  • marriage certificate
  • divorce certificate or death certificate of a former spouse if relevant

If the application includes a child, the following documents must be attached:

• Birth certificate of the child
• If the application is submitted by only one parent, consent of the other parent to the change of citizenship of the child

• Certificate proving that by being granted Czech citizenship the child will lose his/her current citizenship, a document proving loss of citizenship (obtained after the Ministry of the Interior issues a "promise to grant Czech citizenship")

If needed, the MI may require the applicant to submit other documents (e.g. contract of employment, statement from the Commercial Register, etc.)

Documents issued by foreign authorities must be accompanied by higher authentication (super legalization clause or apostille), unless an international agreement stipulates otherwise, and must be officially translated into Czech if they were issued in a foreign language (translation into Czech is not required for documents issued by authorities of the Slovak Republic).

Fees:

• A fee of 10,000 CZK is charged for the issue of a Certificate Granting Czech Citizenship
  • The number of persons stated on the certificate is not decisive
  • In specially justified cases, the MI may reduce the fee to a sum of 1, 000 CZK

The administrative fee is only paid if the application results in acquisition of Czech citizenship, the application itself is free of charge.

Time limits:

• The relevant authority will forward the application via the Foreign Police to the Ministry of the Interior within 30 days. The MI will make a decision within 90 days of its delivery

If a Certificate Granting Citizenship is issued, the relevant authority is obliged to invite the applicant to swear an Oath of Citizenship to the Czech Republic within 6 weeks.

• Platí se něco za nahlášení změny trvalého bydliště?
  Poplatek je 50 Kč, pro občana mladšího 15 let je změna zdarma.
• Můžu být přihlášen k trvalému pobytu na úřadě?
  Za určitých podmínek (např. pokud jste občan ČR, který se po delší době vrací ze zahraničí a trvalé bydliště zde hlášené nemáte, nebo pokud aktuálně obývaný objekt je neobyvatelný, případně pokud Vám zaniklo užívací právo atd.) je možné být k trvalému pobytu přihlášen na úřadu obce. Doporučujeme ale tuto skutečnost konzultovat s příslušným úřadem, či prostudovat zákon č. 133/2000 Sb., o evidenci obyvatel.
• Může za mě změnit trvalé bydliště někdo jiný?

  Viz příslušný návod.

• Může si občan mladší 15 let sám změnit trvalé bydliště?
  Ne, za občana mladšího 15 let situaci řeší jeho zákonný zástupce.
• Musím být vlastníkem nemovitosti, abych tam mohl mít trvalé bydliště?
  Stačí mít nájemní smlouvu nebo úředně ověřené potvrzení oprávněné osoby o souhlasu s ohlášením změny trvalého pobytu (potvrzení od majitele domu).