How to Get Visa

Unfortunately, the length of the process may vary depending on the country where you apply for the visa. We want to help our students to have a realistic idea of the actual visa process timeline and include this information in considering the application deadlines.   Each country's institutions may also take different amount of time to issue the required documents. 

WHAT TO CONSIDER FOR REALISTIC TIME ESTIMATE:

• Collecting the application documents - read the list below carefully. Each country's institutions may also take different amount of time to issue the required documents. You will have to obtain documents from your previous schools, criminal records, etc., which may take several weeks. Add time if you have lived in multiple countries and will need to get criminal records from there as well.
• Authentication and translation of the application documents - Add time to have the documents properly translated and authenticated (with Apostille or superlegalization). Specifically, the superlegalization may take weeks to obtain.
• Getting an embassy appointment - This depends greatly on how busy the embassy is and how many embassies there are in your country. Please be aware that for some embassies, the waiting time for the appointment can stretch for several weeks, or even longer. 
• Evaluation period - The official evaluation period is 60 days; however, it may take up to 10 weeks for you to receive the decision. 

FSV tip: Most of our students end up going through the process smoothly and arrive in Prague on time. Don't be intimidated by the process! Our guide will help you be as prepared as possible.

Since processing time can be lengthy, make sure you apply sufficiently in advance!

All students from non-EU or non-EFTA countries who wish to stay in Czechia for more than 90 days will continue to need a student visa/residence permit.
This includes students from EU candidate countries, and from countries whose citizens do not need a visa in order to enter Czechia as a tourist (e.g. the USA). In most cases, it will also include foreign nationals who are currently resident in another EU country.

FSV tip: Read up on the process. Start collecting your documents as soon as you can, so when you get your Application appointment, everything is ready and properly translated and authenticated. We recommend using the time before our University issued documents (Acceptance letter and Accommodation contract) to collect all the other documents and preparing your application, so that you can submit it as soon as the University documents arrive! (See step 5 for overview of what you need)

There are two possible types of visa students may obtain:

• a Long-term Visa (Long-stay Visa for the Purpose of Study; "Dlouhodobé vízum za účelem studia") valid initially for maximum 1 year
• a Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Study ("Povolení k dlouhodobému pobytu za účelem studia"), which is valid initially for 1 year. The applicant gets an entry visa to travel to CZE in order to pick up a biometric residency card.

Both the long-term visa and the long-term residence permit are issued when the stay on the territory of Czechia is expected to exceed 3 months. 

In general, the long-term visa is primarily intended for persons who expect to stay in Czechia for several months – for example, study program lasting several months etc. A long-term residence permit is primarily intended for persons who expect a longer stay in Czechia – for example, a study in a university program, employment etc. Both options allow movement within Schengen area.

After expiration, Residence Permit is simply extended. Long-term Visa cannot be extended from within Czechia and students have to apply for the residence permit to follow up. 

FSV tip: We recommend applying for the Residence Permit, if possible, as it generates fewer obligations after arrival (read in Step 8) and it is better suited for stays longer than a year. It is also much easier to extend.

Applications must be submitted to the Czech Embassy or Consulate in the student's country of origin (or a nearby country) before their departure for Prague.
Not all the Consulates can issue a visa. Please make sure that you choose the Consulate that can, before you apply.

Overview of Member States' diplomatic missions and consular posts responsible for processing visa applications and representation arrangements: 

List of consular presence and representation

NOTE: It is not possible to apply for a visa/residence permit on the territory of Czechia, or even to pick up a visa/residence permit you have previously applied for.
The Faculty of Social Sciences cannot and will not register students from non-EU/non-EFTA countries who do not have a student visa/residence permit, even if they are able to enter the country without a visa as a tourist.

Read the website of your specific Consulate to find out how to set an appointment. During the appointment, you will submit your application. Therefore, make sure to have all your documents collected and ready when your appointment time comes.

Some countries enable the applicants to be entered in a „Student mode“, which should speed up the process and prioritize the student’s appointment. You can find out if your country allows this here. If yes, email us at degreeprograms@fsv.cuni.cz and we will enter you in the student mode. 

What you will need to apply for a student visa or residence permit:

Note: All documents (with the exception of travel documents, registry data, and photographs) must be no more than 180 days old, and all foreign-language documents must be translated into Czech and the translation notarized. 

• Completed Application Form. Forms are available at every Czech embassy/consulate, and in pdf on the websites of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs: long-stay visa, residence permit
• A valid travel document, generally your passport, with the date of expiry extending at least three months beyond the date of your projected departure from Czechia
• A document confirming the purpose of your stay in Czechia (Letter of acceptance supplied by the Faculty of Social Sciences)
• A document containing the specific address where you will be living in Czechia (supplied by the Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Evidence of financial support. For further details, please visit the Ministry of the Interior website.
• Evidence of health insurance - read more about health insurance here. In most cases, the consulate will not require health insurance to be finalised at the time of your initial visa/residence permit application, but they will insist you have valid insurance before they affix the visa/residence permit in your passport. The following documents will be required: insurance agreement, including details of the insurance that has been arranged (either as part of the basic insurance agreement, or as a separate document), plus proof that the insurance has been paid (your receipt).  All insurance documents must be in Czech or accompanied by a Czech translation.
• 2 passport photographs
• A confirmation from the authorities in your home country that you do not have a criminal record, including a Czech translation. In addition, if you have resided in a third country for a continuous period of more than six months at any time within the last three years, you will also be required to provide evidence regarding your lack of a criminal record from this third country.
   

FSV tip: We will send the University issued documents to the delivery address used in your application. Make sure it's correct - if it's not, email us the right address at degreeprograms@fsv.cuni.cz

Read more about health insurance here.

After 60-90 days, you should receive the decision and be asked to pick up your visa at the Consulate where you applied. In case there is any issue or discrepancy in your visa, you will be asked to mend it.

After you arrive, your next steps depend on your type of visa

• LONG-TERM STUDY VISA
  You are legally obliged to register with the Prague office of the Czech Immigration Police within 3 days of your arrival.
  If you are staying in the CUNI dorms, you don’t have to register yourselves; the dormitory office will do it for you.
  Here's more information about the Foreign Police.
   
• RESIDENCE PERMIT
  You have 30 days to register your arrival - you don't have to go to the Foreign Police and you can do this as a part of the MOI meeting (see below).

RESIDENCE PERMIT ONLY: GO TO THE MOI AND ARRANGE FOR YOUR BIOMETRIC ID CARD

If a long-term residence permit is granted, students will have to register for residence cards detailing their residency status and carrying biometric data (face depiction and fingerprints). Students will have to
1) set an appointment at one of the branches of the Ministry of the Interior within thirty days of arrival
Note: The appointment itself must take place in 30 days after arrival (not just the appointment request). Therefore, please set the appoinment ASAP when you come in Prague. The waiting time can get long.  
2) provide biometric data at MOI
3) when the card is ready for pick up, you will be asked to come to collect it.
There is a fee for issuing the residency card. You can read more about the fee and the biometric data here.

The validity of the long-term residence permit can be repeatedly extended, by max. 2 years per one extension.

MOI OPENING HOURS

On this website (tab MOI offices), you can find the available MOI offices in Prague including their opening hours. 

Prior telephone reservation is necessary in order to get an appointment (+420 974 820 680). You can also email to pobyty.hladkov@mvcr.cz.

NOTE: Do not forget to collect your residence card within the 60 day window. If you leave Czechia again without collecting the card, you will not be allowed re-entry and will have to apply for new visa.

All the important information regarding visas, residency and legal obligations of foreigners in the Czech Republic can be found on the official web portal of The Czech Ministry of the Interior. The portal provides information about how to extend a residence, report changes, it allows to book an appointment at the Ministry of the Interior and has special “Forms and Documents” section with the printable version of various documents. 

The MOI portal's official Facebook also posts news and useful information for foreigners living in Czechia.