Home EU Nationals and Their Family Members

EU Nationals and Their Family Members

If you are a citizen of the European Union, you have the right to move freely within the countries of the European Union. This means that you are allowed to come to the Czech Republic, live and work here without applying for any kind of residence permit. However, as an EU citizen, you can apply for the registration certificate or the permanent residence permit (and also state citizenship), through which you will obtain certain rights and the arrangement of some administrative issues (see below) will become easier. If you are a citizen of a Schengen Area country, you can travel to other Schengen Area countries without the need for border checks. All you need is your identity card or passport.

If you are a family member of an EU citizen and a national of a third country (neither the CR – first country, nor any EU country – second country) and you plan to stay in the CR for more than 90 days, you can apply for the temporary residence permit, followed by the permanent residence permit of an EU citizen’s family member.

European Union Citizens and their residence in the CR (registration certificate, permanent residence and state citizenship)

Registration Certificate

If you are a citizen of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland (or, under certain conditions, the United Kingdom) and you intend to stay in the CR for more than 3 months, you may (but do not have to) apply for the registration certificate. The registration certificate is valid for 10 years (for EU citizens) or 5 years (for some UK citizens). With the registration, you will get the personal identity number, the right to vote in elections to the municipal council and the European Parliament, and you will be able to prove the length of stay in the CR if you want to apply for permanent residence.

Permanent Residence Permit

The permanent residence permit is available for EU citizens and under certain conditions for citizens of the United Kingdom. Having a permanent residence permit is a condition for obtaining Czech citizenship. You can apply for the permanent residence permit after 5 years of continuous residence in the Czech Republic or after 2 years of continuous temporary residence in the Czech Republic if you have been a close family member of an EU citizen or Czech citizen for 1 out of the 2 years. With permanent residence you get access to public health insurance, you are entitled to social welfare benefits, you get free access to the labour market, you can run a business and you get the right to vote in elections to the municipal council and the European Parliament.

State Citizenship

Citizenship is not a legal entitlement; its granting is decided by the Ministry of the Interior. Comprehensive information on applying for Czech citizenship is available on the Public Administration Portal.

Family members of EU citizens and their residence in the CR (temporary and permanent residence)

Who is considered a family member of an EU citizen?

We distinguish between close and distant family members of EU citizens.

A close family member of an EU citizen is:

  • a spouse,
  • a same-sex registered partner,
  • a parent who is the primary carer of an EU citizen under 21 years of age,
  • an EU citizen’s descendant (a child, grandchild) who is under 21 years of age,
  • a descendant of an EU citizen’s spouse who is under 21 years of age,
  • an EU citizen’s descendant or ancestor (a parent, parent-in-law) who is or immediately before his/her arrival in the Czech Republic was dependent on the support or primary care (satisfaction of essential needs) of an EU citizen,
  • an descendant or ancestor of an EU citizen’s spouse who is or immediately before his/her arrival in the Czech Republic was dependent on the support or primary care (satisfaction of essential needs) of an EU citizen.

A distant family member of an EU national is:

  • a partner (if he or she can prove a long-term partnership)
  • another relative (e.g. a sibling, cousin, aunt or uncle), who:
    – is supported by the EU citizen in their country of origin, or
    – is a member of the EU citizen’s household in their country of origin, or
    – requires personal care of the EU citizen due to serious medical reasons.

Temporary residence permit of an EU citizen’s family member

The temporary residence permit is available for third-country nationals who are family members of citizens of the EU, Norway, Lichtenstein, Iceland, Switzerland or the Czech Republic and, under certain conditions, the United Kingdom. This permit allows a stay in the Czech Republic of more than 90 days and is issued for the length of the EU citizen’s expected stay, but not more than 5 years. You must reside in the Czech Republic with the EU citizen for the duration of the permit.

With this permit, you have free access to the labour market and you can start working once you have an application pending (all you need is your visa sticker in your passport). The permit also allows you to leave the Czech Republic repeatedly, to travel without a visa in the Schengen Area and to obtain a personal identity number if you do not have one yet.

Permanent residence permit of an EU citizen’s family member

You can apply for permanent residence:

  • after 5 years of continuous residence in the Czech Republic or
  • after 2 years of continuous temporary residence, if you:
    • are a close family member of an EU citizen who has a permanent residence permit in the CR, or
    • have been a close family member of a Czech citizen with permanent residence in the CR for at least 1 year.

The permit is issued for 10 years and can be repeatedly extended for another 10 years. For family members of citizens of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the age of 15, the card is valid for 5 years.

With this permit, you have access to public health insurance, you are entitled to social welfare benefits, you get free access to the labour market and you can run a business.

If you are a third-country national, you can apply for the status of a long-term resident in the EU when applying for permanent residence.
For more information about EU citizens and their family members, visit the official Information Portal for Foreigners. This is where you can also find information on the different types of visas and residence permits together with all necessary forms.

Obligations of EU citizens and their family members

Reporting your presence in the CR

If you plan to stay in the Czech Republic for more than 30 days, you are obliged to report your presence to the Foreign Police within 30 days from your arrival in the Czech Republic. However, this obligation does not apply to you if your presence is reported by your accommodation provider such as a hotel or a hostel and if you are under 15 years of age. If you are a family member of an EU citizen who does not reside in the Czech Republic, you must notify your presence within 3 working days.

Providing information on data changes

It is important that you provide information on any change in your personal data during your whole stay, such as a change of name, surname, personal status (e.g. married or divorced) or a change of a travel document. These changes must be reported within 15 working days. If your address changes and you plan to stay at the new address for more than 180 days, you must notify this change within 30 working days.

Returning your residence document

If your residence in the Czech Republic is about to end, you must hand in your residence document no later than 3 days before your departure. If your residence document gets lost, stolen or damaged, you must report it within 3 working days. If your travel document gets lost or stolen, you must immediately report it to the police.

For more information about your obligations, visit the Information Portal for Foreigners run by the Czech Ministry of the Interior.

European Union

The European Union (EU) is a group of 27 countries in Europe that have decided to cooperate in order to make people’s lives better, easier and safer. These countries work together in various areas such as trade, travel and security and approach issues affecting all residents together. The Czech Republic joined the EU on 1st May 2024.

European Union member countries are:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden

Schengen Area

The European Union has created a space called the Schengen Area, which allows people to move between member states without passport controls. Anyone regardless of their nationality is free to travel between Schengen countries without having to go through border controls. However, national authorities can carry out police checks at internal borders and in border areas.

List of Schengen countries:

EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The Schengen Area also includes non-EU countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen Area on 31st March 2024. Ireland and Cyprus are not members of the Schengen Area.

For more information about the European Union and the Schengen Area, visit the official website of the European Union./box-ok]