Czech Republic Visa Information:

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Visa policies

The Czech Republic shares the principles of the migration and visa policies of the European Union and is currently finalizing its legal matters to match European Union law, so that the country can join the Schengen group.  

European Union

Since the Czech Republic entered the European Union in May 2004, domestic visa policies have been coordinated to match EU policies, which have been implemented since the mid-'80s.

The Czech Republic has not yet joined the Schengen cooperation, which represents closer cooperation within the juridical system and interior matters, resulting from agreements made in 1985 and 1990. The principal of this cooperation is to erase checkpoints on shared borders and provide sufficient security measures to prevent threats to the safety of cooperating states.

The European Commission estimated that the new member states will be able to remove border checkpoints in 2007, provided they can demonstrate their understanding and accept the regulations of Schengen agreements.

From January 2006, Czech citizens can enter EU countries with only a valid machine-readable national identification cards; a visa is not required. For traveling with children, it is recommended to use a passport. If residency exceeds 90 days, citizens must register at the foreign police within the state of residence, which will automatically issue a residency permit for five years.

Foreigners travelling to the Czech Republic may use a passport, diplomatic passport or any ID. This includes citizens of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein, which are members of the European economical area.

Non-visa requirements regarding other states

With some states, the Czech Republic maintains a shared non-visa requirement and with some, a one-way non-visa requirement.

The actual list of states and types of visa contacts is available on the web pages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Visa regulations for other states

Visa restrictions for Czech citizens for a large number of states complicate traveling, studying and to some extent business relations.