Changes concerning family members of persons entitled to free movement within the Schengen area
Currently, if you are a family member of a citizen of the European Union, as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, and reside in the territory of these states, you are entitled to free movement within the single Schengen area. If you, residing in the Czech Republic, are a citizen of a country whose residents require a visa to visit the European Union, you need to obtain a national or uniform Schengen visa. However, if you are accompanying a citizen of an EU country on a trip, the Schengen visa is issued to you free of charge, without travel insurance, and you also have the right to appeal in case of a negative decision on visa issuance.
After the Czech Republic joins Schengen, persons holding a residence permit in the Czech Republic (povoleni k pobytu) will not need visas to travel within the treaty countries. The time spent in the territory of other Schengen Agreement countries must not exceed three months within a six-month period from the first departure from the Czech Republic.
Who may be affected by the launch of the Schengen Information System (SIS) in the Czech Republic
Since September 1 of this year, the Czech Republic has been working with the common database of Schengen Agreement countries. This means that a person who has been entered into this database in any other Schengen country may be refused a visa or entry into the Czech Republic. Refusal to grant or extend a residence permit due to your entry in the database will not be automatic. The application may be granted if it is in the interests of the Czech Republic or due to the fulfillment of international obligations. The Czech police will coordinate the issuance of such a permit with the Schengen country that entered you into the database and will also consider the reasons why this was done.
If you are a citizen of a third country that requires a visa for movement within the Schengen area, and you do not have a valid residence permit or permission to reside in one of the Schengen countries, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, then after the Czech Republic joins the Schengen group, you will need a visa to enter the Czech Republic.
Changes for third-country nationals
The Czech Republic's accession to the Schengen zone will bring a number of changes for third-country nationals arriving in the Czech Republic or traveling to the Czech Republic.
The most important innovation – the abolition of controls at the Czech Republic's borders with neighboring states – will affect all persons crossing these borders, including third-country nationals. Border control will remain only at airports for departures/arrivals to/from countries not in the Schengen zone. The requirements for entry/exit into the Czech Republic will practically not change. A valid passport will be required; a valid visa (if a third-country national needs one to enter the Czech Republic and other Schengen Agreement states); documents confirming the purpose of the trip, including health insurance; sufficient funds, etc.
The main changes are related to uniform Schengen visas and the Schengen Information System. The changes related to the Czech Republic's accession to the Schengen zone for third-country nationals will take place in several stages.
1. The first changes – this is a rule already in effect since September 2006, according to which third-country nationals who have a visa to an EU country can now stay in the Czech Republic without a Czech visa for a few days, but no more than 5 days. Staying in the Czech Republic longer than this period is allowed only to holders of Schengen visas or residence permits in an EU country (except the United Kingdom and Ireland), Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.
2. Significant changes concerning all third-country nationals crossing the borders of the Czech Republic came into effect in September 2007. During border control, including ordinary police checks inside the country, the Schengen Information System is now used. Police officers carrying out checks using this system will find out whether a person is in the common database, and if found, they may be refused entry into the country. Entry into the SIS will not automatically mean refusal of entry into the country for family members of EU citizens. Entry may only be prohibited on grounds of public order or public security – if their personal behavior at that moment poses a threat to society.
3. The last package of changes is directly related to the date when the Czech Republic joins the Schengen Agreement countries. At the end of December, the transfer of data from Czech archives to the common SIS database in Strasbourg, activated in September 2007, will be completed. Thus, third-country nationals who have been placed on the Czech blacklist may be refused a visa by any other Schengen country.
From December 31, 2007, third-country nationals will be able to come and live in the Czech Republic with a uniform Schengen visa issued by another Schengen Agreement state. If a visa is not required or the person holds a valid residence permit in a Schengen country, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, they will be able to stay in the Czech Republic for a maximum of three months within a six-month period starting from the day of arrival.
It will be possible to come to the Czech Republic with a uniform Schengen visa. The Czech state visa will cease to be a mandatory condition for staying in this republic.
Third-country nationals who do not require a visa to visit the Czech Republic
Third-country nationals who do not require a visa to visit the Schengen Agreement countries will be able to come to the Czech Republic and stay there for no more than three months within a six-month period from the day of crossing the border. If staying in the Czech Republic for more than three months, third-country nationals need to obtain a national Czech visa or residence permit.
Third-country nationals holding a Czech national visa
Czech short-term and long-term visas issued before December 31, 2007 will remain valid even after the Czech Republic joins the Schengen zone. Their validity period will not change, but they will not grant their holders the right to freely cross borders, as they only apply to the territory of the Czech Republic.
After the Czech Republic joins the Schengen zone, you will be able to apply for an extension of your Czech visa. If the decision is favorable, a Schengen-type visa may be issued.
For a standard Schengen visa, permitting a stay of up to three months (within a six-month period from the date of first crossing the external borders of the Schengen states), you may apply at any diplomatic mission of the Czech Republic, provided that the Czech Republic is the sole or main destination of your visit or the first point of entry into the Schengen area. If, after the Czech Republic joins the Schengen zone, you are issued a long-term Schengen visa type D+C on its territory, you will have the right to visit other Schengen states, as well as Switzerland and Liechtenstein, for a maximum period of three months from the date the visa becomes valid.
With a long-term Schengen visa type D issued by the Czech Republic, you may stay in the territory of other Schengen states, as with a transit visa, but only for five days and only when traveling to the Czech Republic.
If you hold a Czech visa and wish to travel to any other Schengen state, as of December 31, 2007, you will need a Schengen visa for that purpose. The same rule will apply to transit through the Czech Republic: travel, for example, by train through Poland or Slovakia on the basis of a Czech national visa will become impossible. As of December 31, entry into the Czech Republic on the basis of a Czech national visa will only be possible by air.
Third-country nationals holding a residence permit in the Czech Republic
After the Czech Republic joins Schengen, holders of Czech residence permits will receive the same rights as other foreigners permanently or temporarily residing in Schengen states. What does this mean in practice? If currently you need either a Schengen or a national visa (for countries not in the Schengen area) to travel to most European countries, after December 31, 2007, you will be able to move freely within the territory of Schengen states, as well as Switzerland and Liechtenstein, on the basis of a valid residence permit issued by the Czech Republic. The authority responsible for issuing residence permits in the Czech Republic will remain the Foreign Police. The conditions for issuing and extending residence permits will remain unchanged. The only new factor that will be considered when deciding on the issuance of a residence permit will be data from the Schengen Information System.
Information about a foreigner stored in SIS has, since September 1, been one of the grounds for refusing a residence permit application. This may also serve as a basis for refusing an extension or even revoking a residence permit.
SIS will also be used during routine police checks. If such a check reveals that information about you has been entered into the system by another Schengen state (e.g., visa refusal, arrest, deportation, etc.), this may serve as a basis for your expulsion from the country and the Schengen area as a whole.
Third-country nationals holding a uniform Schengen visa
Holders of a standard Schengen visa issued by another Schengen state (a so-called short-term visa for a stay of up to three months within a six-month period from the date of crossing the Schengen border) may freely travel within the territory of other Schengen states. As of December 31, 2007, the Czech Republic will join them.
The competent authorities of the Czech Republic may extend the validity of a Schengen visa issued by another state. They also have the right to shorten the validity of such visas (for example, due to a lack of sufficient financial means for the stay in the Czech Republic) or even cancel visas if the holder no longer meets the conditions under which the visa was issued.
Information for third-country nationals intending to visit the Czech Republic
Third-country nationals wishing to visit the Czech Republic may apply to any diplomatic mission of the Czech Republic for a Schengen visa. Upon receiving such a visa, they may travel freely within the entire territory of the Schengen states for up to three months within a six-month period starting from the date of border crossing. To obtain a Schengen visa from the Czech Republic, you must meet the following requirements:
* Information about you is not stored in the Schengen Information System.
* You do not pose a threat to state security.
* The Czech Republic is the main purpose of your trip or is the first Schengen state you will visit.
* You have a valid passport.
* You submit all necessary documents confirming the purpose of your trip to the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic may still issue a visa even if some of the above conditions are not met. In such a case, it may be a Czech national visa valid only for visiting the Czech Republic (however, other Schengen states will be informed of its issuance).
With the Czech Republic's entry into the Schengen zone and the transition to a uniform visa policy, visa fees will also change: they will be unified at €60. This change will not affect citizens of Russia and Ukraine, with whom the EU has signed a special agreement, based on which the visa fee for Russians and Ukrainians is set at €35.