Tourist in the center of Prague
As Radio Prague reports, part of the information about visitors must be sent to the relevant authorities exclusively electronically, and the document must be accompanied by an electronic signature. The owner of the hotel establishment purchases the equipment necessary to meet the requirements of the law at their own expense.
Owners of hotels and boarding houses, as well as administrators of holiday homes and sanatoriums where foreign citizens stay, have until the end of January next year to master all the nuances of the new rules. Until then, they will not face any fines. The new rules allow obtaining more information about foreigners, which, in light of current events in the world, will help ensure security in the country.
Administrators, however, have more worries. Here is what Pavel Matejka, manager of the popular ski hotel "Green House" in the town of Boží Dar, says: "I had to get an electronic signature and learn the rules for filling out forms. An ordinary person needs to spend 2-3 hours on this. In my opinion, the guest should fill out the hotel registration card. The police for foreign affairs require the data to be written clearly and legibly, and I cannot make the guest redo everything several times due to mistakes. Moreover, although I send the information through the electronic system, I still need to print the form and keep it for 6 years. I find this strange."
The electronic method of submitting information is mandatory for all entrepreneurs whose main activity is providing hotel services. Administrators must now record not only the address of the foreigner's place of residence, but also fill in the form fields regarding the visa received and indicate the purpose of the visit. The innovations most seriously affect the registration of tourist groups.
"There is an additional requirement regarding the place of permanent residence registration of the guest, as well as the purpose of the visit to the Czech Republic. This point adds worries for hotel owners, as the system offers several options at once. The process has become somewhat more complicated and therefore takes longer. The problem is that as a result of the implementation of the legislative amendment, we cannot fully use the automatic electronic reading device for passports. Some data required by law is not contained in the passport code," comments Vaclav Starek, president of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants.
The amendment to the Law on the Stay of Foreigners affects 2,000 boarding houses and 2,500 hotels scattered across different regions of the Czech Republic. For example, the largest Czech hotel will have to process up to 300,000 registration cards per year.