Police take control of foreigners staying in the private sector
The first thing a foreign tourist must do in a hotel is fill out a card with their name, date of birth, passport number, and sign it. After that, within three days, the hotel forwards this information to the foreign police, and also archives the paper card filled out by the foreigner, which will be kept for six years.
For example, if a large hotel in the center of Prague has 130 rooms, the number of guests per month is about 4,500, and information about each of them must be forwarded to the police. "The reason this is done is obvious – it's for security and registration of persons on the territory of the Czech Republic," says hotel manager Otakar John.
The foreign police, for their part, verify the information and, if necessary, carry out checks at the foreigner's place of residence. For example, a tourist from Spain reported losing his passport in his home country, but then found it and traveled to the Czech Republic with it. The police found the document number on the list of lost passports and then visited the hotel to see the Spanish guest. "We entered him in our house book, forwarded the data to the foreign police. On the second or third day, the police came to us to identify our guest," recounts Otakar John.
At the same time, according to the norms of Czech legislation published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it states: "A foreign citizen over 15 years of age must, within 3 days of entering the territory of the Czech Republic, notify the local foreign police department of his place of residence. For a foreigner staying in a hotel, this is done by the hotel management."
Information about foreigners who find accommodation, for example, through the online service Airbnb, do not register their stay, and the foreign police do not receive data on their whereabouts. "Only in Prague, about 8,000 rooms are rented out in the private sector per day, regarding which we have serious doubts that this rule is being followed," points out Vaclav Starek, president of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants.
Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, for his part, acknowledges that accommodation in the private sector has fallen outside police oversight: "There is a certain gap here. I have instructed the police to assess the situation," the minister emphasized.
At the same time, the foreign police point out that the obligation to report one's place of residence still lies with the foreigner himself. "From our point of view, this is considered as staying in private accommodation, regardless of whether it is paid for or not, and we expect the foreigner to fulfill the obligation to report his place of stay," said police spokesperson Colonel Katerina Rendlova.
At the same time, as Radio Prague notes, the requirement to report a place of residence does not apply to EU citizens and their family members.