Legal Matters in the Czech Republic? 9 Topics Covered by the Attorney at Law

What all of us wish for when relocating to a new country is to complete the process fast, with the lowest level of stress possible, faultlessly and naturally, according to the law. Then, what if we want to get married or get the citizenship? We talked to Eliška Flídrová, the professional lawyer from ExpatLegal company that provides legal advisory for expats in the Czech Republic and asked her several questions which could be both future foreign newcomers as well as current Czech expats seeking the answers for.

eliska-flidrova expat legal
Eliška Flídrová is an attorney at law registered within the Czech Bar Association.

1. As a foreigner from a non-EU country, what do I need before coming to the Czech Republic and intending to stay?

Czech visas are based on a purpose (i.e. study, work, business) and you are obliged to prove this purpose to the authorities. So depending on your plans, you need to apply for the particular type of visa and in case of work, you need to apply for the so-called employee card that combines both residence and work permit. Some nationals* have free entry to Schengen countries, where they can stay for 90 days within 180 days but only for tourist purposes. In case you want to study, work or do business, you need to have a visa (or employee card) right away.

2. I want to start a business. Will that grant me automatically a visa?

No. In order to obtain a business visa, it is not enough to start a company or obtain a trade licence. It is necessary to prove either that the company has already some history (turnover etc.) or that you have a solid business plan, pre-contracts, and financing.

3. I am an EU citizen. Are there any restrictions?

As an EU citizen, you can freely live, study and work in the Czech Republic. However, as a foreigner, you have to provide the Czech Foreign police with the details on your address. As an EU citizen, you can (you are not obliged to) apply for a residence permit – this can be useful in some situations, such as in negotiations with banks (loans, mortgages) as banks usually require some proof of residence in the country. Also in case you might think of applying for Czech citizenship, a permanent residence permit is a must.

law citizens from non EU countries
Some nationals of non-EU countries have free entry to Schengen countries, where they can stay within 180 days.

4. How do I get the citizenship?

In order to ask for the citizenship certain conditions must be fulfilled – the most important one is to hold Czech permanent residence permit (which you can get usually after 5 years of stay). In most common cases you need to have a permanent residence permit for 5 years in order to apply for the Czech citizenship, but some exceptions may apply.

Also, you need to pass a Czech language and background exam – we recommend to do this as a first step. After that, you will need to collect a couple of documents from the country of your origin – namely birth certificate, marriage certificate and a fresh criminal records extract (not older than 6 months as of the date of filing of your citizenship application). All foreign documents must be apostilled or superlegalized (depending on the country of origin) and translated into Czech. On the day of filing of your application, you will also need to provide confirmations from the Tax Office, Customs Authority, Social Security Office and Public health insurance company that are not older than 30 days and that confirm that you don’t have any debts towards these authorities. Also, you should prepare your work agreements (for the whole time you live in CZ) and current confirmation of income that your employer should issue you. In case you study or studied in the past in the Czech Republic, also confirmation of study and diploma. The clerk will require your CV and motivation letter as well.

5. How do I start the company?

The most common type of company is a limited liability company. You can either establish a brand new one or buy an existing business. If you want to establish a company, the first step is to contact a notary public who will draft a founding deed. After that, you will need to provide a seat address, arrange trade licenses and bank account for the company. Also, you will need to provide the notary with a fresh criminal records extract of all directors from the country of their origin, which needs to be apostilled or superlegalized (depending on the country you come from) and translated into Czech. After all the necessary steps are fulfilled, the notary will register your company at the commercial register and you can start your activities.

6. I am buying a flat. What is the standard procedure?

There will be a set of contracts that you will have to sign. First is usually a reservation contract, or sometimes future purchase contract, that should give you enough time to arrange financing of the purchase. Other sets of contracts will be required by your bank (a pledge and a loan agreement). As a third step you will sign a purchase contract and in some cases also escrow agreement (with a notary, attorney-at-law or a bank), based on which your money will be secured with the escrow agent until the moment the ownership is transferred to you. After you sign the purchase contract, a request is filled with a cadastral office that will transfer the ownership.

 

Cyrilska foreigners apartments
A bit of law advice may come in handy when buying a property.

7. I am getting married/divorced?

Once you find a place where you want to hold the ceremony, you should go to the local registrar office and register date of your wedding. If you are a foreigner, you will need to provide the registrar authority with documents from the country of your origin, such as your birth certificate, confirmation that you are not married and confirmation that according to the laws of your country you are legally competent to enter into marriage (this documents must not be older than 6 months as of the date of the marriage). You will also need to show your passport. Further, you will have to submit a certificate issued by the Czech Foreign Police that you may legally stay in the Czech Republic, whereas this certificate must not be older than 7 business days as of the date of the marriage.

In case you have been living in the Czech Republic and are seeking a divorce it is necessary to first consider whether the jurisdiction lies within the Czech Court. In order to decide it, it is necessary to check the relevant bilateral agreements, EU Regulation and the Czech Act on Private International Law. Please note that the jurisdiction might in some cases be different for the divorce, split of the common assets and also different for the custody of your children and maintenance. Once the jurisdiction is determined the next question is the governing law, which also can be found in several documents. When above-mentioned questions are answered and the answer on everything is Czech Court and Czech law the procedure of the divorce is quite easy and if the agreement between parties is possible doesn’t have to be expensive at all. The procedure for spouses without children takes usually around 6 months depending on the Court. When children are involved it can take the double time.

8. What rights do I have as a parent?

The Czech law grants exactly the same right to the mother and father, they both have parental responsibility, which is acquired by birth of the child. It means among others that both parents have the right to see the child and decide about the important things (education, medical issues etc.) in their life. Of course, parental responsibility also includes the obligations the parent has to care for the child and ensure their right maintenance. In case of the separation of unmarried parents no Court decision is required if the agreement (not necessarily written) between the parents work. In case of married parents before the decision on the divorce, the decision on the custody is required. The Czech law enables the shared custody (half of the time with each parent) or sole custody with visiting rights of the other parent. If some of the agreements between the parents doesn’t work, the Court might determine the custody as well as the maintenance.

Czech law parents rights
By the Czech law, both mother and father have parental responsibility.

9. What will happen to my assets after I die?

If your last habitual residency was in the Czech Republic your inheritance will proceed in here. The procedure is started automatically by the law, the Registrar Office notifies the Court of the last habitual residency and the Court starts the procedure and appoints the notary who will take all the steps in it. Before death you can opt for the last will where you will determine all your heirs, please remember that the Czech law doesn’t enable to exclude children completely unless special conditions are fulfilled.  In case there is no last will the legal inheritance line will apply, generally speaking, we can say that firstly the spouse and the children are heirs and it follows by other family members. There is no special inheritance tax but the notarial fees will apply in all cases.

*Nationals of following countries are exempt from the obligation to apply for short term (less than 90 days) tourist visa: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Macedonia, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Salvador, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, UAE, USA, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela; also Hong Kong and Macao and British citizens who are not nationals of the United Kingdom (British Nationals (Overseas): British Nationals (Overseas), British Overseas Territories Citizens, British Overseas Citizens, British Protected Persons, British Subjects

Please, note that the information provided in this article is of a general nature. Each case must be treated individually with regard to your particular situation. If you would like to discuss your case in detail do not hesitate to contact ExpatLegal at info@expatlegal.cz.

For further general information about immigration see the Ministry of Interior website. For further information about the general civil law see mainly the Czech Civil Code.

Heading to the Czech Republic? Check out services for expats!

Lucie Patkova

Hello, our dear blog readers! Since I am passionate about sharing interesting and important information, it's my pleasure to keep you updated what's going on in the Czech Republic so you feel at home here ;-)

14 thoughts on “Legal Matters in the Czech Republic? 9 Topics Covered by the Attorney at Law

  1. Hello ,
    If i bought a home in Czech republic , during my stay as expat , Then i left company i work for and i left the country and my resident card is no longer active.
    How can i enter the Czech republic again to follow up my home in general if i rent it ?

  2. Hi I am living in Czech republic since 2007 and I am married to a Czech women and have 4 kids and I have the permanent residence all along, I been paying taxes since then and I have my own company and trade license, I pay social, medical all of that never took anything from the state and I have clean criminal record and no debts, can I apply for czech citizenship ??

  3. Hello, I am a permanent resident since 2003, I am Peruvian and my husband is Czech. We separated in 2015, if getting divorced will bring me any troubles? My husband doesn’t care about his legal situation but I am worried that if he has any debt my bank account will be emptied. Exist a legal document signed by both of us that will protect me from such a situation?

  4. Hi,
    I’m from the Netherlands (and thus an EU-citizen) and my wife is Ukrainian. I work and live in the Czech Republic (since a couple of weeks). I would like to know if my wife (who does not have the EU-citizenship status) is entitled to live in the Czech Republic without a visa. And also if she is entitled to get a job based on the fact that she is my wife. At this time my wife is applying for a work visa permit but this is taking a very long time.
    We are planning to buy a house, and would need to decide quickly if we want it, but we would like to make certain she is able to stay (and work) in the Czech Republic being my wife.
    Thanks!

  5. Hello foreigners,
    am married to czech man for now 4 years . when i got married to him , he had a loan with a local bank. at time he disappears(out of the country) and he uses all his money without paying his loan . the bank keeps on calling me but i dont not understand why can you please enlighten me on this . because am not ready to pay any of the money he is misusing out there

    1. Hello Rachel,

      we’re very sorry to hear you got in this situation. If you have any questions regarding your position in this, please do not hesitate to write at info@foreigners.cz and my colleagues will get back to you as soon as possible.

      Kind regards,
      Karina.

  6. hi 👋

    I am working as massage therapist here in czech but due to covid were unable to work. thus the government giving 80% of salary is it taxable ? are my employer have the right to deduct certain amount to pay for the tax and social is that legal ??

    1. Hi Ana,

      I looked it up and read a few articles on this topic, but unfortunately, nobody actually mentioned anything about taxation. I recommend contacting either your employer or someone from this site, they specialize in legal issues. Hope this helps 🙂

      Good luck and take care!

  7. Hi! mam,

    I am from philippines but I was married here in Czech republic,I just want toask about something in notary,my husband died but there is no will, according to a will my husband in heritance is for me and for my he is 4 years old,half and half ,and then the notary says since my child is not 18 years old yet he needs a guardian why ? he needs a guardian if I am here as a mother and shoud be the Son’s guardian is my Sister in law

    1. Hi Joan,
      My apologies – this sounds like something you should consult a lawyer about. But you can try emailing our immigration specialists at info@foreigners.cz, maybe they’ll have some experiences with these kinds of cases.

      Best of luck and I am so sorry for your loss.

      Tereza

Leave a Reply to Karyna Babkova Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *