Official Recommendation for UK Citizens Residing in Czechia: Apply for Temporary Residence

In connection with the Brexit, The Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic advises the citizens of the United Kingdom to apply for Certificate of Temporary Residence.

If all goes to plan the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is to leave the European Union on 29th March 2019. The current draft text of the departure agreement anticipates a transition period lasting until the end of 2020. The draft agreement assumes that the UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU will keep their existing rights until the end of the transition period.

However, The Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic points out that the exit deal talks have not been finalized, and the transition period will only take place if the deal is countersigned by both sides in time and becomes valid before the said date.

UK citizens residing in Czechia are advised to apply for the Temporary Residence Certificate.

For the sake of legal certainty, saving time, and to avoid the necessity of more complicated administrative steps in the future, all the UK citizens residing in the Czech Republic and wishing to maintain their rights after the date of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union are strongly recommended to apply for Certificate of Temporary Residence.

Although The Certificate of Temporary Residence is not a condition of an EU citizens’ stay in the Czech Republic and each EU citizen can freely decide for requesting, the document is an evident proof that its holder is a citizen of the United Kingdom living in the Czech Republic before the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. Furthermore, having the temporary residence permit is useful for other applications such as driving licence or vehicle registration.

Foreigners will help you!

So, if you are the UK citizen staying in the Czech Republic, save yourself a lot of worries and get your temporary residence permit right now. Our Expat & Immigration consultants will:

  • arrange the appointment  at the Ministry of the Interior’s office for you – in Prague, the first appointment can’t be scheduled earlier than at 2 or 3 months (in Brno at 6 weeks) – either count on that or you can go by yourself and wait for several hours
  • check all the documents you have to furnish and help you to obtain the missing ones
  • fill in the application on your behalf
  • check the status of your application
  • personally assist you at the Ministry of the Interior’s office
  • guide you through the entire process so everything is correct the first time around

The service is called Immigration Package and costs 5 000 CZK + VAT.

Our advice: Don’t hesitate and act fast. Soon, there are going to be many applications which may slow down dealing with your request.

The sooner you apply for your temporary residence permit, the faster you have it.

Those UK citizens who will not have the Certificate of Temporary Residence once the transition period is over will have to present a proof that they are subject to the rules stipulated in the withdrawal agreement, which will be a far more complicated procedure.

You can download the official statement released by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic here.

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 ;-)

7 thoughts on “Official Recommendation for UK Citizens Residing in Czechia: Apply for Temporary Residence

  1. Thanks to Lucie and Nicole at Foreigners in Plzen for helping me with my application for temporary residence status – all went amazingly smoothly with no problems and I now just have to wait to be called back to collect my card! I highly recommend this service for all nationalities. Thanks again to all at Foreigners in Plzen!!!

    1. Hi, how long did the entire process take from start to end? I’m assuming you have your card now? 🙂 Furthermore, how many trips were needed to go to, what I assume would be, the foreign police/immigration or something similar?

      1. Hello Kiron, the process of collecting all the necessary documents usually takes just a few hours – maybe days, eg. if you need to get a new insurance card or so. After applying for residency, the MOI office has 30 days to review your application. Overall, I´d say it shouldn´t take more than a month and a half to get your permit 🙂 Also, there are two trips to the MOI office – first one when applying and second one when collecting your permit. Feel free to contact us for more details at info@foreigners.cz!

    2. Hello Clive, thank you for your kind review! Looking forward to help you collect your card on Monday 🙂

  2. Hello Lucie and Nichole,
    Both my wife and I have “Permanent Residence Card for a European Citizen”.
    I have held mine since 1996 and I have renewed it when necessary. The current validity is until 2024. My wife has held hers since 2017 and is valid until 2027.
    Presumably these will satisfy the advice given by the Ministry of Interior. The one thing that concerns me is that the Prukaz says “..for a European Citizen”, which of course we won’t be.

Leave a Reply

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