Coronavirus: Relatives of Czech and EU Citizens Can Enter the Country Without a Residence Permit

As the pandemic situation in the Czech Republic is developing well with fewer people tested positive for COVID-19 every day, the Czech government continues to speed up easing some restrictions and has introduced new changes such as one affecting arrivals of family members of EU citizens in the Czech Republic.

Entering the country

From May 1, family members of Czech or EU citizens who have a residence permit in the Czech Republic can enter the country without having a residence permit themselves. Instead, they must submit the following documents:

• A signed copy of a family member’s citizenship ID 

OR 

• A certified copy of a family member’s temporary or permanent residence permit

The applicant for entry must also produce:

• Birth certificate

OR one of the following documents:

• Marriage or partnership certificate
• Other documents proving family relationships
• A document proving dependency (medical report; a statement of account proving the applicant is financially dependent on an EU citizen to cover basic necessities)

This change has already helped one of our UK clients who was stuck in the Netherlands for three weeks. He was able to return to the Czech Republic via family reunification despite having neither permanent nor temporary residence permit.

 

APPLY FOR YOUR RESIDENCE PERMIT NOW

 

In regards to quarantine, anyone arriving in the Czech Republic has two options: 

1. To undergo the mandatory 14-days quarantine after entering the country (with the possibility of being tested for COVID-19 in 72 hours after arrival)
2. Or be confirmed negative for COVID-19. The necessary forms can be found on the web of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic (UPDATE, August 20: The document was removed from the Ministry’s website). 

Czech theaters and cinemas to reopen

As the situation is changing for the better, some shops and institutions have already opened, while the rest should reopen in the span of a few weeks (with the exceptions of schools), which we already covered in some of our previous articles. 

The partial lifting of restrictions will also affect social, cultural, and sports events in the Czech Republic. These will be allowed to take place after May 11 (two weeks ahead of the original schedule), however, only 100 people will be allowed to attend at a time. The same rule will apply to weddings and church services.

The government willing to help companies

The Czech government also announced it is ready to help companies and entrepreneurs who had to close their businesses from March 12 by paying one-third of the rent. As said by the Czech PM Andrej Babiš, one third should be paid by the tenant, one third by the landlord, and the rest by the state. This new proposal should be further discussed soon.

Another important news from the Czech government is that the government isn’t planning to prolong the state of emergency again which means that, if everything goes according to plan, it will end on May 17.

 

APPLY FOR YOUR RESIDENCE PERMIT NOW

 

Borders with the neighboring countries might reopen in July

According to the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Petříček, people could be able to travel to the neighboring countries again from July. Negotiations with Austria and Slovakia seem promising while the talks with Poland shape up to be more difficult. The possibility of traveling to Germany depends on how the coronavirus epidemic develops in the country.

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Oh, and one last important thing: Our offices are open again!

Source of the information: Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (in Czech only)
Source of the photo: Unsplash.com