The Second Official Recommendation for UK Citizens Residing in Czechia: the Certificate of Temporary Residence Won’t be Enough

Negotiations on the future relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom after Brexit are still ongoing. We are notifying you about the recent update from the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic (the MOI). For reasons of legal certainty and saving time in future, the MOI advises the citizens of the United Kingdom who reside in the Czech Republic to apply for a Long-term Residence permit or a Permanent Residence Permit.

Previously, according to the recommendation from MOI, the British citizens who are willing to stay in the Czech Republic after Brexit have to apply only for a Certificate of Temporary Residence. Currently, the situation is different. Now, the British nationals will have to enter the migration scheme for third-countries and apply for a Long-term Residence Permit or a Permanent Residence Permit.

What is the difference between them? Who has to apply for it? Foreigners has prepared a guide for UK citizens about how to stay legally in the Czech Republic after Brexit in case of no-deal scenario. Let’s begin!

Long-term Residence Permit

During Pre-Brexit period, the UK citizens who want to stay in the Czech Republic longer than 3 months will have to own a Certificate of Temporary Residence. This document is an evident proof that its holder is a UK citizen living in the Czech Republic before the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union takes place. Furthermore, having a temporary residence permit is useful for other applications such as driving licence or vehicle registration.

According to a new update on the official website of the MOI, the certificate of temporary residence will not be enough for staying in the country in the future. If you want to stay in the Czech Republic after 2020, you will have to enter the Czech migration scheme for third-country nationals during the transition period. Holders of a certificate of temporary residence will need to apply for a long-term residence permit for any purpose of stay (work, study, business, family reunification, etc.) before the end of 2020.  

Permanent Residence Permit

In the case of a permanent residence permit, the situation is slightly different. The UK citizens who have been living in the Czech Republic for the last 5 years, will have to apply for the permanent residence permit. If you are already an owner of one, you will have to change your documents for a new biometric card by the end of 2020. The cost of a new biometric card will be 2 500 CZK and it will be valid for 10 years. After 3-5 years of living with a permanent residence permit in the Czech Republic, it will be possible to apply for Czech citizenship.

What about newcomers?

According to the EU rules of March 30, 2019, British citizens cannot be considered EU citizens. That means that newcomers who would like to stay for more than 3 months will have to apply as nationals from a third-country. However, what to do if you are not planning to stay in the Czech Republic after 2020? You can relax, do not do anything and simply enjoy your stay in the Czech Republic 😉

A reminder for UK students studying in the Czech Republic: the terms of applying for permanent residence permit might be different. As MOI states, the period of stay in the Czech Republic is counted by half, if the long-term residence permit was issued for the purpose of study.

We hope that this article was useful for you. If you still have any questions, you can look at this flowchart (UPDATED on October 6th: the link was removed – website not found) from the Czech Ministry of the Interior which explains the process. Besides, if you do not want to worry and stress about it, Foreigners are ready to help you with the application to ensure that the whole process runs smoothly.