Czech Republic - Apply for Granting Czech Nationality

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Procedure

1. Go to the Regional Authority competent according to the place of permanent residence of the applicant.
2. Fill out an applicant's questionnaire.
3. Attend an interview regarding knowledge of Czech language.
4. Send the application, along with required documents.

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Required Documents

• completed questionnaire attached to the application for granting nationality of the Czech Republic (a prescribed form which is available from and filled in by the applicant at the authority competent to receive the application)
• birth certificate (or the certificate of birth and baptism);
• certificate of marriage (if the applicant has entered into marriage), or
• certificate on divorce or certificate of death of a spouse;
• certificate proving that by being granted Czech nationality the applicant will lose his/her current nationality or which proves that has he/she has lost his/her current nationality - unless the applicant is a stateless person or a recognized refugee; a document proving loss of nationality is obtained after the Ministry of the Interior issues to the applicant a promise to be granted nationality of the Czech Republic;
• extract from the Criminal Records Register not older than six months, if the applicant is over 15 years of age; and
• Curriculum Vitae.

A married couple can submit a joint application for Czech nationality. Parents, or one parent, can also include in their application for Czech nationality a child under 18 years. If a child is included in an application for Czech nationality *the following documents must be attached:

• the birth certificate of the child;
• a document proving that by being granted Czech nationality the child will lose its current nationality or which proves that has the child has lost his/her current nationality - unless the child is a stateless person or a recognized refugee; a document proving the loss of nationality is obtained after the Ministry of the Interior issues to an applicant a promise to be granted nationality of the Czech Republic
• If an application is lodged only by one parent the consent of the other parent to the change of nationality of the child is required unless his/her execution of parental responsibility has been restricted or suspended, or he/she is no longer legally competent (which must be supported by court declaration even where the parents are divorced) or if the residence of the other parent living abroad is not known. If both parents of the child concerned have been deprived of parental responsibility or execution of their parental responsibility has been restricted or suspended or if they have been incapacitated or if the residence of parents living abroad is unknown, an application may be submitted by a court appointed guardian or the guardian of the child.

Office Locations & Contacts

Ministry of the Interior
postbox 21
Prague 7 Letn
170 34
Telephone: +420 974 811 111 (switchboard operator)

MOI offices

Eligibility

The Ministry of the Interior may (but is not obliged to) grant nationality of the Czech Republic only to persons satisfying all of the following conditions:

• he/she has been lawfully permanently residing in the Czech Republic for a period of at least five years as of the date of application and whose residence was more or less continuous;
• he/she proves that by being granted nationality of the Czech Republic he/she will lose their current nationality or proves that they have lost his/her current nationality - unless the person is a stateless person or a recognized refugee; a document proving loss of nationality is obtained after the Ministry of the Interior issues to the applicant a promise to grant Czech nationality;
• he/she has not been within the last five years sentenced for wilful criminal offences (this is proved by submission of an extract from the Criminal Records Register of the Czech Republic);
• he/she proves in interview at the relevant authority their knowledge of the Czech language (this does not apply to an applicant who is or who was a citizen of the Slovak Republic), and
• he/she meets all obligations arising from the provisions of a special legal regulation governing the entry into and residence in the Czech Republic (Act No. 326/1999 Coll. on the Residence of Aliens in the Czech Republic and on the Amendment to Some Other Acts, as amended) as well as obligations resulting from special provisions regulating public health insurance, social security, pension insurance, taxes, and other mandatory fees.

Fees

CZK 10, 000

The Ministry of the Interior may in specially justified cases of state interest decrease the fee to the amount of CZK1,000.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

The authority competent for receiving an application will send the application for granting Czech nationality within 30 days of its submission through the Alien Police to the Ministry of the Interior, which, within 90 days of delivery, will make the final decision. In the case that a Certificate on Granting Nationality is issued the relevant authority is obliged to invite the applicant to swear an oath to the Czech Republic within six weeks.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

• Documents issued by foreign authorities must be furnished by higher authentication (a super legalisation clause - the so called apostille), unless an international agreement stipulates otherwise, and must be officially translated into the Czech language if they are issued in a foreign language (as regards documents issued by authorities of the Slovak Republic, translation into the Czech language is not required). The Ministry of the Interior may require from the applicant further documents concerning for example his/her working or business activities (employment contracts, extract from the Companies Register, trade licences, tax returns and so forth), public health insurance and meeting tax obligations, social security and other mandatory fees.
• A minor under 18 years may be granted Czech nationality independently (i.e. a special application may be submitted) on the basis of an application lodged by a statutory representative. The procedure is identical to the procedure for applications including a child lodged by parents.
• If an application is decided positively the applicant is issued with the Certificate on Granting Nationality (if the applicant proves that he/she has satisfied the condition requiring proof that he/she has lost his/her nationality or that if this condition has been waived), or the applicant receives a promise that Czech nationality will be granted, for the purpose of obtaining a document proving that the applicant has lost his/her nationality, which is in the form of a decision on interruption of the procedure. Nationality of the Czech Republic is acquired on the day of swearing an oath to the Czech Republic (unless, in exceptional cases, the oath is waived in such cases Czech nationality is acquired on the date when a decision on waiving the oath comes into force). On this occasion applicants receive their certificate on Granting Nationality of the Czech Republic.
• Minors under 18 years do not swear an oath. A child included in the application of its parents will acquire Czech nationality on the date when at least one of the parents acquires such nationality. If a child was granted Czech nationality independently of its parents this will come into effect on the date on which a statutory representative receives the Certificate on Granting Czech Nationality.
• An oath shall be sworn in the presence of the secretary of a municipal authority or a municipality of extended scope of competencies (in the capital city of Prague in the presence of the secretary of the relevant borough, and in Brno, Ostrava and Plze? in presence of the secretary of the city authority of these municipalities) which is competent according to the place of permanent residence. Abroad, the oath shall be sworn in the presence of a Head of an embassy or a consulate of the Czech Republic.

Required Information

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e.g.
1. Date of Birth.
2. City or County of Birth.

Need for the Document

It is possible for foreign nationals permanently residing in the Czech Republic to apply for the acquisition of Czech nationality. An application for granting Czech nationality may also be lodged by stateless persons permanently residing in the Czech Republic.

Information which might help

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic

Others

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