Visa
Students from EU countries
The Czech Republic has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Therefore, no visa/long-term residence permit is needed for students coming from EU member states (plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland).
At the point of entry to the CR, an EU citizen needs to present only a travel document at the request of the police. EU citizens entering the territory of the CR will be allowed to use national ID cards besides standard travel documents (e.g. ordinary passport, diplomatic passport, service passport).
Students from non-EU countries
Students from non-EU countries should apply for a special kind of visa called “Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Study in the Czech Republic.” You are expected to contact the Embassy of the Czech Republic in your home country in order to obtain the latest information regarding the long-term residence permit requirements.
Once you are admitted to study and have all documents ready for visa, we can contact your local Czech embassy via special Student Regime mode and they will then contact you directly with the proposal of a visa application interview date.
States and embassies listed within the Student Regime mode are available here. Please note that embassies have limited monthly quotas for Student Regime mode, therefore, it is not 100% chance you will be granted a visa appointment date, but if granted the spot, it will be faster than if you booked the visa interview date yourself. From January 2024, it is not possible to nominate to Student Regime mode students who finished their studies more than 3 years ago. Plus, it is not possible to nominate students from the following countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is also not possible to nominate students from Russia and Belarus.
Once you are admitted to study, you must prepare the following documents which you must bring with you for your visa application appointment to the Czech Embassy:
- a completed application form (available here)
- a document on availability of accommodation during the stay in the territory (Accommodation Contract – to be issued by TBU)
- a travel document (a.k.a. passport)
- two passport-sized photographs (35 mm x 45 mm)
- a document confirming the purpose of the stay (Admission Decision for Study – to be issued by TBU)
- a document confirming the availability of funds to cover the costs of your stay in the territory in case of university studies or unpaid practical professional training. You must submit either Decision on Eligibility for Extraordinary Scholarship (if it were awarded to you) or a sufficient bank balance at your bank account – minimal balance of your bank account should be CZK 115,810 (approximately EUR 4,650) for the first year (to estimate the exact amount in your currency, divide CZK 115,810 by the present exchange rate of your bank to CZK). Such document issued by a foreign country must be submitted with a proper verification (by superlegalization / apostille) unless stipulated otherwise by an international treaty that is binding for the Czech Republic, and accompanied by an official translation into Czech done by a certified translator.
- an Extract from the Penal Register to assess your criminal record, issued by the state whose national you are, as well as by states where you stayed for more than 6 consecutive months in the last 3 years, or a solemn declaration if such state does not issue such document. Such document issued by a foreign country must be submitted with a proper verification (by superlegalization / apostille) unless stipulated otherwise by an international treaty that is binding for the Czech Republic, and accompanied by an official translation into Czech done by a certified translator.
- a medical report certifying that you do not suffer from a serious disease (if requested); must be translated by a certified translator into Czech
- travel medical (health) insurance – all foreign students (non-EU nationals) must have health insurance coverage for illness, accidents, etc. (“comprehensive health insurance”) for the entire period of their stay in the Czech Republic. You will be asked to submit proof of Czech health insurance when you apply for your visa. You can choose any insurance company that offers comprehensive health insurance with the coverage limit EUR 400,000. The insurance contract and information on insurance conditions must be translated by a certified translator into Czech (if the document is not in Czech in original). For detailed information please refer to the website of the Czech Ministry of the Interior.
- a proof a payment of the fee for submission of the application for a long-term residence permit
A decision on the permission of long-term residence in the territory of the Czech Republic shall be issued within 60 days after the submission date of the application for issue of a long-term residence permit for the purpose of study.
In case your application for the long-term residence permit has been refused, you have the right to appeal against this decision; the appeal should be addressed to the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic (which has made the decision on your application) within 15 days after delivering the information on the application refusal.
For further information on long-term residence permit please consult the official website of the Czech Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.