Visa to the Czech Republic

Check the official website of the Ministry of  Interior and decide if you want to apply for:

• Long-term visa or
• Long-term residence permit 

It is up to you to decide which type you want to apply for.

Long-term Visa

• You will get a visa sticker in your passport: 
  • validity of 365 days (usually)
  • MULTI entries to the Czech Republic
• If you do NOT stay in dormitories, you must visit the Department of Foreign Police to report your arrival within 3 days after the arrival

Long-term Residence Permit

• You will receive 1) an entry visa sticker that authorizes you to enter the Czech Republic
  • SINGLE entry, authorized stay up to a maximum of 60 days (usually)
• You must visit the Czech Ministry of Interior within 30 working days after your arrival
  • report your arrival
  • provide biometrical data
    (the Ministry of Interior will take a photo of you and also scan your fingerprints in order to issue a residence permit card).
• Collect 2) the residence permit card (which may have a validity of 1–2 years). 

You will find a list of the required documents on the website of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic.

A part of the required documents is a Study Confirmation and a Proof of Accommodation. These two documents will be issued by UCT Prague. (The Proof of Accommodation will only be issued if you plan to stay in the UCT Prague dormitories). 

BSc. & MSc applicants + IMATEC applicants

• You will be asked to provide the address where we should send the documents

IMETE & PhD applicants

• You will need to arrange a courier service to collect the documents 

You can download the official application form from the website of the Ministry of Interior: 

• Long-term visa
• Long-term residence permit 

You must sign the Proof of Accommodation received from UCT Prague – this document is invalid without your signature.

Check the website of the Ministry of Interior:

• Long-term visa 
• Long-term residence permit 

Follow the instructions on the website of the Czech embassy relevant to your country to schedule an appointment for submitting your visa/permit application.

Inform your admission officer about your appointment date at the embassy.

Having an overview of when each student visits the embassy will help us make a better prediction of the students' arrival (whether they will be able to arrive on time for the Enrolment Day), and it will also allow us to create statistics on how long it usually takes to approve a visa/permit application.

1. Submit the visa/residence permit application and the required documents
2. Pay the visa application fee 

Make sure to arrive at the appointment at the embassy on time! 

Not arriving at the appointment at all or being late will result in postponing the process of obtaining the visa/residence permit. In some cases, you may not be given another time slot to visit the embassy which will result in the impossibility of arriving in the Czech Republic for the Enrolment day and starting your studies!

Under Czech law, the Ministry of the Interior has 60 days to approve your application. 
This is why it is strongly recommended to submit your application no later than May — to ensure enough time between visa approval and your arrival in the Czech Republic.

Once approved, follow the instruction of the embassy and provide proof of medical travel insurance.
Erasmus Mundus students are exempted from this obligation.

Applicants who applied for the long-term residence permit, must visit the Ministry of Interior within 30 days of their arrival to report the arrival, and to schedule a collection of the residence permit card.

Student Mode (Režim Student) is a governmental programme designed to facilitate the visa procedure for selected students. Only applicants who meet specific criteria set by the Czech Ministry of Education can be nominated for Student Mode. Nominations may be submitted to the Ministry only on designated dates, and it is the Ministry that decides whether or not to accept a nomination. If the nomination is approved, the applicant is contacted by the relevant Czech embassy regarding a scheduled  appointment date for submitting their visa or residence permit application.

When nominating a student, the university must submit the following documents:

• Diploma/Graduation certificate (issued within the last 3 years)
• Acceptance Letter
• English Language Certificate
• Certificate of Nostrification / Recognition Certificate / IAU number of the university / Confirmation of Accreditation of a Study Programme that you graduated from issued by your school 

The Ministry of Education has 3–5 working days to process the nominations and select, based on internal criteria, which applicants will be accepted. If the nomination is approved, the embassy assigns an appointment to the applicant – usually within 1–4 weeks.

If the visa/residence permit application submitted by the applicant is complete and correct, the embassy forwards all documents to the Czech Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior then has 60 days to process and decide on the application. If approved, the Ministry contacts the embassy, which will then contact the applicant to schedule the visa collection.

Due to the 60-day processing period, and with Enrolment Day for Bachelor and Master degree students typically taking place in the first week of September, it is strongly recommended to submit nominations no later than early June to ensure the visa is issued on time.