General information about visa

Students from EU countries

Students from the EU (plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) are exempt from student visa requirements.

Students from countries outside the EU

Once you have been accepted for studies at the University of South Bohemia, you will have to turn to the local Czech embassy or consulate: the Czech Republic, like most other countries, requires foreign students studying in the country to have a student visa. Possession of a student visa is a condition for studying at the University of South Bohemia.

This means ploughing through a certain amount of paperwork, but in fact the procedure described below sounds more complicated than it is in reality. The whole procedure for obtaining a student visa can take up to 60 days. Make sure that you ask for your visa soon enough to receive it before your departure.

The regulations for obtaining visas change from time to time. In addition, embassies in individual countries are given a certain leeway in applying them. This means that the regulations listed here should be considered guidelines only. You should consult your local Czech embassy / consulate for the latest information regarding visa requirements, and the particular local requirements that are in force. Detailed information concerning Visa process is available e.g. at the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic web pages.

 

1) Applications filled-in at a Czech Embassy/Consulate General

A student who would like to carry out studies in the Czech Republic has to fill in a request the long-term visa/the long-term residence permit at the Czech Embassy/Consulate General abroad. These applications cannot be filled in inside the Czech Republic.

  • An application for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of "studies": if a student intends to stay temporarily in the Czech Republic for a period longer than 3 months and the student plans to stay for more than 6 months.
  • An application for a long-term visa for the purpose of "studies": if a student intends to stay temporarily in the Czech Republic for a period longer than 3 months and the student plans to stay for less than 6 months in total.

 

2) Applications filled-in inside the Czech Republic

Applications filled-in inside the Czech Republic apply only for students who already reside in the Czech Republic and plan on continuing with their studies in the Czech Republic.

  • An application for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of studies (following up on a long-term visa granted in accordance with § 30, or an application for its extension), can be filled-in by a foreign national in the Czech Republic if a student resides in the Czech Republic on the basis of a long-term visa granted in accordance with § 30, and if a student intends to reside in the Czech Republic for a period longer than the validity of the current visa and a student intends to reside in the Czech Republic for the same purpose.

 

Additional useful information:

  • Where to fill-in an application?

Applications for visas and residence permits for the purpose of studies may be filled-in at a  Czech Embassy in the state of which the applicant is a citizen, or, if needs be, in the state that issued the travel document that the foreign national holds, or in the state in which the foreign national has a long-term or permanent residence permit.

An application for a long-term residence permit following up on a long-term visa for the same purpose, or an application to extend the current long-term residence permit is filed at  the MOI offices according to the applicant’s place of residence.

  • How to fill in an application and long-term residence permit/long-term visa fees?

According to § 178 of the ARFN a foreign national older than 15 years of age who is able to express his/her own will and is capable of acting independently is considered as legally competent.

The registration for filling-in an application for a long-term visa or an application for a long-term residence permit at the embassy is usually done by taking an appointment (usually by email) to the Embassy. Contact each Embassy to know the local conditions.

The embassy charges CZK 500 for accepting an application for a residence permit for the purpose of studies (see consular fees). The foreign national then pays other fees to the Ministry of Interior : http://www.mvcr.cz/mvcren/article/third-country-nationals-fees.aspx 

A foreign national is obliged to fill-in an application for a long-term visa or long-term residence in person. In justified cases the embassy can waive this obligation.

 

Useful link with information: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/czech-republic-visa/