Czech Citizenship – How to Obtain it in 2026 – Requirements, Documentation, Process

There are a few different ways to obtain Czech citizenship. This article provides details on all of them with the main focus on obtaining Czech citizenship after residing in the Czech Republic for long enough time.

⚠️ Important: If you are looking to obtain your Czech citizenship in DIY approach, this article should give you all the most important information. If you are looking for assistance, check out Our Expats Services page or Contact us directly.

Pathways to Czech Citizenship

Unlike some other countries, Czech Republic does not automatically grant Czech citizenship to children born at the territory of the Czech Republic to non-Czech parents. Marrying a Czech citizen also does not mean getting a Czech citizenship automatically. There are still a few other ways to get Czech passport established by Act No. 186/2013 Coll. Act on Citizenship of the Czech Republic and on Amendments to Certain Acts (Citizenship Act of the Czech Republic).

Let’s first talk about them briefly here and then go into details lower in the article.

Czech citizenship BY BIRTH – this generally applies to new born children if at least one of the parents is a Czech citizen (ideally the mother) or if the child was born in the Czech Republic to parents “without nationality” and they have been residing in the Czech Republic for at least 90 days.
Czech citizenship BY ESTABLISHING PATERNITY – there are a few different ways this can be accomplished but generally “a child whose mother is not a citizen of the Czech Republic acquires citizenship of the Czech Republic on the date of entry into force of the court decision on the determination of paternity of a citizen of the Czech Republic”.
Czech citizenship BY ADOPTION – different options apply here as well but generally “a child acquires citizenship of the Czech Republic by adoption, which occurred by decision of an authority of the Czech Republic, if at least one of the adoptive parents is a citizen of the Czech Republic, on the day the decision on adoption becomes legally effective”.
Czech citizenship BY BEING FOUND AT THE TERRITORY OF CZE – A child under the age of 3 found in the territory of the Czech Republic, whose identity cannot be established, acquires citizenship of the Czech Republic on the day of finding in the territory of the Czech Republic, unless it becomes apparent within 6 months of the date of finding that he or she has acquired the citizenship of another state.
Czech citizenship BY GRANTING – this is the most common scenario we deal with – if you have been residing in the Czech Republic for long enough (more information below), you can apply for Czech citizenship by granting. This also applies to situations where Czech citizenship is granted by the government due to significant contribution to the Czech Republic.
Czech citizenship BY DECLARATION – this is the way to get Czech citizenship by ancestry, or by previously being a Czech citizen and later on loosing the citizenship. A few rules apply here – read more below.
Czech citizenship IN CONNECTION WITH BEING ENTRUSTED TO INSTITUTIONAL, FOSTER OR OTHER FORMS OF ALTERNATIVE CARE – again, a few different options here but generally “a child acquires citizenship of the Czech Republic on the date of entry into legal force of the court decision on placement in alternative care”.

Let’s now look into the two most common ways of obtaining citizenship of the Czech Republic – citizenship by granting and citizenship by declaration (Czech citizenship by ancestry).

Obtaining Czech Citizenship By Granting

Obtaining Czech citizenship by granting is the most common scenario we deal with in our daily practice. You can generally apply for Czech citizenship by granting when you hold Czech Permanent Residence Permit and:

You have been legally residing in the Czech Republic for at least 10 years (regardless of how long you have had the Permanent Residency for).
You are an EU citizen and you have had the Permanent Residency for at least 3 years,
You are a non EU citizen and you have had the Permanent Residency for at least 5 years.

Getting Czech Citizenship – Complete Process Step By Step

If you meet one of the above conditions, congratulations, you can potentially apply for Czech citizenship.

You must be ready for a long process though. Most applications take between 1-2 years from start to finish. Partially because there are a lot of documents that you have to prepare (see below), partially because the MOI does not really stick to the legal deadline for making the decision. Instead of 180 days, they usually take at least a year.

Let’s now look into the process step by step.

Step 1 – Collection of Documents Needed for Czech Citizenship

If you apply for Czech citizenship by granting, generally the below documents will be needed:

written request for Czech citizenship – this is a free form request where you explain why you want to get Czech citizenship,
written CV – this is not a structured CV as you use for job interviews, more like a free form description of your stay in the Czech Republic – i.e. I came he in September 2006, I studied this and that University, then I worked in this company and that company, I have also been part of this sports club and have traveled to these countries,
birth certificate and similar – your birth certificate is a must, you can also submit other relevant documents that can help your application such as a marriage certificate (especially if married to an EU/Czech citizen), birth certificate of your children (especially if they are Czech citizens), keep in mind that foreign documents might need to be apostilled/superlegalized and officially translated into Czech first,
criminal records – if you are applying for Czech citizenship after less than 10 years of living in the Czech Republic, you need a criminal check from the country of origin, you also need criminal checks from all the countries where you have resided for more than 6 months in the last 10 years,
Czech language and knowledge exam – unless you fall under one of the exceptions (you are below 15 or above 65, you studied for at least 3 years in Czech language, you are mentally or physically disabled and can not take the exam), you have to pass B1 level Czech language exam and exam from basic knowledge of the constitutional system of the Czech Republic and basic orientation in the cultural, social, geographical and historical realities of the Czech Republic – more information here,
proof of your education – if you hold a Czech degree, submit it, it help prove your integration and it might also help you bypass the Czech language exam (if you studied in Czech language),
proof of actually living in the Czech Republic/proof of your travels – if you have been actually living in the Czech Republic (and working here), you generally only need to provide a list of all your travels within the last 5 years (non-EU citizens) or 3 years (EU citizens), if your situation is different (i.e. you have not been living here or you have not been working), ideally contact us and consult with us first,
proof of your income for the last 3 years – although the citizenship application does not follow the same rules as for example the permanent residence permit application (meaning you have to meet some minimum income threshold), you still need to be able to prove that you have a stable and high enough income – there are two main reason for that, first it to prove that you are not and will not be a burden to the Czech system, and second to prove you are not doing anything illegal (i.e. your official income is 30 000 CZK a month but you live in a flat with 50 000 CZK monthly rent),
proves of no debts and of not taking any governmental support – you need to provide proves of no debts from the social security, health care, tax office and customs, you also have to get confirmation of not receiving (or how much) of any social support benefits,
proves of being integrated into Czech society – all the above documents are more or less prerequisites to even have a chance of getting Czech citizenship, proving that you are integrated into the Czech society is potentially even more important, there is no official list of what to submit, this is up to you, what we usually use might for example be – having a Czech spouse/children, owning a property in the Czech Republic, owning a business in Czech Republic, being part of some Czech sports clubs or similar organizations,
additional documentation – the above list is the official basics, depending on your situation, you might require less (if you meet some exceptions) or more documentation such as lease agreements/flat ownership certificates, employment contracts, trade license + confirmation of payments to social, health and tax authorities, diplomas, marriage/divorce certificates etc. We provide consultations about Czech citizenship and we also take care of the whole process for our clients – get in touch, happy to discuss your situation 🙂

Step 2 – Submission of Documents to the Local Town Hall

Although the decision about your Czech citizenship application is done by the Ministry of the Interior, the application is not submitted directly to the MOI.

Once you have all the required documents ready, you go submit your citizenship application to the Town hall responsible for the place of your residence – i.e. you live in Prague 5, you go submit the application to the Town hall (Městský úřad) of Prague 5.

The main reason for that is that the local Town hall does a check of your standings with them and only sends your application to the MOI once the check is done. The check usually includes checking if you do not have any outstanding balance for garbage disposal, dog ownership fees and other mandatory local fees.

Most of Town halls also have their own citizenship questionnaire they ask you to fill in. Although they sometimes want you to fill it in while you are submitting your application, we generally recommend filling the questionnaire in advance since it includes information you might not know from top of your head such as maiden name of mom, your parents’ dates of birth etc.

The administrative fee for the citizenship application is 2 000 CZK for an adult applicant.

CAUTION: Depending on the mood of the officer, they might only speak with you in Czech to “test your Czech language skills” (after all, you should have passed the B1 exam and you should be well integrated into Czech society).

Step 3 – Waiting

Once you submit the application, the waiting period starts. The local Town hall generally has 30 days to conduct their internal check and pass your application to the MOI. The MOI then officially has 180 days to make the decision but as mentioned earlier, they usually do not really stick to that and the real approval time can be two or three times longer.

Both the Town hall and the MOI can also request additional information and/or documents.

If your application has been taking more than 180 days, you can potentially send a letter to the MOI requesting faster processing. If to do so, when and what implications it might have is generally discussed for each case individually.

Step 4 – After the Decision About Your Czech Citizenship Is Made

What To Do After Approval Of Your Czech Citizenship Application

If your application is approved, you will be contacted by the local Town hall again requesting you to go take the civic oath. Once that is done, you will receive a Certificate of being granted Czech citizenship.

With this certificate you will need to go get Czech ID (občanský průkaz) and potentially Czech passport.

Although some authorities (social security, health care, tax office, banks) might be notified about you getting Czech citizenship automatically, it is always a good idea to make sure they did, or to report it yourself as well.

Once you get the Czech ID or a passport, on top of becoming a Czech citizen, you also become an EU citizen with all the rights and benefits it brings 🙂

What To Do If Your Czech Citizenship Application Is Denied

If your Czech Citizenship application is denied, you generally have a few options. The best approach depends on the reason for the denial. Generally you can:

file an appeal against the negative decision (Section 152 of Act No. 500/2004 Coll., Administrative Procedure Code). You file this through the authority that issued the negative decision, within 15 days of the date on which you were served with this decision,
wait a few years and submit a new application.

DISCLAIMER: We have not had any citizenship application denied in 13 years so we do not have any experience with appeals. If your application gets denied, we will recommend our partner lawyers to evaluate the denial reasons and recommend further steps.

Obtaining Czech Citizenship By Declaration (By Ancestry)

Children. Dual Citizenship.

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