FOR VISA PURPOSES, FAMILY MEMBERS OF EU CITIZENS ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

(1) spouse

(2) parent who looks after an EU citizen who is younger than 21

(3) child younger than 21 of an EU citizen or such a child of a spouse of an EU citizen

(4) dependent direct relative in the ascending or descending line or such a relative of spouse of the EU citizen who is dependent on the EU citizen or his/her spouse for sustenance or other form of essential care or who was dependent on sustenance or other form of essential care in the state of which he/she is a citizen or in which he/she resided immediately before arrival to CZE

(5) relative of a Czech citizen with permanent residency in CZE in a relationship given in pt´s (1) - (4)

(6) relative of an EU citizen or a Czech citizen with permanent residency in CZE who

(i) is in his/her home country depending on the EU citizen for sustenance,

(ii) is in his/her home country a member of a common household of the EU / Czech citizen,

(iii) requires personal care of the EU citizen on serious health grounds,

(7) partner with whom the EU citizen has a durable relationship, duly attested,

who accompanies or joins an EU citizen who moves to or resides in another EU member state. 

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AS A FAMILY MEMBER OF AN EU CITIZEN, YOU CAN TEMPORARILY STAY (FOR UP TO 90 DAYS) IN CZE WITHOUT A VISA, IF ONE OF THE FOLLOWING APPLIES TO YOU:

(1) You are a family member of the EU citizen, holder of a residence card of a family member issued in accordance with Art. 10 of the Directive 2004/38/EC or holder of a permanent residence permit in another EU Member State issued in accordance with Art. 20 of the Directive 2004/38/EC, and your stay in CZE will not exceed 3 months. 

(2) You are a family member of the EU citizen, your Schengen visa has expired, you are staying in CZE with the EU citizen and this stay will not exceed 3 months.

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WHEN APPLYING FOR A SCHENGEN VISA AS A FAMILY MEMBER OF AN EU CITIZEN, SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING:

• filled-out form „Application for a Schengen visa“

• valid travel document

• photograph

• documents attesting to existence of the EU citizen (copy of the EU citizen´s identity card or passport)

• document attesting that you are a family member of the EU citizen (marriage certificate, birth certificate, dependence proof, document attesting to serious health situation, permanent partnership proof or other)

• document attesting that you will accompany the EU citizen to CZE or join him/her in CZE.

The application processing time is 14 days since submission. It can be extended for up to 45 days in well-founded instances.

Applications are lodged free-of-charge.

---This procedure and list of supporting documents does not apply to family members stated in pt´s 6 and 7 above. These applicants submit supporting documents and proceed as if submitting the Schengen visa application for the purpose of visiting family or friends.

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EXAMINING THE APPLICATION

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs draws the applicants´ attention to the fact that the decisions on granting a Schengen visa to a family member of the EU citizen are not taken automatically. Diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic conduct application examination to establish whether one of the refusal reasons set out in Section 20.5 of the Act No 326/1999 Coll., on Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic, has been fulfilled:

a) the applicant presents a counterfeited or falsified travel document,

b) there is a reasonable suspicion that the applicant suffers from a serious disease,

c) there is a substantiated risk that the applicant, during his/her stay in the Czech Republic, might endanger the security of the state or seriously disrupt public order,

d) the applicant has been entered into the Information System of the Schengen area Contracting States and a competent authority, which initiated inclusion of a family member of the EU citizen into such records confirms that there is still a substantiated risk that he/she might, during his/her stay in the territory of a Schengen area Contracting State, endanger the security of, or disrupt public order in this state,

e) the applicant violated the Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals with the aim to obtain a visa, in particular if he/she entered into a marriage or declared paternity just for the purpose of acquiring a visa,

f) the applicant has acted fraudulently with the aim to obtain a visa for stay on the territory (for example by presenting fake documents to support the visa application or providing false information during an interview),

g) the application examination establishes that the applicant no longer is a family member of the EU citizen or that he/she will not accompany or join him/her.

Marriages of convenience are characterized as follows, in accordance with the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council no. COM (2014) 604 final, along with the Handbook on addressing the issue of alleged marriages of convenience between EU citizens and non-EU nationals in the context of EU law on free movement of EU citizens:

(1) „standard“ marriage of convenience – both spouses enter marriage for the sole purpose to violate EU law,

(The MFA points out particularly Section 341 of the Act No 40/2009 Coll., Penal Code, which contains a provision that facilitating unauthorized stay on the territory of the Czech Republic constitute a crime.)

(2) marriage by deception – marriage whereby the EU citizen is deceived by a third-country national by promise of proper and durable family life (such marriage is typically, although not necessarily, preceded by a brief internet or holiday encounter),

(3) forced marriage – often related to human trafficking,

(4) bogus marriage – contrary to marriage of convenience, such marriage is not illegal, but is linked to forged or misused documents.

Family members of EU citizens whose visa has been refused can appeal this decision by requesting a review of the visa refusal.

If this appeal is rejected, a family member can apply for a legal administrative review by a regional court.

The request for legal administrative review should be delivered to the regional court no more than 30 days after receipt of the appeal rejection letter and should be delivered to the regional court in the district where the family member would register his/her arrival, i.e. where he/she would reside  (www.justice.cz). The address of the intended residence in CZE must be clearly evident from the visa application.

The above information pertains to Schengen visa applications that family members of EU citizens lodge at diplomatic missions.

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Information on the application procedure for permanent residence permit of a family member is available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior.

 

Legal sources:

○  Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States

○  Act No 326/1999 Coll., on Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic and Amending Certain Acts (available in Czech)

○ Regulation (EU) No 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) (codification)

○ Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code)

Useful links:

Ministry of the Interior – EU citizens and their family members