Passport
When applying for a Schengen visa or a long-term visa / residence permit, the passport must
• have been issued in the past 10 years (= passport may not be older than 10 years even if it continues to be valid after its extension),
• continue to be valid at least 3 months after the intended departure from CZE / Schengen Area,
• contain at least 2 empty pages.
These conditions must be fulfilled for a visa application to be accepted / Schengen visa application to be admissible.
The passport is not considered valid and visa cannot be issued into it if it
• expired,
• is damaged to the degree that the entries are no longer readable,
• disintegrated,
• contains incorrect entries or unauthorized changes,
• contains a photograph no longer confirming to the current appearance of its holder.
Diplomatic missions can issue visas only into passports that CZE recognizes. Information on passports recognized by individual Schengen Area Member States is available on the CEU/Prado website.
Children older than 15 must apply with their own passport.
Children younger than 15 can be entered into the passport of their parents/legal guardians. Parents/legal guardians submit visa applications on their behalf. Two (or more) visa stickers are subsequently issued into this passport. If a child is entered in a passport of the parent/legal guardian, but will not travel with him/her, he/she needs to apply with his/her own passport.
Legal sources:
○ 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) – Article 12
○ Act No 326/1999 Coll., on Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic and Amending Certain Acts (available in Czech) – § 108
Useful links: