For travel to the Czech Republic / Schengen Area, the passport must

• -have been issued in the past ten years (i.e. it may not be older than ten years even if it continues to be valid after its extension),
• -continue to be valid at least three months after the intended departure from the Czech Republic / Schengen Area,
• -contain at least two empty pages.

If these conditions are not fulfilled, visa application cannot be accepted.

The passport is not considered valid and visa cannot be issued into it if it is characterized by one of the following:

• -it has expired,
• -it has been damaged to the degree that the entries are no longer readable,
• -it has disintegrated,
• -it contains incorrect entries or unauthorized changes,
• -photograph no longer confirms to the current appearance of the holder.

Diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic can issue visas only into passports that the Czech Republic recognizes. Information about passport recognition by individual Schengen Area Member States is available on the website of the European Commission (“Info” column on the right).

Children older than 15 must apply with their own passport.

Children younger than 15 can be entered into the passport of the parent / legal guardian. Parents / legal guardians submit visa applications on behalf of these children. Two (or more) visa stickers are subsequently issued into a passport. If the child is entered in the passport of the parent / legal guardian, but will travel by himself/herself, he/she needs to apply with 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:

○ Ministry of the Interior – Travel Document

○ PRADO – database of travel documents