Long-term visas are issued for a maximum length of 1 year and are valid for stay in Czechia only.
Holders of a valid long-term visa can stay for up to 90 days within any 180 days in other countries of the Schengen area.
The Consulate strongly recommends that the applicants do not travel to the Czech Republic without a valid visa.

 

WHO MAY APPLY AT THE CONSULATE GENERAL IN LOS ANGELES

US passport holders if they reside within our jurisdiction.

Citizens of other countries:
- if they reside within our jurisdiction, and
- if they have been legally residing in the United States (based on a valid Green Card or a valid US long-term visa) for a continuous period of 2 years or longer.

You are obliged to file the application only at the Czech Embassy/Consulate located in the state of your citizenship or which issued your current travel document or in the state in which you have a long-term or permanent residence permit of two years minimum. You are excluded from these conditions if you are a citizen of a state presented in the list of countries whose nationals are entitled to file an application for a long-term visa at any Czech Embassy/Consulate whatsoever.

The Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles has jurisdiction over the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, as well as U.S. unincorporated territories of American Samoa, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands.

 

HOW TO SUBBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

You are required to submit your visa application in person by appointment only.  Please send your appointment request to:  Losangeles.visa@mzv.gov.cz.  Upon submitting your visa application, an interview will take place and you may be asked to explain the reasons why you apply. 

 

FOR US CITIZENS ONLY

As of February 1, 2021, the General Consulate of the Czech Republic in New York allows, based on the provisions of § 169d, paragraph 3 of Act No. 326/1999 Coll., on the residence of foreigners in the territory of the Czech Republic, the submission of applications for long-term visas (excluding business purposes), for residence permits for applicants included in the Highly Qualified Employee Program and the Key and Scientific Personnel Program, and applications for long-term residence for the purpose of scientific research and long-term residence for family members of scientific workers from U.S. citizens without requiring personal appearance for submission of the application. Please note that applicants may be subsequently summoned to the Consulate for an interview or hearing.

The applicant, upon meeting the above conditions, is entitled to deliver their application to the consulate during office hours at the reception (drop-off) or send it by mail.  In the case of sending the application by mail, the applicant assumes responsibility for any potential loss of the application and documents during delivery.

The applicant is not required to use this option and may arrange a personal appointment to submit the application. 

If the application is complete, we will send the applicant a link to the payment gateway to the email address provided in the application, where they can pay the visa fee by credit card. Once we receive your payment, your application will be accepted. We will then send you your application number. The numbers of approved applications (usually within 60 days from the date the application is accepted) are published on our website here.

 

VISA STATUS UPDATES

Applications for long-term residence permits are approved by the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic (not by the Consulate). Without the approval, the Consulate is not authorized to issue the visa and the Consulate is not able to speed up the visa approval process. Therefore, the Consulate encourages applicants to submit their applications on time.

Please be aware that no status updates on residency applications will be given by the Consulate (neither by mail nor phone). For status updates please visit the website of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic Status of your Application - ipc.gov.cz

If your number does not appear on the website, then it means your visa is still in process.  Please keep in mind the visa processing times when checking your visa status.

In case the visa is refused, the applicant has right to appeal. The appeal should be addressed to the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic that made the decision about the application, within 15 days after receiving the information about the refusal of the application.

 

REQUIRMENTS

Chapters below specify requirements for different types of long-term visa.
For more detailed information about the requirements, please, visit the website of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic.

 

IMPORTANT

All documents must be presented in original or as a notarized copy made from the original, AND with one plain photocopy of each document  (i.e. one long-term visa application file contains two complete sets of documents).

All documents (except the travel document or ID card, debit/credit card, and bank account statement and notarizations, if written in English) must be written in Czech or accompanied with a certified translation into the Czech language; the Consulate does not provide translations of the documents submitted with visa applications.

If a notarized copy is to be submitted instead of the wet-signed original: (a) When a document was issued in the Czech language (only), the notarized copy of the document can only be executed in the Czech Republic, or at a Czech consulate/embassy overseas; (b) When a document was issued in the English language or is bilingual, the notarized copy of the document can be executed by a notary public in the USA, or at a Czech consulate/embassy overseas.

All copies (1-sided or 2-sided, black & white or color) shall be made on American standard letter size sheet (8.5 inches x 11 inches).
No document (except the travel document, and the debit/credit card) may be older than 180 days.

All submitted documents (except the travel document) are sent to the Ministry of Interior in Prague and neither the originals nor the notarized copies can be returned.

In exceptional cases, if you need your passport during the visa process, you can withdraw it personally or send us a written request along with a prepaid self-addressed envelope.  The envelope must contain a tracking number and a stamp.  Please be aware that some online labels have short expiration dates and cannot be utilized for mailing after the processing period. Futhermore, your passport can be returned back to you ONLY upon receiving the written request and ONLY to your US ADDRESS.  The passport must be re-submitted to our Consulate again for the issuance of the visa.

 

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