State of Emergency in the Czech Republic – Visa and Travel Restrictions
13.03.2020 / 07:00 | Aktualizováno: 13.03.2020 / 10:08
The government of the Czech Republic declared the state of emergency in its entire territory for 30 days with effect from 12th March 2020 from 2 pm.
When declaring a state of emergency certain rights and freedoms may be restricted. With effect from 14th March 2020, the government resolution orders:
- no entry for all foreigners coming from risk areas except for foreigners staying temporarily over 90 days or persons with permanent residence in the Czech Republic; this does not apply if the entry of these foreigners is in the interest of the Czech Republic;
- to stop the receiving request for short-term visa applications, temporary and permanent residence applications at the embassies of the Czech Republic; this does not apply to persons whose stay is in the interest of the Czech Republic;
- to stop all proceedings in the case of short-term visa applications, which have not been decided yet; this does not apply to persons whose stay is in the interest of the Czech Republic;
- to stop all proceedings on applications for residence permits over 90 days lodged at the embassies,
- no entry to the risk areas for the citizens of the Czech Republic and foreigners with permanent or temporary residence, over 90 days, in the Czech Republic; this does not apply if there is an exemption from the imposed measure – such exemption applies to the foreigners from risk areas who wish to leave, however, their returned to the Czech Republic will not be allowed during validity of state of emergency.
- to reintroduce controls at the internal borders with Germany and Austria. Borders can be crossed at designated crossing points only. This measure is valid until 18 March 2020 with the possibility of extension.
Foreigners who are at the time of the declaration of the state of emergency in the territory legally, temporarily or permanently, under the rules for the stay of foreigners, are entitled to remain in the territory for the duration of the state of emergency.
Risk areas are defined by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic. The list is at https://koronavirus.mzcr.cz/staty-sveta-s-vysokym-rizikem-prenosu-nakazy/
as of 13 March 2020 it includes:
|
Austria |
Greece |
Norway |
|
Belgium |
Iran |
Spain |
|
China |
Italy |
Sweden |
|
Denmark |
Japan |
Switzerland |
|
France |
Korea |
UK |
|
Germany |
Netherland |
USA |