Family permits in the Czech Republic
The two family routes are very different. Family of EU or Czech citizens pay CZK 200 and face no waiting period. Family of non-EU residents pay CZK 2,500, must meet an income test, and can wait up to 270 days when applying from abroad.
Which route is yours?
| Family reunification (your family member is non-EU) | Family of an EU or Czech citizen | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Spouse, minor children, some dependent parents and adult children (source) | Spouse or partner, children under 21, dependent relatives (source) |
| How long your family member must have lived here first | More than 15 months on long-term residence, more than 6 months on an employee card, no wait for a Blue Card | No wait |
| Where to apply | An embassy abroad, or a ministry office in the Czech Republic if you already hold a long-term visa or permit | A ministry office in the Czech Republic, within 3 months of arriving |
| Fee | CZK 2,500 (CZK 1,000 under 15) | CZK 200 (fees) |
| Decision within | 60 days in the Czech Republic; up to 270 days from abroad (90 for Blue Card family) | Up to 60 days |
| Valid for | Same as your family member’s permit, at least 1 year | Residence card up to 5 years, or a permit up to 3 years |
| Can you work? | Yes, without a work permit | Yes, even while the application is being decided |
| Health insurance | Comprehensive commercial insurance; from abroad at least EUR 400,000 per event, no co-payment | EHIC, Czech public insurance, an S1 form, or similar |
Checklist: family reunification
- Application form, passport and photo
- Original marriage or birth certificate, with an apostille or superlegalisation and a certified Czech translation (formal rules)
- Proof of accommodation
- Proof of regular household income. A one-off bank balance isn’t accepted (rules and current amounts)
- Criminal record certificate from your home country, for embassy applications (not under 15)
- Comprehensive health insurance
- Parental consent if under 18
Documents must be no older than 180 days, except civil-registry certificates such as birth and marriage certificates.
Checklist: family of an EU or Czech citizen
- Application form, passport and 2 photos
- Original marriage or birth certificate. Documents from EU countries need no apostille; a Czech translation is needed unless it’s on an EU multilingual form
- Proof of accommodation
- Health insurance
- Proof that your EU family member lives in the Czech Republic, unless they already have a registration certificate
- Proof of funds, only for more distant relatives
If the relationship ends
For family of EU citizens, a divorce or separation can lead to the permit being revoked, with 60 days to leave. You keep it if the marriage lasted 3 years (1 of them in the Czech Republic), if you have custody of a child, if you left because of domestic violence, or if your EU family member died after you’d lived here for a year (source).
For family reunification, after a divorce you may switch to another type of permit without the usual 3-year wait.
The ministry may interview you or check that you really live at your stated address. See summoned to an interview.