Fall/Spring Semester – Student Visa
All non-EU students studying in the Czech Republic for more than 90 days are required to have a student visa. This applies to students in the spring and fall semester semester programs only. Students apply for visas individually at the nearest Czech Republic embassy/consulate. Program organizers supply several documents necessary for a successful application, and guide students throughout the process.
However, the consular officers are always the final authority, so if you have any doubts or questions regarding the visa requirements or the visa application, please call the consular authorities or send them an e-mail.
Keep a copy of the entire visa application dossier. While the Czech authorities reserve 60 days to issue the visa, the average waiting period is shorter.
HOW TO APPLY
You can submit the visa application in person at the consulate, but the more common practice is to send it by registered mail. The application includes the original of your passport. Consular officers will photocopy it and then send this copy together with the rest of the application to the Immigration Police in the Czech Republic. Normally, they will keep the original of the passport at the consulate to which the application was submitted until the application is approved. Then they paste the visa into the passport and return it to you by registered mail in an envelope with pre-paid postage that you have previously provided. The process may take up to two months, and you may need the passport in the meantime. If that is the case, ask the consulate to send the passport back to you once they no longer need it in the envelope with pre-paid postage that you have enclosed with the application. Remember, if you ask for your passport to be returned before the visa is issued, you will have to return it to the consulate (in person or by mail) so that the visa can be inserted after it is issued.
The application is not just a form. It is a dossier that will, in your case, contain 9 documents. The New York consulate describes them under 10 points, explaining in detail their required format. See: http://www.mzv.cz/consulate.newyork/en/visa_and_consular_information/student_visa/index.html
Attention: the list below was composed to give you a general idea and a simplified version of what is being required. It has been last updated on July 7, 2016. Still, check the consular website just to be sure that no new changes were made before you send in your application.
1) 2 copies of a completed visa application form – to be downloaded from the consular website (Application for Long-Stay Visa).
http://www.mzv.cz/public/ca/ee/3e/525175_423128_long_term_visa.pdf
A part of the form is to be filled out in English (your name, address etc.) but then there are sections which have to be filled out in Czech. The following document contains detailed instructions as to what enter under which line of the form.
How to fill out visa application.docx
2) no visa fee – University programs accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic are free of charge. This is a statement from the website of the Consulate General in New York. In case you are asked to pay the fee, show this passage to an official with whom you are dealing.
3) 2 identical photographs, taken recently. One photograph must be glued onto the original application form, and the second photograph must be glued onto the copy of the application.
4) original passport (valid for at least 90 days after the proposed departure from the Czech Republic).
5) proof of sufficient funds for your stay – a notarized copy of an internationally recognized debit/credit card in your name with a validity during your stay in the Czech Republic AND an original or a notarized copy of a recent statement of account associated with this card. The account must be in your name, too. The balance on the account must be US$ 2,100 or more.
6) document confirming the purpose of your stay – the letter of admittance you will receive from the International Office at Charles University AFTER you have been accepted in to the program.
7) document confirming accommodation – the Accommodation Contract you will receive from the International Office at Charles University AFTER you have been accepted into the program. An additional notarized copy of this document is required. Provide the Czech original and do not forget to sign it. The English translation is just for your information.
8) criminal history background
For U.S. nationals: An affidavit letter is required, confirming that you have never been indited and sentenced for a felony of any kind. Your signature must be notarized by a Notary Public or you can sign it in front of the Consular Officer. The formulaire of the affidavit can be downloaded at this website, under the point 8. http://www.mzv.cz/consulate.newyork/en/visa_and_consular_information/visa/student_visa/index_1.html
For non US nationals: Submit a Criminal History Record from the country of your nationality. It must be appropriately certified (Apostille or super-legalization), and it must be accompanied with a translation into the Czech language. Mgr. Marcela Janickova, the Intercultural Studies Program site manager, will help you with the translation as well as the apostille.
In addition, if you have lived in any country for 6 months or more in the previous three years, please contact the consular section for details.
9) a copy of a medical insurance policy valid for the period of your stay in the Czech Republic. The Czech Immigration Police require that all applicants for a long-term visa purchase a basic health insurance policy sold by a Czech insurance company. Use the online services of Maxima insurance company at https://www.maxima-as.cz/online_cizinci_add.php?language=en
Purchase Emergency Medical Care Insurance, type PREMIUM, coverage for 4 months (4 mesice – premium) for 2000 Czech crowns (US$ 110).
WHERE TO APPLY
The Czech Republic has an embassy in Washington D.C. and 3 consulates across the country – in New Yor, Chicago and Los Angeles. To find out which consular office you need to approach, go to Consular Offices.
Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C.
http://www.mzv.cz/washington/en/index.html
Territorial Jurisdiction: Alabama, Arkansas, DC, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico and Overseas
Address:
Consular Department
Embassy of the Czech Republic
3900 Spring of Freedom Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Opening hours: Mon – Fri: 8:30am – 11:30am (except Czech national holidays):
Tel: (202) 274-9103 (It is preferable to contact us by email during office hours for the public)
Fax: (202) 469-8161
E-mail: con_washington@embassy.mzv.cz
Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York
Territorial jurisdiction: New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Address:
Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York
1109-1111 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10028
Tel.: (212) 717-5643, fax: (212) 717-5064
E-mail: newyork@embassy.mzv.cz, web: www.mzv.cz/newyork
Opening hours:
Monday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Tuesday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Wednesday CLOSED
Thursday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Friday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Visa Department – no appointment is needed, we have a walk-in system
Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago
http://www.mzv.cz/chicago/en/index.html
Address:
Consulate General of the Czech Republic
Consular Section
205 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1680
Chicago, IL 60601
Opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Wed: 1:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Tel: 312 861 1037, ext. 107, 108, 113
Fax: 312 861 1944
E-mail: consulate_chicago@mzv.cz
Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles
http://www.mzv.cz/losangeles/en/index.html
Territorial jurisdiction: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Oregon, Alaska and Arizona fall within the jurisdiction of the Consulate General in Los Angeles.
Address:
Consulate General of the Czech Republic
10990 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel.: 310-473 0889, fax.: 310-473 9813
E-mail: losangeles@embassy.mzv.cz
Visa Department – no appointment is needed, we have a walk-in system