This page helps you understand on what basis you can live in Czechia and what follows from it. It compares the main grounds and lists the changes. Step-by-step instructions are on separate pages about temporary protection and special long-term residence.
What does legal stay in Czechia mean?
You stay in Czechia legally if you have a valid basis: temporary protection, a visa or a residence permit. For people who left Ukraine because of the war, this basis is temporary protection (dočasná ochrana) under Act 65/2022 Sb., known as Lex Ukrajina (Sb. stands for the official Collection of Laws of the Czech Republic, Sbírka zákonů). Where this act and other acts deal with the same matters, its rules take precedence, unless it says otherwise.
Protection is shown by a visa sticker in your passport, valid until 31 March of the following year. Protection granted in 2026 is valid until 31 March 2027.
For the purposes of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, a protection holder is treated as the holder of a long-term tolerance visa (vízum strpění). This decides whether they can apply for another permit and whether time on protection counts toward the period required for permanent residence.
Neither protection holders nor holders of special long-term residence receive a Czech personal number (rodné číslo): the law expressly rules this out.
How do the grounds for staying differ?
The main difference is who can apply and where: a protection holder generally cannot switch to another permit, and applications for an employee card and a study permit are filed through an embassy.
| Basis | Who it is for | Key conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary protection | Ukrainian citizens who lived in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 and left, and their family members; foreigners and stateless persons who had international or equivalent protection in Ukraine; foreigners with a permanent residence permit in Ukraine who cannot safely return to their home country | Personal application, housing document; proof that you meet your military obligations (under the EU decision, from 5 August 2026 for everyone who did not have protection in Czechia on 4 August; the Ministry of the Interior requires it from applicants aged 18–60). Valid until 31 March of the following year, extended every year |
| Special long-term residence | Temporary protection holders who have lived in Czechia without a break for at least 2 years | Interest expressed during a window set by the government; income of at least 440,000 Kč a year; 2 years of health insurance without debts. There is no right to this permit. Permit for 5 years |
| Employee card (zaměstnanecká karta) | Foreigners who have found a job in Czechia | A contract with at least the minimum wage and at least 15 hours a week; a vacancy from the central database for card holders; the application is filed at an embassy. Issued for the length of the contract, but for no more than 2 years |
| Family reunification | Family members of a foreigner with a residence permit in Czechia | The person you are joining has an employee card and has lived in Czechia for at least 6 months, or has an EU Blue Card, or has another permit and at least 15 months in Czechia; in the last case, each spouse must be at least 20 years old |
| Long-term residence for study | Students | The application is filed at an embassy. Permit for 1 year, for 2 years in some EU programs |
| Permanent residence (trvalý pobyt) | People who have lived in Czechia without a break for at least 5 years | Time on a tolerance visa does not count; time on special long-term residence counts in full, and earlier temporary protection counts by half; study counts by half |
| International protection (asylum) | People who ask for protection under the Asylum Act | If a temporary protection holder files such an application in Czechia, it is put on hold while temporary protection lasts |
| Tolerance visa (vízum strpění) | People who are not entitled to temporary protection | Personal application to the Ministry of the Interior, fee 300 Kč, processing time 30 days. No state health insurance or humanitarian benefit; you need a permit to work |
Time on temporary protection granted by Czechia counts by half toward the 5 years needed for permanent residence: Lex Ukrajina says so directly (§ 7w(6)). This rule sits in the part of the act on special long-term residence, and the Ministry of the Interior explains it specifically for holders of that permit. The general Act on the Residence of Foreigners does not count time on a tolerance visa, and it treats a protection holder as the holder of such a visa. So, in our reading, it is unclear whether the half-time rule applies to other routes to permanent residence.
On 12 June 2026 the main part of Act 314/2025 Sb. came into force. It made major changes to the Asylum Act and the Act on the Residence of Foreigners. This page does not cover which of these changes affect Ukrainians.
How does your status affect work?
Temporary protection, special long-term residence and permanent residence give you the right to work without a work permit. Other grounds come with restrictions:
| Status | Work |
|---|---|
| Temporary protection | Without a permit, for any employer |
| Special long-term residence | Without a permit |
| Permanent residence | Without a permit |
| Employee card | Only in the job the card was issued for |
| Tolerance visa | Only with a work permit |
When temporary protection ends, the right to work without a permit ends with it. How to look for work and what your employer must arrange is explained on the page Work in Czechia.
How do you get status for your family?
Family members of a protection holder get temporary protection through their own application. The Act on Temporary Protection counts as family a husband, wife or registered partner, if the marriage or partnership already existed when the grounds for protection arose; an unmarried child under 18; and the parents of a protection holder under 18. Other close people who lived together may be accepted for reasons that deserve special consideration. From 5 August 2026, the Ministry of the Interior also applies the military obligations requirement to applications for protection for family reunification.
A protection holder can ask for a separate family reunification permit in Czechia no earlier than 6 months after protection is granted. For special long-term residence, the family is assessed together: if one family member does not meet a condition, no one is considered to have met it.
Can you switch from temporary protection to another permit?
As a rule, no. The Ministry of the Interior names only a few exceptions:
- long-term residence for study; the application is filed only at an embassy;
- temporary residence as a family member of an EU citizen;
- long-term residence for family reunification;
- expressing interest in special long-term residence.
As soon as you are granted a long-term visa, a residence permit or international protection in Czechia or in another country, your temporary protection ends by law.
A protection holder cannot apply for an employee card in Czechia: the law does not allow this for tolerance visa holders, and protection holders are treated as such. Applications for permits filed at Czech embassies in Ukraine are inadmissible. The government has made exceptions, including for family visas and permits, study and research work, but the exception for the employee card applies only to participants in a government program to whom Czechia has not granted temporary protection. We have not found an official explanation of whether you can in practice get a card through a Czech embassy in another country.
A holder of special long-term residence can apply only for a permit for family reunification, study or research work, or for an EU Blue Card. Any other permit ends special residence.
What changed in 2025–2026?
There was no separate new law on Ukrainians in 2026: Lex Ukrajina was last amended in 2025. The changes came through government regulations, EU decisions and the general Act on the Residence of Foreigners:
- On 11 February 2025 Act 24/2025 Sb. came into force. It is the seventh package of amendments to the Lex Ukrajina laws (known as Lex Ukrajina VII). State-paid health insurance was cut from 150 to 90 days, the annual extension of protection was written into the law, and special long-term residence was introduced. Free state housing is now provided once and for no more than 90 days in a row, and protection ends after 90 days of registration at the address of a public office.
- On 3 September 2025 Act 314/2025 Sb. made applications inadmissible for people who have or had temporary protection in another EU country. On 10 December 2025 the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the Ministry of the Interior cannot return such applications as inadmissible and must examine them on the merits. More on the page about temporary protection.
- On 15 March 2026 Government Regulation 28/2026 Sb. opened the second round of special long-term residence: interest from 1 to 30 April, registration from 1 October to 31 December 2026.
- On 31 March and 30 September 2026 protection ended for those who did not register for the extension or did not get a new sticker.
- On 12 June 2026 the main part of Act 314/2025 Sb. came into force.
- On 30 July 2026 the EU extended temporary protection until 4 March 2028. From 5 August 2026, protection is granted only to people who meet their military obligations in Ukraine, if the person did not have protection in that country on 4 August; the Czech Ministry of the Interior applies the requirement to applications filed from 5 August. The ministry also announced that the next extension will give protection until 31 March 2028, a date later than the EU end date.
- On 1 October 2026 registration for special long-term residence began.
Not yet law: a government bill (sněmovní tisk 213), submitted on 3 June 2026, proposes, among other things, ending protection after more than 30 days outside the Schengen area and changing the address deadlines. What exactly it proposes is explained on the page about temporary protection.
When do you need a lawyer?
You need a lawyer who practices immigration law in Czechia when your case goes beyond the general rules. The law has several points where people most often lose their rights:
- your protection application was returned as inadmissible: the law excludes judicial review of such a decision, but the courts have repeatedly found such returns unlawful;
- decisions on special long-term residence are made outside the ordinary administrative procedure, and there is no right to this permit;
- at the stage when the special residence card is issued, a criminal record of one family member cancels the registration of the whole family, and this cannot be appealed;
- you were refused protection or it was revoked.
Kompanion does not provide legal services and does not recommend lawyers. You can ask general questions on the Ministry of the Interior’s information line for foreigners: +420 974 801 801.
Where there is no official explanation, we say so directly, and we mark our own conclusions from the text of the law with the words “in our reading”.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Missing the online registration for the extension by 15 March or the new visa sticker by 30 September: your protection ends.
- Waiting for a chance to apply for special long-term residence: in 2026 no new applicants are accepted, and a 2027 round has not been announced.
- Looking for the rules on the old Ministry of the Interior page for Ukrainian citizens: it has been moved to the archive and contains 2023 data. Current information is on the ministry’s portal for foreigners, ipc.gov.cz.
- Asking for protection in another EU country without weighing the consequences: your Czech protection ends as a result.