Visa & Health Insurance

Updated information for the citizens of Ukraine can be found here.

Find below the information regarding your stay in the Czech Republic. Depending on the citizenship you are holding, you either belong to one of these categories: EU citizens (including those coming from the Schengen Area – Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) or non-EU citizens. According to this, please refer to the information below.

Important: please, be aware of the fact that the full and actual information is always available at the Official Web Portal for Foreigners, who are living, or wish to live, in the Czech Republic. 

Visa – EU Citizens

In general, the EU citizens do not need a visa to study in the Czech Republic (as well as citizens of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland). You need a valid passport or another equivalent ID only.

After your arrival to Prague, you have to be registered within 30 days in the Foreign Police (in case you are accommodated at the dormitory – the announcement of your arrival is done by the dormitory) – see more.

EU citizens may apply for a certificate of temporary residence

The certificate of temporary residence is not a condition of their stay in the Czech Republic, therefore it is up to them whether they request this certificate be issued or not. The certificate of temporary residence is issued at the request of an EU citizen who intends to stay in the Czech Republic for more than 3 months. The application for issuing a certificate of temporary residence is filed on the appropriate form.

Application requirements are:

An application for a certificate of temporary residence can be filed at the MOI offices and needs to be submitted in person at the MOI office. The application is processed without undue delay, within 30 days of initiating the process at the latest. In the case of a positive decision, the applicant is invited in writing or by telephone by the MOI office to pick up the certificate of temporary residence.

Insurance – EU Citizens

  • EU citizens (as well as citizens of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) – has a European Health Insurance Card – its entitled the necessary and urgent health care free of charge
  • It is highly recommended to have a supplementary travel health insurance (conclude a contract in your home country before arrival to Prague)

Visa – Non-EU Citizens

Before arrival

Non -EU citizens have to apply at the embassy of the Czech Republic in the country of their permanent stay for:

We recommend applying for the long-term residence permit for the study purpose of the legal stay in the Czech Republic immediately at the embassy of the Czech Republic. Find the detailed information at the website of the Official Web Portal for Foreigners. 

The student solves the visa issue on their own. The application procedure shall be initiated immediately after receiving information from our University about your acceptance. You can apply for a visa/residence permit at the local Czech Embassy or Consulate in your country of origin or in the country where you have a long-term residence permit. Please note that it is necessary to be physically present in the country where you applied at the time the visa is issued in the passport.

Important is to contact the local Czech Embassy or Consulate for details on Visa Application and read the instructions on filling in the application properly – here you can find all necessary information including the contact to the Embassy or Consulate in your country. Different Czech Embassies can have different documents required, therefore please read and follow the instructions properly.

The application procedure for obtaining visa / residence permit takes 60 days (in particularly complicated cases up to 120 days). Please start your application procedure immediately after receiving information from our University about your acceptance. There are many documents you have to prepare, additionally, you will receive also the documents from our university.

The applicants need to meet several requirements. Always check in advance according to the respective Embassy requirements.

Coordinator of a programme you were admitted to will help you with:

  • Confirmation of Study (“Jednotné potvrzení o studiu”) – will be provided immediately after you successfully pass the admission exam
  • Proof of Accommodation (“Doklad o zajištění ubytování”) – only for those, who applied for an accommodation at the University dormitory; if the student makes its own arrangement of the accommodation they have to follow the rules of the conditions for this kind of document by their own.

These documents are issued in the Czech language according to the requirements and conditions of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic.

Health insurance rules – see the information on the web of the International Office.

 

Student Mode – fast track for visa interview

VŠE can offer a service via Student Mode to students who have been officially accepted for studies at our university. The Student Mode can include newly accepted international students, who require a student visa / long term residence permit for the study purpose in the Czech Republic. Students who fulfil criteria and are successfully nominated receive a priority access for submission an application and interviews at the Czech Embassy in the country, where they are applying for a long-term student visa / long term permit. A student nominated for the Student Mode does not need to register for an interview – he/she will be contacted by the Czech Embassy and will receive a fixed date for the interview. Important note: A nomination for the Student Mode is by no means a guarantee, that the student will actually receive a student visa. The Student Mode is only a fast track for interviews.

Applicants for the Student Mode must be recommended by a relevant Programme coordinator at VŠE. There is an internal process of a nomination to the Student Mode, only a responsible persons of VŠE can submit a nomination for the Student Mode to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.

More information about the Student Mode

 

After arrival to Prague

Upon arrival, students from non-EU countries are obliged to register with the Foreign Police,, if it has not been done by the accommodation provider. If a student stays at the public accommodation (i.e. dormitory), the annoucement is done automatically by the lodging provider. Students from EU countries have the same obligations.

  • Students with the long-term visa for the study purpose – have to be registered within 3 days after their arrival to Prague in the Foreign Police (in case you are accommodated at the dormitory – the announcement of your arrival is done by the dormitory) – see more
  • Students with the long-term residence permit for the study purpose – within 30 calendar days of entering the Czech Republic, all foreign students arriving to receive a long-term residence permit are obliged to report to the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of  the Ministry of the Interior (MOI office) in person for the purpose of carrying out activities associated with issuing a biometric residence card, where they may also report their arrival. – see more
    • It is necessary to make a reservation for the in-person meeting at the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy. If there is a quarantine obligation after arrival, it is possible to book a date after the quarantine ends.

Current students

All students have to follow rules and conditions of legal stay in the Czech Republic.

Do not forget to extend your legal stay on time – a day before your current visa / residence permit expiration at the latest.

As the visa is always issued for maximum of 1 year, you have to apply for a long-term residence permit. Requirements for an application for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of „studies“ can be found here.

Do not forget to announce any change (for example your address) which happens during the legal stay in the Czech Republic within 30 working days.

If you need:

  • Confirmation of study for the extension of the visa/ residence permit – ask your programme Coordinator
  • Proof of Accommodation – ask a dormitory manager (if living at the dormitories)
  • All application forms you might need can be found at the webpage of the Official Web Portal for Foreigners.

After graduation

  • Graduates, who lose the student status, must leave the country or apply for a new purpose of legal stay before the current permit expires (i.e. employee card, seeking employment, immigration)
  • The biometrical card  must be returned  to the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy  of the Ministry of the Interior.

Insurance – Non-EU Citizens

The general rule is that everyone in the territory of the Czech Republic has to be insured. This means that everyone is obliged to have a properly paid for and valid insurance!.

From September 20, 2023 the provision of comprehensive medical insurance for foreigners in the Czech Republic has changed. It is now be possible to arrange travel and medical insurance in the scope of comprehensive health care with any insurance company authorised to provide it in the Czech Republic.

More information about Insurance can be found here.

 

Medical contacts / Emergency

Here is the list of foreign languages speaking doctors by their specializations and locations.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
European Emergency Number (Police, Fire, Medical Service) 112
Fire 150
Emergency Medical Service 155
Police 158
Municipal Police 156

To quickly provide the emergency operator with your location, feel free to tell the nearest streetlamp code: