Czech Republic visa for Ukrainians

A Czech visa for Ukrainians is required for work, business, studies or long-term residence. Trips of up to 90 days in any 180-day period with a biometric passport are visa-free, for non-commercial purposes only. Most applications for long-term statuses currently cannot be filed at the Czech Embassy in Ukraine.

Visa-free travel: the 90/180 rule

• Visa-free travel has applied since 11.06.2017 (Regulation (EU) 2017/850) and only to biometric passports issued to ICAO standards.
• All days spent in Schengen countries are added together: the total may not exceed 90 in any 180-day period. A visa-free stay cannot be extended.
• Purpose: tourism, visiting family and other non-commercial purposes. Work and business on a visa-free stay are prohibited.
• Within 3 days of arrival the foreign national registers with the Foreign Police; sufficient funds and health insurance are required for the whole stay.
• With some exceptions, a visa-free stay is unsuitable for filing long-term visa or residence applications in Czechia. It can be used to travel in to collect an already approved permit.

When a Ukrainian needs a visa for the Czech Republic

Where to apply for a visa

The Czech Embassy in Kyiv states on its website that its visa activity is suspended. The embassy accepts short-stay Schengen visa applications only from family members of EU citizens. Applications for long-term statuses filed at the embassy in Kyiv or the Consulate General in Lviv are inadmissible (§ 5a of Act 65/2022 Coll.), except for the cases listed in Government Regulation 308/2022 Coll.: family visas and family reunification, studies, research, the EU Blue Card, employee cards for participants in government programmes and a few others. The filing date must be booked in advance.

Outside Ukraine, a long-term visa application is filed at the Czech embassy in a country where the applicant has held a residence permit for at least 2 years; for EU countries, at the visa centre in Dresden, which since 01.01.2026 has limited the acceptance of business visa and employee card applications.

Processing times and documents

A decision on a Schengen visa is taken within 15 calendar days of filing an admissible application; in individual cases the period is extended to up to 45 days (Article 23 of the EU Visa Code). A long-term business visa takes 90 days, 120 in complicated cases; a study visa takes 60 days.

For long-term visas the embassy requires a certified Czech translation of Ukrainian documents, documents issued within the last 180 days and the full criminal record certificate. Ukrainian documents need no apostille: Article 18 of the 2001 Treaty on Legal Assistance between the Czech Republic and Ukraine applies, and notarial certification is sufficient.

Temporary protection instead of a visa

Ukrainians who left because of the war may hold temporary protection in Czechia. It is currently valid until 31.03.2027, and the EU has extended protection until 04.03.2028. Since 05.08.2026, temporary protection is refused to persons aged 18–60 who are subject to military service in Ukraine unless they prove compliance with military registration rules: at 18–22, registration in «Reserv+» and an electronic military registration document; at 23–60, a document showing full removal from the military register. The rule applies to first and repeat applications and to family reunification applications. More on statuses: immigration to the Czech Republic.

What we do

• We determine whether you need a visa and of which type.
• We check where you can lawfully apply, taking into account § 5a of Act 65/2022 Coll.
• We prepare documents with a Czech translation.
• For entrepreneurs we combine the visa with company registration in Czechia (s.r.o.) with INNOVA Consulting Group.

Related pages: Czech residence permit, Czech permanent residence, Czech citizenship.

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Sources (as of 09.10.2026): Regulation (EU) 2017/850; Czech Ministry of the Interior: visa-free stays; Czech Embassy in Kyiv: visa information; Embassy: long-term visas; Act 65/2022 Coll.; Regulation 308/2022 Coll.; EU Visa Code; Ministry of the Interior: Dresden; temporary protection.