UK-expats – do not lose your residence in the Czech Republic after Brexit – learn how can you keep your rights

According to the EU law, UK citizens may stay and work freely in the Czech Republic without any required permits being (e.g. visa, work permits etc.)

Nevertheless, on 29 March 2019, the situation is about to change with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The legal status of UK citizen has not been confirmed as the talks over the agreement of specific withdrawal arrangements, which would also address the above issue still continue.

At this point, the current agreement proposal suggests that the rights of UK citizens living in another EU member state should remain unchanged till the end of 2020. Due to the continuing negotiations it is impossible to positively say whether the withdrawal arrangement will include the above rule or not.

Should it not be the case, UK citizens will need either visa or stay permit to prolong their stay in the Czech Republic with the specific procedure and further details still being a subject of speculations.

The UK citizens will be provided with an opportunity to prove to the Czech Ministry of Interior that they have stayed in the Czech Republic before the Brexit and, therefore, they will retain their rights (e.g. the right to stay, access to the job market etc.) till the end of 2020.

The Czech Ministry of Interior, however, warns that the procedure may be a very difficult one. Despite this, there is another and considerably easier way – obtaining a so-called certificate of temporary residence before the Brexit will be sufficient; as the Ministry has stated the document definitely proves that “its holder is an UK citizen who stayed in the Czech Republic before the date of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union”.

To be issued with the certificate, basic documents related to the applicant’s stay in the Czech Republic need to be presented to the Ministry with the certificate being consequently issued free of charge. The UK citizens are highly recommended to opt for the procedure, not only due to matters of legal uncertainty concerning their status in the Czech Republic, but because it also considerably saves the applicant’s time and they also avoid difficult proceedings with competent immigration authorities.