Long-term residence permit for the purpose of study

In the event of an application for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of studies in accordance with § 42d of the ARFN, the definition in § 64/1 and /2 must be met in connection with § 42d/1 of the ARFN, that being:

• studies in accredited study programmes at a higher educational establishment in accordance with the Higher Education Act (Act No. 111/1998 Coll.,) - § 64/1/a of the ARFN,
• participation in language and professional preparation for studies under an accredited study programme of a higher education establishment organised by a public higher education establishment - § 64/1/b of the ARFN,
• scholarships [§ 64/1/c of the ARFN] realised on the basis of:
  • valid international agreements implemented by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports,
  • a valid Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports scholarship programme,
  • a European Union scholarship programme, or
  • a scholarship programme on the basis of a decision by the Government of the Czech Republic.

I. Requirements for an application for a residence permit for the purpose of "studies" 

• A completed application form
• 2 photographs
• A travel document (passport): A travel document for the purposes of granting a long-term visa shall not be older than 10 years, it must contain at least 2 free pages and its validity must be at least 3 months longer than the validity of the long-term visa.
• A document confirming the purpose of the stay in the Czech Republic – confirmation of enrolment into education. Masaryk University provides this confirmation to a student who than encloses it to his/her long term visa application.
• Proof of accommodation - A document on the ownership of a flat or house; a document on the entitlement to use the flat or house  or written confirmation of the person who is the owner or authorized user of the flat or house (landlord, cooperative member) with a notarized signature on consenting to the foreign national’s accommodation
• Funds to cover the stay in the Czech Republic (§ 13 of the ARFN): It is necessary to prove the availability of funds that are 15 times the amount of the existential minimum (currently it is set at 2200 CZK for 2012) for the first month and double the amount of the existential minimum for every month afterwards, thus, for instance, for a stay from 1 January – 30 June it would be (15x2200) + (5x2x2200) = 33 000 + 22 000 = 55 000 CZK. A foreign national that is under 18 years proves the availability of half the amount. 
  Funds for the stay are proven by:
  • an account statement from a bank or other financial institution (it must not necessarily concern a bank or financial institution authorised to operate its activity solely in the Czech Republic) for an account maintained in the foreign national’s name indicating that a student is free to use the finances in the specified amount during his/her stay in the Czech Republic. The submitted document must clearly indicate that the foreign national is entitled to use the requisite funds in the Czech Republic. If it is not clear from the document that the foreign national is free to use the finances in the specified amount during his/her stay in the Czech Republic (e.g. in the case of a foreign bank account), it shall be necessary to prove this fact e.g. with a valid internationally recognised banking card relating to the account in question.
  • a different document on financial security demonstrating that the foreign national can use the financial resources to the requisite amount or that a student has secured funds to cover the costs associated with his/her stay in the Czech Republic, e.g. it can concern a document that the foreign national’s spouse or legal representative or the person to whom a foreign national under 18 has been entrusted (assuming the given person has a visa for a stay of over 90 days or a long-term residence permit or a certificate of temporary residence for an EU citizen or a permanent residence permit) has the requisite amount of funds for the foreign nationals’ stay (an account statement and a declaration on securing the funds to cover the costs for the foreign national’s stay), or
  • a valid internationally recognized banking card. Upon request by the administrative body, however, the foreign national is obliged to submit a bank account statement for an account maintained in the foreign national’s name indicating that a student is free to use the finances in the specified amount during his/her stay in the Czech Republic.

Only upon request of the administrative body the applicant also submits

• A document similar to the Register of Criminal Records issued by the state of which the foreign national is a citizen and also by states in which the foreign national has had continuous residence for over 6 months in the last 3 years. The extract from the Penal Register record may be replaced by an affidavit, if the given state does not issue such a document. The obligation to submit an extract from the Penal Register record does not relate to a foreign national under 15 years.
• A medical report, that a student does not suffer from a serious illness is submitted upon request by the administrative body in the event there is reasonable suspicion that the applicant suffers from a serious illness.

II. Further details for an application for a long-term stay 

• An application for a long-term residence permit is filed in person.
  • At a Czech Embassy, or
  • In the Czech Republic, only in case of an application for a new long-term residence for a different purpose than was hitherto permitted, that being at the MOI office under whose competence the applicant will fall according to the proof of accommodation.
• An application for a long-term residence permit for the purpose of "studies" is processed within 60 days of it being filed.
• The period of validity of a long-term residence permit granted by the Ministry of Interior will be:
  • period necessary to achieve the purpose requiring residence in the Czech Republic, shorter than 1 year,
  • corresponding to the period set out in a contract on voluntary services for youth in a domestic host organization, if it concerns issuing a long-term residence permit for the purpose of studies in the Czech Republic in accordance with § 42d,
  • 1 year if it concerns temporary residence for the purpose of studies with an expected stay period longer than 1 year.
• The validity of the long-term residence permit for the purpose of "studies" in the Czech Republic (§ 42d) can be repeatedly extended, but no longer than by 2 years, if it was issued for the purpose of "studies" at a higher vocational school or a higher education establishment . If this permit was issued for the purpose of unremunerated professional training, it can only be extended once for a period corresponding to the period set out in the agreement on professional training in the domestic host organization. In other cases, the validity of this permit is not extended.

MOre information can be found on this link.