Short-Term Visa

In order to be allowed to live in the Czech Republic for study purposes, Non-EU exchange trainees must apply for a short-term (Schengen) visa for study in the Czech Republic If they want to stay for less than 90 days. Applications must be submitted to the Czech Embassy or Consulate in the respective country. If you are unsure whether you need a visa to stay in the Czech Republic, please consult the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your country or the embassy of the Czech Republic nearest to you. 

IMPORTANT: Non-EU citizens who have residency in another EU state do not need to apply for a short-term visa because it is allowed to stay in the Czech Republic under 90 days.

The following is a step-by-step explanation of the visa process. Please make sure to follow provided information before you apply for a visa.

 Who needs to apply for the visa?

• Nationals living outside of the Schengen Area.*
• National is a citizen of a state that is not in a visa-free regime/ have not a bilateral visa exemption agreement**

* List of Schengen countries:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Note: Other EU or EEA Member States, i.e. Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus, Romania and Great Britain, are not members of the Schengen area.

** States whose citizens are exempt from the visa requirement for travel to the Schengen Area: here, visit the webpage Visa Free Regime and Bilateral visa exemption agreements.

How long can I stay in the Czech republic with a short-term visa?

While gathering all the documents, you must remember that a short-term stay is a stay of a maximum of 90 days during any 180-day period, which means a period of 180 days immediately preceding each day of stay (note: the length of stay is calculated according to the entry and exit stamps entered into the relevant travel document at the border-crossing point).

Make sure your visa's validity refers to the period during which a visa, a legal document that allows a person to enter and stay in a specific country for a designated period, is considered valid and can be used for travel. The validity of a visa is determined by the dates specified on the visa sticker or in the visa approval documentation. For example, suppose a visa has a validity period of six months from January 1st to June 30th. In that case, it means that the visa holder can use that visa to enter the country at any time between January 1st and June 30th. Once the visa's validity period expires, the holder can no longer use it for entry.

It is important to note that the validity of a visa is distinct from the duration of stay allowed by the visa. The duration of stay specifies how long the visa holder is permitted to remain in the country after each entry. It is essential to adhere to both the visa's validity dates and the allowed duration of stay to avoid any immigration issues.

IMPORTANT: This is important to know when planning your internship, especially under the Erasmus programme! The minimum length of the Erasmus traineeship is 60 days, so plan your dates accordingly and ensure that you have enough period of your short-term stay in your passport. If not, your Erasmus traineeship will be invalid as before exceeding this max. permitted period, you must leave the Schengen Area. Third-country nationals are not allowed to enter again until they satisfy the stipulated conditions, i.e., they do not breach the rule of maximum duration of short-term stay (90/180).

We recommend using the "Schengen calculator", a useful tool for checking that you are not breaking this rule (to redirect to the European Commission website, please click on this link): https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm?lang=en

Your stay is also governed by other requirements of the granted visa, such as:

• number of entries (a visa for one, two or more entries), 
• territorial validity (a visa for the entire Schengen Area or a visa with a so-called limited territorial validity for selected Member States),

A visa granted by a Schengen country allows you to enter all the Schengen countries.  

 Applying for the visa appointment

The applicants must schedule the appointment as UCT Prague has no authority to process visa applications or approve visa appointments with the Czech Embassy in other countries. The International Relations Department UCT Prague usually advises students to apply for a visa appointment as soon as they receive an acceptance letter (or signed Learning Agreement). For many students, it can take several weeks for appointments to be made!

Gathering all documents 

To apply for a short-term visa (visa for study purposes), among other documents, you must obtain three original documents (physical copies) from UCT Prague. You may request the documents after your application procedure is finished and confirmed. 

 Which documents can UCT Prague issue for you? 

1.  Document the purpose of the stay 
2.  Letter of Acceptance 
3.  Proof of accommodation (ONLY IN CASE you are staying at UCT dormitories) 

What should you provide? 

Please contact the Department of International Relations (incoming@vscht.cz) and send: 

• copy/scan of your passport 
• information at which embassy you will apply for a visa (name of the city)
• information if you will be staying at UCT Prague dormitories

IMPORTANT: There may be variations depending on the country where you are applying for your visa, and additional documents may be required. Therefore, your primary source for obtaining the right and accurate information is the embassy´s website or the official website of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech republic. 

  Here is the general list of the documents that you need to obtain for the visa (click on the link to learn more about the specific document):

• Passport
• Application form
• Photo
• Biometric data (fingerprints)
• Supporting documents on
  • - purpose of stay (for example, spa treatment confirmation, medical facility treatment confirmation, medical report etc.)
  • - accommodation
  • - financial means
  • - proof of return – information allowing assessment of applicant’s intention to return (most commonly air or other ticket reservation) 
• Travel medical insurance
• Harmonized List documents
• Fee

Applications are admissible (i.e. they can be accepted and processed) only if they confirm to ALL of the following: contain a valid passport, application form, photo and fingerprints, are submitted within six months at the earliest and 15 days at the latest ahead of the trip, and visa fee has been paid.

Delivery of the documents 

You must submit all the documents in paper form. To receive documents from UCT Prague, students need to contact the Department of International Relations (incoming@vscht.cz) after they receive confirmation that the documents are ready to be sent. 

Students have two options: 

1.  use regular delivery – UCT Prague will prepare and register the delivery. It will take approximately 3-4 weeks to receive the documents (it can be even more, depending on the country); students do not have to pay for the service. 
2.  use DHL – Students must visit the DHL website and create an order for delivery. It will take approximately less than a week to obtain the documents safely; students pay for the express delivery service. 
    
   We recommend choosing express DHL delivery, as getting the documents as quickly and safely as possible is crucial. From our experience, it is the best way to obtain the documents without problems. If students’ visa requests are not approved on time, UCT Prague reserves the right to cancel their traineeship. 

 The Visa Appointment 

 For the visa appointment, please pay attention to the information the Czech Embassy will communicate. Consulates schedule their appointments mostly by e-mail or phone – refer to consulate websites for guidance.

Schengen visa applications can be submitted six months at the earliest and 15 days at the latest ahead of the trip. Applications are lodged in person. An interview is held, and fingerprints are collected.  After applying for your visa,  applications are decided within 15 days after the consulate accepts the application. Exceptionally, the review period may be extended to a maximum of 45 days when further examination, consultation or verification is needed. The consulate will inform the applicant if this happens. As mentioned above, we have no authority with the Czech embassy in other countries. 

Do not overlook:

• Supporting documents may not be older than 180 days, with the exception of a passport and photo (if reflecting current appearance).
• Supporting documents must be submitted in Czech. Documents in another language must also be submitted in official translation into Czech.
• The following documents must always be submitted in their originals: passport and supporting documents on purpose of stay (in this case, acceptance letter or other similar confirmation). These originals will be returned to the applicant should they wish to keep them. The passport is always returned to the applicant and is submitted again when issuing the visa.
• Other supporting documents may be submitted as originals or officially verified copies.
• We kindly request that applicants also prepare a set of copies of all the requirements.
• A long-term visa for the purpose of studies is issued for a period that is demonstrated with the confirmation of studies, however, not longer than 1 year.
• Submit only complete applications containing all the documents ⇒ incomplete applications cannot be processed. Insufficient application processing must be suspended until the applicant adds the missing documents. This prolongs the overall processing!

IMPORTANT:  Make sure to arrive at the appointment at the embassy on time! Not arriving at the appointment at all or being late will result in postponing the process of obtaining the visa. In some cases, you may not be given another time slot to visit the Embassy, which will result in the impossibility of arriving in the Czech Republic on time for your traineeship!

 Communication with the embassy

• Kindly note that UCT Prague cannot legally help you with the visa appointment at the embassies; this is your responsibility. You are also responsible for collecting all the required documents.
• Please check the embassy website and follow their instructions and requirements. Note that the requirements vary from country to country; make sure to have the correct information related to your citizenship.
• Please remember that UCT Prague cannot communicate with the embassy or Ministry of Interior on your behalf. Information about your visa status is confidential and cannot be provided to UCT Prague. We understand that waiting for the embassy to contact you might be stressful, but note that embassies are extremely busy during the summer. Once the visa is ready to be collected, you will be contacted.
• UCT Prague provides no assistance or invitation letter for your friends/partners/family members. In such a case, you shall follow the instructions on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the respective embassy of the Czech Republic.

  Arrival in Prague

The Department of International Relations UCT Prague can accompany you on your way to apply for a visa and provide information. Once you have arrived in the Czech Republic, we will gladly provide additional information regarding registration at the Foreign Police or visa extension. 

Third-country nationals are obliged to register their accommodation address in the Czech Republic with the nearest Foreign police department within 3 working days of entering the Czech Republic if it has not been done by the accommodation provider (e.g. Hall of residence - dormitory). When performing their obligations, the third-country national must present a valid travel document and a completed registration form (available at the office). During the performance of registration obligations, the police are entitled to demand the presentation of a travel insurance certificate. More information here. 

 Visa Extension 

For trainees, extending the short-term visa is impossible; therefore, you must be sure your dates of traineeship are accurate. Once you get the visa, you cannot change the number of your short-term stay in the Czech republic.

Schengen visas can be extended only in exceptional situations: for example, providing proof of force majeure or humanitarian reasons/proof of serious personal reasons preventing them from leaving the Schengen Area before the expiry of the visa validity or the stay duration authorised by the visa. Such situations are assessed by the Foreign Police, which extends the Schengen visa if it finds the conditions mentioned above have been fulfilled – the total duration of stay may not exceed 90 days (i.e. the maximum duration of a short-term Schengen visa).