Czechia's new foreigners act: residence permits online via ICAS and registration for EU citizens

In brief

• On 21 October 2026 the Czech Senate approved the new Act on the Residence of Foreigners. Next come the President's signature and publication in the Collection of Laws.
• On 11 September 2026 the Chamber of Deputies passed the act at third reading unanimously.
• Residence applications will be filed and handled online through ICAS, a system linked to other state databases.
• EU citizens living in Czechia for more than 90 days will have to register. Today registration is voluntary.
• According to the Interior Ministry, the key conditions for residence are not being substantially relaxed. Asylum and temporary protection are not affected.
• Entry into force is expected on 1 January 2029. Until then documents are filed under the current rules.

The new foreigners act: what changes

Today the residence of foreigners in Czechia is governed by a 1999 law. Over a quarter of a century it has been amended many times, while the procedure has stayed mostly on paper: the applicant goes to an embassy or an Interior Ministry office with printed documents, and an official requests information from other authorities by hand. The government approved the new bill in spring 2026, and it rewrites the procedure rather than patching the old text.

The Interior Ministry names digital procedure as the main goal. Residence applications will be processed in a new information system, ICAS, which will also carry communication with the state. The system will be linked to other public administration databases to issue permits faster and to check whether a foreigner meets the conditions of their status. The reverse path, cancelling a right of residence, will also become electronic.

The ministry stresses that the key conditions for obtaining a residence permit are not being substantially relaxed. The act changes how applications are filed and checked, not the bar itself. It does not touch asylum or temporary protection: those remain in separate laws. For people in Czechia under temporary protection, this act changes nothing.

What this means for you. If you plan to move to Czechia in the next two years, the new act does not affect you yet. Documents are filed under the current rules, and by 2029 the main change is the channel: from the ministry counter to an online system.

6 grounds on which foreigners live in Czechia today

To see what the act will change, it helps to know what foreigners' residence rests on today. Non-EU nationals live in Czechia on a long-term visa or a long-term residence permit. The ground determines what you may do in the country and how you renew your status.

The first permit is usually requested through the Czech embassy in the country where the applicant is a citizen or has the right to live. Renewals, changes of purpose and most later steps are handled by the Interior Ministry's Department for Asylum and Migration Policy offices in Czechia. Both require a personal visit, a paper file and time to book an appointment. For employment there are government programmes with quotas for applications at embassies: for qualified employees, for key and research staff and for highly qualified specialists.

A note on permanent residence. It can be obtained after 5 years of continuous residence. A Czech language exam, a clean record and compliance with conditions throughout those years are required. This is where electronic checks will be most visible: the system will be able to see gaps in insurance, unreported changes of address and other discrepancies over the whole period.

What this means for you. The new act does not abolish any of these grounds. It changes the way the state grants and checks them. Choosing the right ground remains the key decision in a move.

EU citizens will have to register

The most visible change for Europeans is mandatory registration. Today a citizen of another EU country living in Czechia may register if they wish. Under the new act registration becomes mandatory for those living in the country for more than 90 days. The government backed the idea back in August 2024, and it made it into the final text.

The aim the ministry gives is a complete record of all foreigners living in the country. Registration does not remove EU citizens' right to live and work freely in Czechia: it is a record, not a permit. The procedure, the deadline and the consequences of missing it will be clear only from the final text and implementing rules.

This also matters for families. If an EU citizen moves to Czechia with a non-EU spouse, the spouse obtains a document as a family member of an EU citizen under separate rules. The EU citizen's own registration will be the basis for such cases, so it is better not to postpone it.

What this means for you. If you hold an EU passport and live in Czechia for more than three months, registration will become a duty after 2029. Today it is voluntary, and you can do it in advance.

Who is responsible for a foreigner: employers, universities, clubs

The act increases the responsibility of those who bring foreigners in. The law calls them guarantors: employers, universities and sports clubs. They will have new duties to report to the state on their foreign staff, students and athletes. For a company hiring specialists from outside the EU, that means more reporting and more consequences if something goes wrong.

The second change is broader quotas. The government will gain a tool to set from which countries, for what purpose and in what numbers foreigners may come. Today such limits apply within individual labour programmes. Under the new act they can cover more categories.

The third is cancellation of residence. The act widens the power to cancel the status of a foreigner who commits a crime or threatens public order and internal security, and speeds up such cases.

What this means for you. If you are opening a company in Czechia and plan to hire foreigners, build the future reporting duties into your processes. How we register companies in Czechia is described on the page on a company in Czechia.

Where electronic checks will catch a mistake earlier

Once databases are linked, discrepancies stop being invisible. Today a foreigner can live for months with an outdated address on file or a gap in health insurance, and it only comes out at renewal. A system that checks data against other registers itself will see such things earlier.

For non-EU nationals, the conditions of status usually include valid health insurance, confirmed accommodation, funds to live on and the purpose for which the permit was granted. If the purpose is work, the employer, position and pay matter. If it is business, real activity and tax payments matter. Any change in these data should be reported within the deadline set by law, not left until renewal.

Criminal record certificates and sworn translations are easier to prepare in advance: how we do it is described on the pages on criminal record certificates and on sworn translation.

What this means for you. The longer you live in Czechia and the closer you get to permanent residence, the more a clean status history matters. The electronic system will see it in full.

Czechia is not first: Poland already takes residence applications online

Moving online is a regional trend. In Poland, since 27 April 2026, applications for temporary and permanent residence are filed only electronically through the MOS portal. Paper applications received from that date are not considered. You can apply while legally in Poland; you sign with a trusted profile or a qualified electronic signature, and fingerprints are given in person when summoned.

At the Schengen border the Entry/Exit System, EES, has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, recording entries, exits and biometrics. Together with electronic residence permits, this means a foreigner's travel and status history in Europe becomes unified and checkable. More in the review on ETIAS and EES at the border.

If you are considering Poland as an alternative, factor in money too: from 2027 the pay threshold for residence with the right to work rises there, as we wrote in the article on the 2027 minimum wage.

What this means for you. The Czech ICAS system will start later than the Polish one, but the logic is the same: a personal visit remains for biometrics, everything else moves online. Electronic identification will most likely be needed; the exact procedure will become clear from implementing rules.

When the act will apply

The act has passed both chambers of parliament: the Chamber of Deputies on 11 September 2026 and the Senate on 21 October 2026. The next step is the President's signature and publication in the Collection of Laws. The ministry gives 1 January 2029 as the expected date of entry into force. The long lead time is needed to build and launch ICAS and prepare implementing rules.

The transitional provisions must be read in the final text after publication. Until then it is impossible to say which rules will apply to applications filed shortly before 2029 and how existing permits will be moved into the new system.

What this means for you. The current law applies until 2029. There is no reason either to rush or to postpone a move because of the new system.

Checking your move plan: 4 steps

If you are comparing countries for a move, see how the rules are changing elsewhere in the EU: Ireland is preparing an 8-year path to citizenship, Sweden is changing the rules for families of EU long-term residents, and the European Commission proposes easier recognition of qualifications. Residence programmes are collected in the residence permit catalogue.

How this article was prepared

The article is based on the Czech Interior Ministry's statement on the act's adoption by the Chamber of Deputies on 11 September 2026, on ministry materials on the bill approved by the government, and on a report by Czech public television on the Senate's approval on 21 October 2026. Information on the current residence grounds follows the current Act on the Residence of Foreigners. The procedure in Poland is based on Office for Foreigners materials on the MOS portal, and EES on the EU travel website. The final text, once signed by the President and published, may clarify details, especially the transitional provisions. This article does not replace advice on your own situation.