Profile

Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Family Reunification

Route status

Active as of 2026-07-15[1][3]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)Povolení k dlouhodobému pobytu za účelem společného soužití rodiny as of 2026-06-12[3]
Act No. 326/1999 Coll. s. 42a(1) names the permit in these words and abbreviates it in the same sentence to 'společné soužití rodiny'. The Information Portal's Czech heading is identical.
Official name (English)Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Family Reunification as of 2026-07-15[1]
The Ministry of the Interior's own English page heading.
Legal basisAct No. 326/1999 Coll., ss. 42a and 42b; validity s. 44(4)(d) and (e); decision periods s. 169t(6)(a)(4) and (6); free labour-market access via Act No. 435/2004 Coll. s. 98(l) as of 2026-06-12[3]
Consolidated text of the Aliens Act in force from 12 June 2026.
Instrument typeresidence permit as of 2026-06-12[3]
s. 42a(1): a long-term residence permit.

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this routeEU, EEA as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
Minimum age20 as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
Criminal-record conditionYes as of 2026-06-12[3]
s. 42b(1)(a) requires the s. 31(1)(g) criminal-record document as a mandatory item, for applicants aged 15 or over.

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial durationat least 1 year as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
s. 44(4)(d): the permit runs for the validity of the sponsor's own residence card, but for at least 1 year – a floor rather than a ceiling, which is what the v1.1 bounds form exists for. s. 44(4)(e) fixes 2 years instead where the sponsor holds permanent residence. The route page states both.
How the initial term is setmatches the sponsor's permit
RenewableYes as of 2026-07-15[1]
'You can apply for an extension… repeatedly if you are going to keep on residing in the Czech Republic and your family situation has not changed.'
Renewal durationat least 1 year as of 2026-07-15[1]
Maximum total durationNot established from a qualifying source
No aggregate ceiling is stated.
Work rightsfull as of 2026-07-15[1][4]
Act No. 435/2004 Coll. s. 98(l): a foreigner residing on a family-reunification long-term permit needs no work permit, employee card or blue card where the reunification is with a permanent resident, a beneficiary of asylum or subsidiary protection, an academic or researcher within s. 98(n), or the holder of a valid long-term residence permit. The route page states it without those qualifications: 'you can work here without an additional permit (free access to the labour market)'. The statutory list is narrower than the page – it does not reach reunification with a long-term VISA holder – but a long-term visa is not a qualifying sponsor status for this permit anyway, so on this route the two agree.

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residenceYes as of 2026-06-12[3]
s. 68(2)(a) counts time on a long-term residence permit; family reunification is not on the s. 68(3) exclusion list and takes no discount.

Requirements

Requirements
Who can sponsorpermanent resident, temporary permit holder, specific permits as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
s. 42a(7): the sponsor may hold a long-term residence permit or a permanent residence permit (subparagraph (a)), an employee card (subparagraph (b)), or a Blue Card, a research permit, an intra-company transfer card, an intra-company transfer card of another EU Member State or the investment permit (subparagraph (d)); subparagraph (e) extends the same treatment to someone who has merely APPLIED for a research permit or for the s. 42(3) job-search permit. Czech citizenship is deliberately not listed: a family member of a Czech citizen has a separate regime under Part III of the Act, which this route is not. Paragraphs (e) to (i) of s. 42a(1) extend the relations for the family of a recognised refugee; that is an asylum track and is not recorded here.
Eligible relationsspouse, minor child, parent, other dependent as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
Sponsor income requirementRecorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value
Sponsor accommodation requirementYes as of 2026-06-12[3]
s. 42b(1)(a) requires the s. 31(1)(d) document – proof of accommodation for the duration of the stay – and s. 31(5) sets the standard that accommodation must meet.
Sponsor waiting periodat least 15 months as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
s. 42a(7)(a) is the default: the sponsor must hold a long-term or permanent residence permit AND have resided in the territory for at least 15 months. The route page states the same. It is heavily qualified, and the qualifications matter more than the default for most applicants – see sponsor_matrix.
Pre-entry language testNo as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
Who qualifies as a sponsor
  • Minimum permit duration: Not established from a qualifying source
    s. 42a(7) conditions on the sponsor's residence duration to date, not on how long the sponsor's own permit still has to run. No minimum remaining validity was found.
  • Permit must lead to permanent residence: No as of 2026-06-12[3]
    s. 42a(7) names the qualifying sponsor permits directly and does not condition on any of them leading to permanent residence.
Sponsor and relation matrix
    • Sponsor status: temporary permit holder
    • Relation: spouse
    • Resulting condition: s. 42a(7)(a): sponsor holds a long-term or permanent residence permit and has resided for at least 15 months; both spouses must be at least 20.
    • Sponsor status: temporary permit holder
    • Relation: minor child
    • Resulting condition: s. 42a(7)(a): sponsor holds a long-term or permanent residence permit and has resided for at least 15 months.
    • Sponsor status: specific permits
    • Relation: spouse
    • Resulting condition: s. 42a(7)(b): where the sponsor holds an employee card (s. 42g), the residence requirement is 6 months, not 15.
    • Sponsor status: specific permits
    • Relation: minor child
    • Resulting condition: s. 42a(7)(b): 6 months where the sponsor holds an employee card.
    • Sponsor status: specific permits
    • Relation: spouse
    • Resulting condition: s. 42a(7)(d): NO residence-duration requirement at all where the sponsor holds a Blue Card, or a permit under s. 42f (scientific research), s. 42k or s. 42m (intra-company transfer) or s. 42n (investment).
    • Sponsor status: specific permits
    • Relation: spouse
    • Resulting condition: s. 42a(7)(e): no residence-duration requirement where the sponsor has APPLIED for, or holds, a scientific-research permit or the s. 42(3) job-search permit.
    • Relation: other dependent
    • Resulting condition: s. 42a(7)(c): the relations in s. 42a(1)(c) to (i) – substitute-care minors, lone parents, and the refugee-family relations – qualify with no residence-duration condition on the sponsor at all.

Process

Process
Where to apply fromeither as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
s. 42a(5) puts the application at a diplomatic mission; s. 42a(6) allows it to be lodged with the Ministry by someone already residing on a long-term visa or a long-term permit for another purpose, except from a tolerated-stay position of under 6 months or a seasonal-employment visa. s. 42a(2) adds the EU mobility limb: a family member of a Blue Card holder or of an intra-corporate transferee who lived in another Member State applies in Czechia within 30 days (Blue Card) or 90 days (transferee) of entry.
Statutory processing timeup to 270 days as of 2026-07-15[1][3]
270 days for an application lodged at a diplomatic mission – the longest clock in the Czech record. It falls to 90 days where the reunification is with a Blue Card holder, and s. 169t(6)(a)(4) gives the same 90 days where it is with the holder of the investment permit. An application lodged inside Czechia is decided in 60 days, and so is an extension. The gap between 60 days in-country and 270 days at a mission is the single largest procedural asymmetry in the Czech estate and is not flagged as such on the route page.
Fees
    • Kind: application
    • Amount: CZK 2,500 as of 2026-07-15[1]
      Administrative fee for an application lodged at a Ministry of the Interior office; CZK 1,000 for a minor under 15.
    • Charged per: applicant
    • Paid by: applicant
    • Condition: application lodged in Czechia
    • Kind: application
    • Amount: CZK 2,500 as of 2026-07-15[1]
      Consular fee for an application lodged at a diplomatic mission, in local currency or by card.
    • Charged per: applicant
    • Paid by: applicant
    • Condition: application lodged at a diplomatic mission
    • Kind: renewal
    • Amount: CZK 2,500 as of 2026-07-15[1]
      Extension of validity; CZK 1,000 for a minor under 15.
    • Charged per: applicant
    • Paid by: applicant
Quota
  • Quota exists: No as of 2026-06-30[2]
    Government Regulation No. 220/2019 Coll. caps applications for the employee card, the long-term business visa and the investment permit only.
  • Exempt from the general quota: Yes as of 2026-06-30[2]
    Outside the scope of that regulation.

Physical presence

Physical presence
none statedto keep the permit as of 2026-07-15[1][3]

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be includedNo as of 2026-06-12[3]
The route IS the family route: a family-reunification permit does not itself carry further dependants. s. 42a(7)(a) requires the sponsor to have resided for at least 15 months, and the route page states the 3-year lock on changing purpose from this permit.
Eligible relationsNot established from a qualifying source as of 2026-06-12[3]
Family may apply at the same timeNo as of 2026-06-12[3]
Follows from allowed = false.
Family members' work rightsNot applicable
The holder is the dependant; there is no second tier.

Your next step

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited4
of which official (tier 1)4
Oldest as-of date2026-06-12
Newest as-of date2026-07-15
Reviewed on2026-08-26
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] Long-term Residence Permit for the Purpose of Family Reunification
    Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-15 · Accessed 2026-08-23 · Archived copy
  2. [2] Narizeni vlady o maximalnim poctu zadosti – zamestnani a podnikani (Government Regulation No. 220/2019 Coll., as amended, with the per-mission tables)
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-30 · Accessed 2026-08-22 · Archived copy
  3. [3] Zakon c. 326/1999 Sb., o pobytu cizincu na uzemi Ceske republiky a o zmene nekterych zakonu – consolidated text
    Ministerstvo vnitra CR / e-Sbirka · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-12 · Accessed 2026-08-22
  4. [4] Zákon č. 435/2004 Sb., o zaměstnanosti (consolidated text in force from 1 July 2026)
    Sbírka zákonů a mezinárodních smluv (e-Sbírka) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-01 · Accessed 2026-08-23

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