English

On 21 December 2007, the Czech Republic joined the Schengen area. Border checks at the land borders were abolished at midnight from 20 to 21 December 2007. At the international airports, border checks on intra-Schengen flights came to an end on 30 March 2008.

These pages are part of the information campaign on the integration of the Czech Republic to the Schengen area provided by the Ministry of the Interior in close cooperation with other authorities of the state administration of the Czech Republic.

Since 21 December 2007, the Czech Republic has been fully participating in the Schengen cooperation, thus joining a group of countries which carry out no checks at their common borders and which have brought their efforts to fulfill the right of free movement of persons to a successful end. The 2007 Schengen enlargement can be seen as a symbolic end to the imaginary division of Europe into the "West" and the "East" and it means that people are allowed to cross land borders without the obligation to present an identity document at border crossing points.

What does the fact that the Czech Republic has joined the Schengen area mean in practice? The abolition of border checks at land borders and the posibility to cross the former border crossing points without a stop is the most visible, yet not the only change arising from the integration of the Czech Republic and other 8 EU Member States in the Schengen area. Make yourself aware of all changes. These pages shall serve as your guide.

The strange-sounding slogans such as "The Czech Republic joins Schengen" or "The Czech Republic is preparing for joining Schengen" have used the name of a small Luxembourg town near the French and German border, thus referring to a phenomenon the beginning of which lies in the mid-1980s at that very place.

At present, the term "Schengen" is most often used to refer to the so-called Schengen area where no border checks are carried out at common borders, which can thus be crossed at any time and anywhere. The abolition of border checks is accompanied by various compensatory measures involving extensive cooperation of all Member States applying provisions of the Schengen acquis (Schengen states/countries) in many aspects, such as setting a common visa regime, improving coordination between the police, customs and the judiciary and taking additional steps to combat problems such as terrorism and organized crime.

Are you a foreign-national holding a Czech visa or residence permit and you are not sure about the changes resulting from the Czech Republic´s Schengen membership? The following practical sheets should help you:

• Possibilities to travel in Schengenafter 21/12/2007(pdf, 169 kB)
• Overview of type of residence permits - situation before and after 21/12/2007 (pdf, 141 kB)
• Overview of different types of visas: situation before and after 21/12/2007 (pdf, 198 kB)