Státní občanství

Under Czech law

Citizenship is governed by the Czech Citizenship Act (Act No. 186/2013 Sb.). Naturalisation (§ 11–§ 27) requires permanent residence at the date of application plus a total legal stay — as a rule three years of permanent residence for most applicants combined with longer overall residence requirements (five years of permanent residence, or shorter for EU citizens and defined categories), integrity (clean criminal record), proof of income and no significant public-debt arrears, and exams in Czech language at level B1 and in Czech realities (basic civics), with exemptions for those who studied in Czech. Dual citizenship has been permitted since 2014 — applicants no longer renounce their original nationality.

There is no legal entitlement even when all conditions are met (§ 12): the ministry weighs the application, and security-based refusals can rest on classified grounds with limited review.

A practical example

A Slovak-educated Vietnamese entrepreneur, permanent resident since 2019, applies in 2025. Her Czech-language secondary schooling exempts her from both exams; the file focuses on documenting income and tax compliance across her s.r.o. and personal filings. Citizenship follows in about a year — and her Czech-born daughter''s application rides along under the simplified children''s provisions.

When you need a lawyer

Assembling the residence-history arithmetic, tax and insurance compliance evidence (small old arrears sink applications), refusals — and planning: sequencing permanent residence, absences, and the application date can shorten the path by years.