Czech Republic Extends Ban on Issuing Visas to Russians and Belarusians

The restriction will be in effect at least until March 31, 2024.

The measure concerns both citizens of Russia and citizens of Belarus.

The portal of the Czech Cabinet of Ministers states that until March 31, 2024, a ban on issuing visas and permits for long-term residence in the country to citizens of both countries.

The ban also extended to Russians and Belarusians with other citizenship. They will not be able to apply for a Czech visa or residence permit, except for humanitarian and a number of special cases.

The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic proposed the Foreign Ministry to expand the list of exceptions for trips that benefit the country from a cultural point of view.

The proposal was rejected because it could contradict the directives of the European Union, and the Czech embassies would have problems with the interpretation of the vague term “benefit from a cultural point of view”.

At the same time, the Vietnamese authorities are going to extend the visa-free stay in the country for Russian tourists from 15 to 30 days.

Since the opening of the country to foreign tourists after the pandemic, the recovery of the tourism industry and the economy as a whole has been slow.

To increase the terms of visa-free stay in the country should, in their opinion, accelerate the revival of the tourism industry.

On the other hand, Czechia has facilitated its rules for Ukrainians who had to flee their country, and the authorities are currently planning to introduce additional exceptions.

Data provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, show that the Czech Republic has so far registered a total of 497,217 refugees from Ukraine in the country.

The same reveals that the Czech Republic has granted temporary protection to 495,569 Ukrainian refugees until now.

Ukrainian refugees wishing to extend their temporary protection in the Czech Republic must complete a preliminary registration, which is conducted online. The registration period already opened in January and will remain so until the end of this month.