Czech Consulate General in New York-Get Visa in Four Easy Steps

Introduction

The Czech Republic emerged from the ashes of Czechoslovakia Empire in 1993 as the latter dissolved peacefully. Although a permanent citizen of US is exempted from acquiring a visa to enter the Czech Republic for a duration of up to 90 days, yet under certain scenarios a US national is bound to acquire visa from Czech Embassy in Washington DC, Czech Consulate General Los Angeles, Czech Consulate General New York or Czech Consulate General Chicago.

The Czech Republic encompasses an area of 78,866km2 and is home to 10.6 million residents.

Schengen Area

Being the biggest visa-free zone, Schengen Area incorporates 26 states of the European Union. The zone’s population surpasses 400 million people. All participants of the Agreement ended up all inner border checks in favor of single border.

Jurisdiction of Czech Consulate General New York

Following states of the U.S. falls under the jurisdiction of the Czech Consulate General in New York:

Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Czech Consulate General in New York issues following visas:

Schengen Visa

A holder of the Schengen Visa can circumnavigate at liberty in 26 countries of Europe for a maximum duration of up to 90 days. This visa is further classified as Schengen Study Visa, Schengen Visit Visa or Schengen Medical Visa.

National Visa

It does not make difference whether you’re a permanent resident of the United States or not, you’ve to seek Czech Residence Permit or National Visa for entering into the country if your stay exceeds the duration of 90 days.

Schengen Visa Application Process at the Czech Consulate General New York

After classifying the nature of the visa in harmony with the purpose of visit, you must select the accurate embassy or consulate to further your cause.

Czech Consulate General New York consumes up to 15 days to dispose of your visa application. However, exceptions exist under which staffers may take additional time to make a decision on the application.

We recommend you to apply for a visa at least 15 days prior the expected departure date.

Step One: Make an Online Appointment

Forward an email to the staffers of the Czech Consulate General New York to secure an appointment with them. The digital address for seeking an appointment request is visa.ny@mzv.cz.

The email must include these things:

• Itinerant’s full name,
• Name of the home country,
• The number of the passport accompanied by its expiry date,
• Nature of the visa,
• A motive of the itinerant’s stay,
• Envisioned date of entrance in the Czech Republic,
• Mention the date ideal date for an appointment.

Step Two: Prepare Documents

Application form: The application form for acquiring visa of the Czech Republic can be downloaded without cost from the website.

Give all the information that is demanded in the form. The applicant or his legal counsel should sign the visa application form.

Roundtrip Flight Itinerary: This piece of paper details the planned route of the itinerant including the name of the flight, intended arrival and departure date, unique alphanumeric code along with the IATA codes.

Travel Visa Health Insurance: As the name indicates, this document illustrates that the itinerant has secured travel insurance to cover himself/herself in case of any medical emergency. It is pertinent here to mention that the travel insurance should provide minimum financial security of 30,000 EUR or 50,000 USD.

Hotel Booking Reservation/Proof of accommodation: It certifies that the itinerant has accommodation sorted in the Czech Republic. It can be either in the form of the hotel booking or proof of accommodation (a letter usually signed by the friend or relative stating that he would provide accommodation to the itinerant).

Bank statement/proof of financial means: The applicant is bound to assure visa officers that he is financially able to support himself/herself during the duration of stay in the Czech Republic. Such satisfaction is given in the form of a bank statement.

Cover Letter: Document abridging the intention of visiting the Czech Republic is called a cover letter. The itinerant precisely explain the aim of visiting the country.

Means of subsistence: Means of subsistence explains to the visa officers that the itinerant has either arranged or already possesses adequate financial resources to bear the cost of his trip to the Czech Republic.

For the Czech Republic, the means of subsistence stands at 1100 CZK or 42.50 EUR.

If the overall planned days of stay in the Czech Republic, exceeds 30 calendar days, the visa applicant has to attest to the Czech Embassy or Consulate a total amount of 33,000 CZK or 1,274€ together with an additional amount of 4,400 CZK equivalent to 170€ by the end of each month of stay

Affidavit of Support: Generally, the friend or relative of the itinerant submit this document on behalf of the applicant stating that he/she is ready to bear the cost of all expenses of itinerant in the Czech Republic.

It is pertinent here to mention that the person submitting an affidavit of support on behalf of the itinerant should be the permanent resident of the Czech Republic.

Proof of paid visa fee: €60 for adults and €35 for children from 6 to 12 years old. These fees are not reimbursable in case visa application gets rejected.

If employed:

Employment contract; and

Current bank statement of the latest 6 months; and

Leave permission from the employer; and

Income Tax Return (ITR) form or Certificate of Income Tax deducted at the source of salary; and

Letter of Invitation.

If self-employed:

A copy of your business license; and

Company bank statement of the latest 6 months; and

Income Tax Return (ITR).

If a student:

Proof of enrollment; and

No-objection certificate from school or university.

If retired:

Pension statement of the latest 6 months.

If applicable:

Regular income generated by property proof of the latest 6 months.

Recent nationwide criminal history check.

US work permit

Confirmation of participation in any type of event or activity

Self-addressed, pre-paid US express mail envelope (if applicable)

Documents proving the legal status in the US – original Alien Registration Card (Green Card), a Green card Stamp in your passport, an Advance Parole, or a valid US Visa must be provided along with a valid I-94 departure record. Students should also submit the original validated I-20, DS-2019 or IAP-66.

The US residence permit or visa should be valid at least 3 months beyond the intended departure from the Schengen member state territory.

Letter of continued employment including income statement. If you are self-employed a business license and tax return forms are required.

Step Three: Submit File

After carefully completing the aforesaid steps along with the provision of minute details, the itinerant will submit his/her visa application in the Czech Consulate General New York.

Czech Consulate General in New York will process visa application within 15 business days. However, the staffers are authorized to take extra time if they are to thoroughly scrutinize the documents of the itinerant.

As of May 15, 2014, every person applying for a short-stay visa of the Czech Republic in the USA has to appear in person, for giving compulsory biometric data – ten fingerprints and a digital photo – to the staffers of the Czech Consulate General New York. This data is kept for a duration of 59 months and can probably be reused. It means future applications during that duration will be likely filed through communication.

San Francisco, Atlanta, and Washington: visaonweb.diplomatie.be (printed application form and documentation must be sent by postal mail or courier service

San Francisco: by postal mail or courier service only

Exemptions for the fingerprinting requirements are granted to:

• Children under the age of twelve;
• Persons for whom the collection of fingerprints is physically impossible;
• Heads of State and members of National Governments and their accompanying spouses, as well as the members of their official delegation when invited by Member States’ governments or by international organizations for an official purpose.

Furthermore, the candidate can secure the aforementioned data from the VIS if he/she has provided the information within the period of 5 months. In such a case, you can forward application either by mail or courier.

Step Four: Receive Your Visa

As stated above, the Czech Consulate General New York will take approximately 15 days to announce the verdict on your visa application. The staff will notify the itinerant as soon as they make a decision.

The applicant has the option to collect his passport and visa (in case the application is approved) via UPS or USPS in the envelope that the applicant has provided. Below are some helpful tips about the interview:

• Reach Czech Consulate General New York on time.
• Dress suitably.
• Reply all the questions with ease, confidence, and calm. If the interviewer wants to confirm any of the documents or details, he/she might field some extra questions before you.

Possible Reasons for Visa Rejections

There is a myriad number of reasons upon which the visa officer may reject your visa application. We are highlighting a few here:

• Invalid passport
• The applicant forget to sign the application
• Invitation Letter is missing
• Damaged passport
• NOC is missing
• Sponsorship Letter is missing
• Consulate General New York fails to establish a solid motive for itinerant’s travel

Address

Consulate General of the Czech Republic, 321 East 73rd Street, New York, NY 10021 (between 1st and 2nd Avenue).

Telephone: (646)422-3344 from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday – Friday except for U.S. and Czech holidays.

Fax: (646) 422-3311

Consular Section: (646) 422-3363

E-mail:newyork@embassy.mzv.cz

visa.ny@mzv.cz – visa related inquiries ONLY

cs.ny@mzv.cz – other consular inquiries

Web site:www.mzv.cz/ny