Czech Consulate General Chicago-Visa Guide For US Residents

Introduction

The ownership of Tourism passport relieves a citizen of the U.S. from the awful visa process of the Czech Republic. However, the exception remains legitimate until the visa applicant aims to stay for up to 90 days in Germany. The resident of the U.S. would apply for Czech Consulate General Chicago in case he/she intends to visit the Czech Republic for a duration exceeding three months.

The Czech Republic at a glance

The Czech Republic emerged on the map of the world in 1993 after a nonviolent dissolution of former Czechoslovakia (the Czech Republic and Slovakia). Being a landlocked country in Central Europe, Czechia shares borders with Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria.

Czechia expands over an area of 78,866 km2 and is being inhabited by 10.6 million people.

Prague—its capital—is home to grand 9th-century Prague Castle, a preserved medieval old town and statue-lined Charles Bridge.

Schengen Area

Till date, Schengen Area continues to hold the title of world’s largest visa-free zone. The zone covers an area of 26 European countries with a population soaring to approximately 400 million people.

Each country—that joins Schengen Area—abolishes its national border in lieu of a single external border.

Also, the members of the Schengen Area apply the same visa rules and adopts uniform policies for short-stays, asylum requests, and border controls.

Jurisdiction of Czech Consulate General Chicago

The Czech Consulate General Chicago covers the following states:

Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Usually, officials at the Czech Consulate General Chicago issues two types of visa to the applicant. They are:

Schengen Visa

The possession of the Schengen Visa permits its keeper to travel as many as 26 European states without being subjected to the internal border checks. The visa is further divided into sub-categories including Schengen Medical Visa, Schengen Visit Visa, and Schengen Study Visa.

The holder of the visa can roam freely in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days within the period of 180 days.

National Visa

The citizen of the United States would apply for Czechia’s Residence Permit or National Visa in case his intention is to stay in the Czech Republic for over 90 days. Just like Schengen Visa, Czechia’s national visa is further divided into sub-categories like study, business, residence or medical.

Schengen Visa Application Process at the Czech Consulate General Chicago

After the classification of the category of itinerant’s nature of the visa, the applicant needs to find the correct consulate or embassy.

You can apply any time from 90 days prior before your departure.

Step One: Make an Online Appointment

To secure an appointment with the staffers of the Czech Consulate General Atlanta, the itinerant is supposed to forward an email to consulate_chicago@mzv.cz  in this regard. Your email should be accompanied by the following information:

• Your name and surname,
• Name of the country which issued your passport,
• Passport number and expiration date,
• Type of visa/permit you are applying for (long-term visa, residence permit, employee card, etc.),
• Purpose of your stay (study, scientific research, employment, business, family reunification, etc.),
• Scan (attachment in PDF or JPG format only) of the document written in the Czech language and confirming the purpose of your stay (for study: confirmation of enrollment, for scientific research: signed hosting agreement, for employment: signed contract of employment, for business: statement from the Czech Trade Register or from the Czech Commercial Register, for family reunification: certificate of vital records demonstrating applicant’s relationship to the holder of the authorisation for reunification),
• Intended date of arrival to the Czech Republic,
• Preferred date for the appointment at the Consulate.

Step Two: Prepare Documents

After securing an appointment date with officials of the Czech Consulate General Chicago, you will start preparation of main and all other supporting documents for the visa application. The list of these document is as follow:

Application form: The application for acquiring a Czech short-stay or long-stay visa can be downloaded from the website.

The embassies and consulates of the Czech Republic issue these types of application forms:

• Application for a Schengen visa (also used for the airport transit visa)
• Application for a long-term visa
• Application for a long-term residence or permanent residence
• Application for a Blue card and Green card is generated by the system of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

All applications must be filled in Latin letters in all points where the information is available. Every application form must be signed by the applicant or by his/her legal representative.

Roundtrip Flight Itinerary for visa application: A document provided by the online service provider or airline’s website illustrating the applicant’s intended flight path along with unique alphanumeric PNR and IATA code is known as flight itinerary or flight reservation for visa application.

Travel Visa Health Insurance: All itinerants traveling to any Schengen state are bound to avail travel insurance offering minimum services equivalent to 50,000 USD or 30,000 EUR in case of any untoward situation.

The itinerant should ensure that the insurance document must clearly illustrate his name, the coverage offered by it, and its validity. Besides, the insurance policy should be valid in the whole Schengen Area.

Hotel Booking Reservation/Proof of accommodation: Hotel Booking or Proof of Accommodation is a supporting visa document which illustrates that itinerant has made advance payments for sorting out the problem of residence in the host nation.

It includes:

• A hotel/hostel booking; and
• A rental agreement; and
• A letter of invitation from a host at whose house you will be staying.

Bank statement/proof of financial means: This supporting document for visa application illustrates that the applicant is in possession of enough financial with whom he can easily bear his expenses during his stay in Germany.

Cover Letter: The letter that summarizes itinerant’s aim of entering the Schengen Area to the visa officers is known as the cover letter. This letter holds immense importance in one’s visa application.

Means of subsistence: This document shows that the itinerant owns enough money to bear the cost of a trip. 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: If the itinerant does not own a bank account or lacks adequate liquid money to support himself in Germany, either his friend or relative will produce an affidavit of support; showing his willingness to cover itinerant’s cost of the trip.

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.

*Note: The signed application form must be accompanied the rest of the above-mentioned mandatory documents and handed personally at the appropriate embassy/consulate or its representative in your home country.

Apart from the general documentation required, accompanying should be other additional documents depending on the nature of your visa application.

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 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 your file

After preparing visa application along with all supporting documents, the itinerant will submit the file in Czech Consulate General Chicago to submit your file. Follow these simple points for submitting visa application:

Arrive at Czech Consulate General Chicago at promised hours.

Formal dressing.

Tender reply in a confident but calm manner. Besides some regular questions, the visa officer may field some additional questions.

For further information, you can visit the website of the Czech Consulate General Chicago.

As stated in the above paragraphs, Czech Consulate General Chicago may take up to 15 business days to announce a verdict on itinerant’s application. But any possible ambiguity might force the visa officer to take additional time to process the application.

As of May 15, 2014, any individual seeking approval of a Schengen visa in the United States will appear in person for giving the mandatory biometric data; ten fingerprints and a digital photo. This data could be used within a duration of six years or 59 months.

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.

Step Four: Receive Your Visa

If everything goes smooth, the itinerant will either collect or the visa would be forwarded to him via post as 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.

Possible Reasons for Visa Rejections

We at FIFV wish you all the best for your visa application but there are certain reasons upon which your visa application may get rejected by Czech Consulate General Chicago:

These reasons include (but are not limited to):

• The applicant forget to sign the application
• Invalid passport
• Damaged passport
• Invitation Letter is missing
• Sponsorship Letter is missing
• NOC is missing
• Consulate General fails in establishing a clear reason for your travel

Address

205 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1680, Chicago, IL 60601.

Email: consulate_chicago@mzv.cz.

TELEPHONE: (+1) (312) 861-1037

FAX: (+1) (312) 861-1944