Czech Embassy in Washington DC-Ultimate Visa Guide

Czech Embassy in Washington DC

A relatively modern Central European state formed in 1993 after peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic is a landlocked country famous for its ornate castles, native beers, and long history. Although the permanent citizens of the US are not required to have a visa to visit the Czech Republic/Schengen area for a period of up to 90 days within a 180-day period (except for profitable activities), yet there are certain contexts under which a US national is required to apply for visa in the Czech Embassy in Washington DC.

The country spans over an area of 78,866km2 and is home to 10.6 million residents.

The country entered Schengen club in 2003 but implemented it in 2007.

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

Schengen Area

Schengen Area is the world’s largest visa-free and borderless zone comprising as many as 26 states of Europe till date. All signatory states to the Agreement have abolished all internal borders in lieu of a single external border.

Also, the signatory states to the Agreement apply uniform rules and have adopted similar policies for short-stays, asylum requests, and border controls.

Difference between Embassy and consulate?

Both embassy and consulate refer to a government’s representation in a foreign country. However, there are some differences between the nature of the tasks and functions performed by them.

A country is authorized to open only one embassy in a foreign country whereas it can open a number of consulates in the various cities of the foreign country.

Furthermore, an embassy usually has big representation in terms of staff whereas consulate is a smaller version of the embassy.

An embassy is always located in the capital city whereas consulates are open in big cities and not in the capital.

Embassies are permanent diplomatic mission but consulate isn’t.

Embassies deal with major diplomatic tasks whereas consulates usually deal with minor diplomatic tasks.

Jurisdiction of Czech Embassy in Washington DC

The Czech Republic Embassy in Washington DC covers the following states:

Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, and West Virginia.

Usually, officials at the Czech Republic Embassy in Washington DC issues two types of visa to the applicant. They are:

Schengen Visa

The holder of the Schengen Visa can navigate freely in as many as 26 member states of the Schengen Agreement for up to 90 days. A Schengen Visa is further classified into sub-categories depending upon the applicant’s nature of the purpose.

A Schengen Visa is issued as single, double or multiple entry allowing its holder to enter the host nation as many times as the visa allows.

National Visa

A citizen or resident of the USA will apply for the Czech Republic’s National Visa if he/she intends to stay in the country for a period exceeding 90 days. A national visa can be issued for the purpose of the study, residence, medical, etc.

Visa Application Process at the Czech Republic Embassy in Washington DC

After pigeonholing the category of your visa in accord with the nature of the visit and finding accurate embassy or consulate, you simply need to follow these five steps to get approval from the corresponding office.

Before we move to the steps, you need to understand that embassies and consulates usually take up to 15 days to process a visa application. However, the aforementioned duration is not an absolute law. The processing time for your visa application could take longer than 15 days depending upon the nature of the visa you are applying for.

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

Step One: Make an Online appointment

To make an appointment for submitting a long-term visa/residence permit application please send an e-mail with the obligatory attachment to visa.washington@mzv.cz. Your e-mail appointment request must include all of 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

Application form: Download the application form and fill the information with utmost care.

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 roundtrip flight itinerary illustrates applicant’s dates of entrance in and departure from the host nation.

Travel Visa Health Insurance: Travel Insurance is  a must document for an applicant whether he/she is applying for a Schengen Visa or National Visa of the host nation. As per rules and policies set by the Schengen states, travel insurance should cover minimum expenditures equivalent to 30,000 EUR or 50,000 USD.

Besides, the insurance document should clearly illustrate the name of the insured person, its coverage, validity, and benefits offered.

Hotel Booking Reservation/Proof of accommodation: This document illustrates that the applicant has made premeditated arrangements for accommodation in the host nation. The document is also dubbed as proof of accommodation and 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: A bank statement or proof of financial means proves that the applicant possesses enough means for subsistence during the course of his/her stay in the Schengen Area.

Cover Letter: A cover letter for visa application outlines the main tenets of applicant’s intentions for acquiring a visa for entrance into the host nation.

Means of subsistence: It means that the applicant has enough amount to sponsor his/her stay in the host nation. 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: This piece of paper is demanded by the staffers of the embassy or consulate when the applicant does not possess a valid bank account or lacks sufficient financial means to support his/her stay in the Schengen Area.

In the aforementioned context, the relative or friend of the applicant—who is also a permanent resident of the host nation—penned down affidavit of support for the applicant.

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

Once you are done with preparing your documents, approach Czech Republic Embassy in Washington DC to submit your file. Follow these simple points for submitting visa application:

• Try to reach Luxembourg Consulate General in San Francisco at the earliest possible official hours.
• Dress appropriately.
• Answer all the interview questions with confidence, calm and ease. If the interviewer wants to confirm any of the documents or details, he/she might field some extra questions before you.

For further information, you can visit the website of the Czech Republic Embassy, Washington D.C.

As mention earlier, the embassy will take up to 15 business days to arrive on a decision of your visa application. However, exceptions exist under which the Czech Republic Embassy in Washington DC may take extra time if the staffers are not satisfied with or seek additional information.

As of May 15, 2014, each individual applying for a Schengen visa in the USA must appear in person, so that the necessary biometric data – ten fingerprints and a digital photo – can be collected. The biometric data are stored for a period of 59 months and can possibly be reused. This means that future applications during that period of time may be filed through correspondence, provided your data are of good quality and can be retrieved from the VIS.

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 applicant can extract the aforementioned data from the Visa Information System (VIS) if he/she has submitted it within the duration of five months. In such a case, you can forward application either by mail or courier.

Step Four: Receive Your Visa

As mentioned earlier, Czech Republic Embassy in Washington DC usually takes up to 15 days to process your visa application.  The Czech Republic Embassy in Washington DC will notify you once they arrive on a decision on your visa application. 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.

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

Embassy of the Czech Republic

3900 Spring of Freedom St. NW

Washington, DC 20008

Telephone: (202) 274-9100

Fax: (202) 966-8540

E-mail.: washington@embassy.mzv.cz

Consular section:

For visa related issues: visa.washington@mzv.cz

For passport and vital registry records issues: passport.washington@mzv.cz

For other issues: con.washington@mzv.cz