Czech passport
Encyclopedia
The Czech passport is issued to Czech citizens at any age, and is the primary document of international travel issued by the Czech Republic
. The passport
, along with the national identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union
and European Free Trade Association
.
The passport is issued by the Interior Ministry (Ministerstvo vnitra), and as is internationally customary remains property of the Czech Republic and can be withdrawn at any time. It is a valid Proof of Citizenship document according to the Czech nationality law
. Citizens can hold multiple passports at the same time, and children can be included in the passport. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
sporadically issues a list of nations with visa-free travel arrangements with the Czech Republic.
More detailed info on requirements by diffent countries at Visa requirements for Czech citizens
like other passports of the European Union, with the Czech coat of arms
emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words "EVROPSKÁ UNIE" and "ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA" are inscribed above the coat of arms and the words "CESTOVNÍ PAS" are inscribed below the coat of arms. Czech passports adhere to the common EU design and International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements
The lower area of the data page contains the Machine-readable zone.
The above message when unofficially rendered in English, would read:
, English
and French
, followed a few pages later with translations to all remaining official EU languages
and Russian
.
, issued between the dissolution of Czechoslovakia
and 31/3/2000, with a ten-year validity.
The data page is inside the back cover and printed in Czech and English. The photograph is attached with adhesive. These features remain constant for all non-machine readable passports
The data page is inside the back cover and printed in Czech and English. The photograph is printed onto the page.
As the first passport series issued following Czech ascension into the European Union, it is first to bear the words "Evropská Unie" and has been modified to conform to standard EU passport design. The data page was moved to page two, and the French language was added. Pages six and seven now bear translations of the data fields into eighteen languages of the European Union and Russian.
Issued from 1/9/2006 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five year validity.
The 2006 series was the first biometric passport
issued by the Czech Republic. The data page is now printed on a polycarbonate card and the photograph is laser-etched.
The first service passport issued after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia
.
With the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union in 2004 this is no longer the current series issued.
The first diplomatic passport issued after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia
.
With the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union in 2004 this is no longer the current series issued.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. The passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
, along with the national identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and European Free Trade Association
European Free Trade Association
The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...
.
The passport is issued by the Interior Ministry (Ministerstvo vnitra), and as is internationally customary remains property of the Czech Republic and can be withdrawn at any time. It is a valid Proof of Citizenship document according to the Czech nationality law
Czech nationality law
The citizenship law of the Czech Republic is based on the principles of Jus sanguinis or "right by blood". In other words, descent from a Czech parent is the primary method of acquiring Czech citizenship . Birth on Czech territory without a Czech parent is in itself insufficient for the conferral...
. Citizens can hold multiple passports at the same time, and children can be included in the passport. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles foreign policy of the Czech Republic. , the Minister of Foreign Affairs is Karel Schwarzenberg.- External links :*...
sporadically issues a list of nations with visa-free travel arrangements with the Czech Republic.
More detailed info on requirements by diffent countries at Visa requirements for Czech citizens
Visa requirements for Czech citizens
There are approx 142 countries who granted visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to holders of Ordinary Czech passport. The list of given below countries granted the visa free travel/visa on arrival to Czech passport holders.-Africa:...
Physical appearance
Czech passports are burgundyBurgundy (color)
Burgundy is a shade of purplish red associated with the Burgundy wine of the same name, which in turn is named after the Burgundy region of France. The color burgundy is similar to other shades of dark red such as maroon...
like other passports of the European Union, with the Czech coat of arms
Coat of arms of the Czech Republic
The coat of arms of the Czech Republic displays the three historical regions—the Czech lands—which make up the nation:The arms of Bohemia show a silver double-tailed lion on a red background1. The Bohemian Lion is repeated in the lower-left-hand side of the coat of arms...
emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words "EVROPSKÁ UNIE" and "ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA" are inscribed above the coat of arms and the words "CESTOVNÍ PAS" are inscribed below the coat of arms. Czech passports adhere to the common EU design and International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements
Identity information page
- Photo of passport holder
- Type (P)
- Code (CZE)
- Passport no.
- 01 Surname
- 02 Given names
- 03 Nationality (Česká republika/Czech Republic)
- 04 Date of birth
- 05 Place of birth
- 06 Sex
- 07 Date of issue
- 08 Date of expiry
- 09 Authority
- 10 Holder's signature
- 11 Personal no.
The lower area of the data page contains the Machine-readable zone.
Machine-readable passport
A Machine Readable Passport is a travel document where the data on the identity page is encoded in optical character recognition format. Many countries began to issue machine readable travel documents in the 1980s....
Passport note
Passports typically contain a message from the minister or official in charge of passport issuance addressed to the officials of foreign states, requesting that the citizen bearing the passport be allowed free passage through the state, and if in need be provided assistance consistent with international norms. Today this treatment is expected rather than requested, but the message remains as a tradition. Czech passports bear this message only in the Czech language, in capitals and as follows:- Držitel českého cestovního pasu je pod ochranou České republiky. Všichni, jichž se to může týkat, se žádají, aby v případě potřeby poskytli držiteli tohoto pasu nezbytnou pomoc a ochranu podle mezinárodního práva.
The above message when unofficially rendered in English, would read:
- The holder of a Czech passport is under the protection of the Czech Republic. All those whom it may concern are hereby requested to, in times of need, render the holder of this passport all essential help and protection under international law.
Languages
The data page is printed in CzechCzech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, followed a few pages later with translations to all remaining official EU languages
Languages of the European Union
The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. They include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Non-machine-readable passports
These series have become obsolete and are only issued for emergency reasons due to more expedient processing.1993 passport series
The first passport of the Czech RepublicCzech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, issued between the dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on 1 January 1993, was an event that saw the self-determined separation of the federal state of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia, entities which had arisen in 1969 within the framework of Czechoslovak federalisation, became...
and 31/3/2000, with a ten-year validity.
The data page is inside the back cover and printed in Czech and English. The photograph is attached with adhesive. These features remain constant for all non-machine readable passports
1998 passport series
Issued:-
-
-
-
- from 2000 until 30/6/2000 with a ten-year validity
- from 1/7/2000 until 31/8/2006 with a one-year validity
- from 1/9/2006 until 31/12/2006 with a six-month validity, or for citizens under five years of age with a one year validity
-
-
-
2005 passport series
Issued:-
-
-
-
- from 2005 until 31/8/2006 with a one-year validity
- from 1/9/2006 until 31/12/2009 with a six-month validity, or for citizens under five years of age with a one year validity
-
-
-
2007 passport series
Issued from February 2007 with a six-month validity, or for citizens under five years of age with a one year validity.2000 passport series
Issued from 1/7/2000 until 15/3/2005 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five year validity.The data page is inside the back cover and printed in Czech and English. The photograph is printed onto the page.
2005 passport series
Issued from 16/3/2005 until 31/8/2006 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five year validity.As the first passport series issued following Czech ascension into the European Union, it is first to bear the words "Evropská Unie" and has been modified to conform to standard EU passport design. The data page was moved to page two, and the French language was added. Pages six and seven now bear translations of the data fields into eighteen languages of the European Union and Russian.
2006 passport series
The 2006 series was the first biometric passport
Biometric passport
A biometric passport, also known as an e-passport or ePassport, is a combined paper and electronic passport that contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travelers...
issued by the Czech Republic. The data page is now printed on a polycarbonate card and the photograph is laser-etched.
2009 passport series
In March 2009 a new series begun to be issued. The most notable change is the addition of two fingerprints, one from the index finger on each hand in order to conform to new EU regulations.refService passports
Issuable to:- the Supreme Public Prosecutor of the Czech Republic
- the deputy Supreme Public Prosecutor of the Czech Republic
- deputy ministers of the Government of the Czech Republic
- the vice-president of the Supreme Court of the Czech RepublicSupreme Court of the Czech RepublicThe Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is the court of highest appeal for almost all legal cases heard in the Czech Republic. As set forth in the Constitution of the Czech Republic, however, cases of constitutionality, administrative law and political jurisdiction are heard by other courts...
- the vice-president of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic
- the clerk of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech RepublicChamber of Deputies of the Czech RepublicThe Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Chamber of Deputies is situated in palaces in Malá Strana, Prague....
- the clerk of the Senate of the Czech RepublicSenate of the Czech RepublicThe Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic , usually referred to as Senát, is the upper chamber of the Parliament of the Czech Republic...
- the clerk of the Government of the Czech Republic
- the clerk of the President of the Czech RepublicPresident of the Czech RepublicThe President of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic. Unlike his counterparts in Austria and Hungary, who are generally considered figureheads, the Czech President has a considerable role in political affairs...
- employees of the Ministry of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles foreign policy of the Czech Republic. , the Minister of Foreign Affairs is Karel Schwarzenberg.- External links :*...
- employees of the embassies and consulatesCzech diplomatic missionsThis is a list of diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic. Excluded are honorary consulates and 'Czech Centres', offices without diplomatic status responsible for promoting trade, tourism and Czech culture abroad.-Europe:...
of the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
1993 Service passport series
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on 1 January 1993, was an event that saw the self-determined separation of the federal state of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia, entities which had arisen in 1969 within the framework of Czechoslovak federalisation, became...
.
2002 Service passport series
Diplomatic passports
Issuable to:- the President of the Czech RepublicPresident of the Czech RepublicThe President of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic. Unlike his counterparts in Austria and Hungary, who are generally considered figureheads, the Czech President has a considerable role in political affairs...
(and former presidents) - ministers of the Government of the Czech Republic
- members of the Parliament of the Czech RepublicParliament of the Czech RepublicThe Parliament of the Czech Republic is the legislative body of the Czech Republic, based in Prague. It consists of two chambers, both elected in direct elections:* the Lower House: Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic...
- justices of the Constitutional Court of the Czech RepublicConstitutional Court of the Czech RepublicThe Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic is a specialized type of court which primarily works to protect the people of the Czech Republic against violations of the constitution. In this respect, it is similar in functionality to the US Supreme Court, but is distinct from the Supreme Court of...
- the president of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech RepublicSupreme Administrative Court of the Czech RepublicThe Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic is the court of highest authority on issues of procedural and administrative propriety. It also has jurisdiction over many political matters, such as the formation and closure of political parties, jurisdictional boundaries between government...
- the president of the Supreme Court of the Czech RepublicSupreme Court of the Czech RepublicThe Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is the court of highest appeal for almost all legal cases heard in the Czech Republic. As set forth in the Constitution of the Czech Republic, however, cases of constitutionality, administrative law and political jurisdiction are heard by other courts...
- the president of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic
- the spouse of:
- the President of the Czech RepublicPresident of the Czech RepublicThe President of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic. Unlike his counterparts in Austria and Hungary, who are generally considered figureheads, the Czech President has a considerable role in political affairs...
- the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech RepublicSpeaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech RepublicThe Chair of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic is an elected presiding member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic...
- the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
- ministers of the Government of the Czech Republic
- the president of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech RepublicSupreme Administrative Court of the Czech RepublicThe Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic is the court of highest authority on issues of procedural and administrative propriety. It also has jurisdiction over many political matters, such as the formation and closure of political parties, jurisdictional boundaries between government...
- the president of the Supreme Court of the Czech RepublicSupreme Court of the Czech RepublicThe Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is the court of highest appeal for almost all legal cases heard in the Czech Republic. As set forth in the Constitution of the Czech Republic, however, cases of constitutionality, administrative law and political jurisdiction are heard by other courts...
- the chief justice of the Constitutional Court of the Czech RepublicConstitutional Court of the Czech RepublicThe Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic is a specialized type of court which primarily works to protect the people of the Czech Republic against violations of the constitution. In this respect, it is similar in functionality to the US Supreme Court, but is distinct from the Supreme Court of...
- the President of the Czech Republic
- the spouse of:
- diplomatic staff
1993 Diplomatic passport series
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on 1 January 1993, was an event that saw the self-determined separation of the federal state of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia, entities which had arisen in 1969 within the framework of Czechoslovak federalisation, became...
.
2001 Diplomatic passport series
See also
- Foreign relations of the Czech RepublicForeign relations of the Czech RepublicUntil the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia had followed that of the Soviet Union. Since the revolution and the subsequent mutually-agreed peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Czechs have made integration with Western...
- List of passports
- Passports of the European Union
- Visa requirements for Czech citizensVisa requirements for Czech citizensThere are approx 142 countries who granted visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to holders of Ordinary Czech passport. The list of given below countries granted the visa free travel/visa on arrival to Czech passport holders.-Africa:...