Who can file here from 31 August 2026
Czech citizens and holders of permanent residence, trvalý pobyt. Prague was among the first in Europe to bring in the 31 August rule, and applied it more strictly than anyone: a long-term residence permit, dlouhodobý pobyt, no longer qualifies. As late as 30 July the embassy was confirming in writing that long-term cards were accepted, and the checklist published on the morning of 31 August names only the permanent residence card, both sides of it. Old letters and old chat screenshots now mislead.
The embassy serves Czechia only. Slovakia belongs to Vienna’s district.
The applicant stays in Czechia for the whole process
This requirement predates the reform: an applicant has to be physically in Czechia for the entire processing period. Filing in person and filing by post are not accepted; everything goes through the e-Visa portal. You do not come to the embassy until you are invited to an interview.
The criminal record certificate: the strictest wording in Europe
Prague requires a certificate no older than three months, legalised at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officially translated into English. The requirement covers everyone, spouse and children included: there is no age exemption in the text. Of the 55 posts we checked, Prague is the only one that requires the certificate itself to be legalised.
The trap nobody writes about. The výpis z rejstříku trestů — the criminal record extract — obtained free through Portál občana, at a CzechPOINT counter or at a post office, is meant for use inside Czechia. For use abroad you need the extract applied for in person at the Ministry of Justice: only that one is legalised by the foreign ministry. Anyone who “saved money” at CzechPOINT loses a week.
The chain looks like this: the extract at the Ministry of Justice for 100 CZK, legalisation at the foreign ministry for 600 CZK, usually the same day, an official translation into English, and, per the embassy’s general instruction, the translation is legalised at the foreign ministry too. An apostille does not work for Thailand yet: the Convention enters into force there on 28 February 2027.
The consular section of the Czech embassy in Bangkok issues extracts and does superlegalisation, but whether such an extract works for the foreign ministry instead of the one applied for in person at the Ministry of Justice, we have not confirmed. Check that with the embassy before you build a plan on it.
How filing works
- The fee is 8,000 CZK, online, non-refundable. A figure of “about 6,500 CZK”, converted from 10,000 baht, circulates on the Czech internet; it is wrong.
- Timeline per the embassy site: usually five to ten working days; file one to three months before the trip.
- Finances: no less than 500,000 THB — about 314,000 CZK — plus three months of statements; a sponsorship letter is allowed. Documents preferably in English.
- The name in Latin letters strictly as in the machine-readable zone of the passport, without Czech diacritics: the embassy cannot correct the data after filing.
- Dependants: a spouse and children under 20. Czech marriage and birth certificates go through the chain: legalisation at the foreign ministry, translation, the foreign ministry again.
- Tickets to Thailand and back and an accommodation booking were asked for in our cases; they are not in the checklist, but it is worth planning for the request.
We have not yet seen a completed filing through Prague after 31 August, so we quote no actual turnaround times and no statistics.
What else matters
There is no Czech version of the requirements on the embassy site: they are published in English and Thai only. Alongside the 31 August rule, the Czech foreign ministry site announces that visa-free entry drops to 30 days from 15 September 2026; there is not a word about the DTV there, and many people confuse the two reforms.
What we track here
The first decisions under the new rules, which we expect in the first half of September. Whether Prague will accept a certificate in English without legalisation, whether a three-year-old child needs one, and whether the embassy will recognise the certificate of the country of citizenship for a non-Czech. We are putting the open questions to the embassy in writing.
A package you have assembled yourself we check before filing — the Preflight Check: $300, a written report within two working days. Full support all the way to the visa is the Solo Route and Family Route.
The state of every consulate is on the live board, and the consulate assigned to your country is on the map.