Czech Citizenship Act

On 1 January 2014, Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on Czech citizenship and on amendments to certain acts (the Czech Citizenship Act) took effect. This legislation regulates the way Czech citizenship can be obtained and relinquished. The Czech Citizenship Act is available on the following websites:

According to Section 14 of the Czech Citizenship Act, one of the conditions for being granted Czech citizenship is demonstrating knowledge of the Czech language (Article 4) and demonstrating basic knowledge of the Czech constitutional system and a basic understanding of Czech culture, society, geography and history (Article 5). This knowledge is demonstrated by passing the Czech Citizenship Exam.

The Czech Citizenship Act expressly states that there is no legal entitlement to being granted Czech citizenship.

For more information about the new Czech Citizenship Act, visit the Czech Ministry of the Interior website.

MEYS Decree

The Czech Republic, in connection with the adoption of Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on Czech citizenship and on amendments to certain acts (the Czech Citizenship Act), is introducing the obligation as of 1 January 2014 for Czech citizenship applicants to present the Czech Language, Life and Institutions Knowledge Certificate with their Czech citizenship application. According to Section 78 of Act No. 186/2013 Coll., the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, through its Decree No. 433/2013 Coll., on demonstrating knowledge of the Czech language and of Czech life and institutions for the purpose of granting Czech citizenship, sets out the following:

  • Extent of the knowledge of the Czech language, basic knowledge of the Czech constitutional system and a basic understanding of Czech culture, society, geography and history for the purposes of the Czech Language, Life and Institutions Exam
  • Rules and organisation of the Czech Language, Life and Institutions Exam, including the testing rules and the publication of information about the organisation of the exam
  • Sample Czech Language, Life and Institutions Knowledge Certificate
  • Language exams equivalent to the language portion of the Czech Language, Life and Institutions Exam

More information about the exam can be found in the Czech Life and Institutions Exam tab and in the Czech Language Exam tab.