From 1 October 2026, holders of temporary protection who have met the set conditions can register for special long-term residence. Registration is open until 31 December 2026. The special long-term residence is intended for economically self-sufficient holders of temporary protection who want to stay in the Czech Republic on a long-term basis. It is a standard residence permit valid for five years, the holders of which, among other things, have free access to the labour market.
The first step was the expression of interest, which took place this year from 1 to 30 April 2026. The Ministry of the Interior then assessed whether individual applicants and members of joint households met the set conditions based on data from state registers. (We wrote more about the topic in the February article on our blog.) Those who met the conditions were given access to registration and the opportunity to book a visit to the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) office.
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, 56,503 people expressed interest this year and 21,900 applicants met the set conditions. At the same time, the Ministry registers almost 13,000 households whose members have met the conditions. The figure is expected to represent approximately 38% of households that have expressed interest in a special long-term stay. Compared to the previous year, according to the available data, the share of applicants who passed the initial evaluation of the conditions has increased.
Neither online registration nor booking of an appointment alone means that the applicant will obtain a special long-term residence. Part of the registration is the reservation of a visit to the Ministry of the Interior. Only during this visit is the fulfilment of other requirements and the submission of the necessary documents checked. If the conditions are met, biometric data is taken and the residence permit card is subsequently collected.
The exact number of people who will complete the whole process in this year’s round and obtain a special long-term residence is therefore not yet known.
According to current data, the number of people who expressed interest in a special long-term residence this year decreased by approximately a third year-on-year. The Ministry of the Interior did not comment in detail on the reasons for the decrease.
One possible explanation may be a narrower circle of people who met the conditions this year. Some temporary protection holders may also have decided to remain in the current regime for the time being. However, these are only possible factors, not conclusions supported by published data.
Persons who have not met the conditions for obtaining a special long-term residence or who do not register for it may continue to reside in the Czech Republic on the basis of temporary protection. The mere failure to express interest or meet the conditions for a special long-term residence does not result in the termination of temporary protection.
In the previous round, according to a press release from the Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations Working with Migrants, 13,738 people were granted special long-term residence. This corresponded to approximately 3.4% of the number of refugees in the Czech Republic at the time.
It will be possible to evaluate how many people will receive a special long-term residence in this year’s round only after the completion of registrations, visits to the Ministry of the Interior workplaces and the issuance of residence cards.
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