Do you have to take the adaptation and integration course in Czechia?
· 4 min read
When you collect your residence card you are told about a course. Whether it is your obligation depends on your permit, and the deadline is one year.
When you collect a biometric residence card, you are given a notice about the adaptation and integration course. Everyone gets the same notice, whatever their permit, so it does not tell you whether the course is your obligation. That depends on the type of permit you hold and, in a few cases, on what you do next.
Who has to take it
The course is meant for most third-country nationals whose long-term residence permit came into force after 1 January 2021, and for those who received a permanent residence permit after that date without having lived here before. The easiest way to check is by situation:
| Your situation | Do you have to take the course? |
|---|---|
| Long-term residence for study | No, while the purpose of stay is study |
| Long-term residence for investment, or an intra-corporate transfer | No |
| Employee Card or Blue Card issued under the Highly Qualified Employee or Key and Scientific Personnel government programmes | No for the holder. Family members must take it, unless an exemption applies to them |
| Living in Czechia on a visa, or holding temporary or international protection | No |
| EU citizen, or family member of one, with a temporary residence permit | No |
| Under 15, or 61 or older, on the day the permit decision took legal effect | No |
| Long-term stay already valid on 1 January 2021 that you only extend or change the purpose of | No |
| Your purpose of stay changes from an exempt one to one that is not, for example from study to an Employee Card | Yes, within one year of receiving the new card |
| Any other long-term or permanent residence permit issued since 1 January 2021 | Yes |
The exemption belongs to the permit purpose, not to you. A student who switches to an Employee Card after graduating starts a new one-year period on the day the new card is issued.
The deadline, the fine and the certificate
One year from the date your permit came into force, which is usually the day you collect the card. If you miss it, you may be fined up to CZK 10,000, and the fine can be imposed repeatedly until you have completed the course. After the course you receive an attendance certificate confirming that you have fulfilled the obligation.
The course itself
The course takes 4 hours and costs CZK 1,500, paid by the participant. It is taught in Czech by certified instructors, among them lawyers and social workers, and a qualified interpreter translates it into one of these languages: Arabic, English, French, Mongolian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Ukrainian or Vietnamese.
The content is practical: residence rules (visas, extensions, deadlines, biometrics, travelling in the Schengen area, family reunification), housing and rental contracts, healthcare and public and private health insurance, schools for children and Czech lessons, employment (Employee Cards, contract types, taxes, social insurance), running a business, and everyday matters such as official post, traffic and emergencies. It also lists the Foreign Police offices and the integration centres and charities that help foreigners free of charge. It is most useful in the first weeks after you arrive, so even though you have a year, going early is better.
How to sign up
You can register for a public course only once you have the biometric card, because the system asks for its number. Never enter a passport or visa number.
- Register on the Ministry of the Interior's portal, frs.gov.cz/kurzy, with the card number.
- Pay CZK 1,500 and keep the payment confirmation.
- Sign up for a specific course and wait for the confirmation email.
If you need help with the registration, the Integration Centre Prague assists free of charge. Only courses run or administered by the integration centres count towards the obligation, so a course from another provider will not do. Choosing a centre in the region where you live or work is recommended.
You can also take the course if you are exempt: you need the card and the payment. Should the duty arise later, for instance after a change of permit purpose, the course you already took counts.
Hero's tips
- Sign up the week you get the card. The year runs from the day the permit comes into force, not from the day you read the notice, and the system asks for the card number anyway, so there is nothing to wait for.
- Check the table before you pay. If your row says no, you do not need to spend CZK 1,500 now. Do note the date your purpose of stay is going to change: a switch from study to an Employee Card starts a new year.
- Check family members one by one. The exemption of a government-programme Employee Card or Blue Card holder does not cover the family. Children under 15 are exempt; adult family members must take the course unless another exemption fits them.
- Keep the certificate. It confirms that the obligation is fulfilled. Photograph it and file it with your other residence papers.
Not sure which row is yours?
Hero pojištění can register you for the course and keep an eye on your one-year deadline, so it does not slip past you. We will also go through which row of the table is yours, in your own language.
Ask Hero about the courseMinistry of the Interior: FAQ on adaptation and integration courses (PDF)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: adaptation and integration course
General information, not legal advice. Rules change — check anything important with us or with the Ministry of the Interior before you act on it.