Czech Citizenship by Descent

Many Czechoslovak citizens have left the country during the world wars, after the communist coup in 1948, during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, or any time during the communist era. Most of them migrated to the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and Israel. The descendants of Czech and Czechoslovak emigrants now have a chance to claim Czech citizenship.

There was an amendment to the Act on Czech Citizenship which took effect on 6 September 2019 and allows a new category of foreigners to acquire Czech citizenship by making a declaration. The prerequisites for claiming citizenship are as follows:

  1. The person is not citizen of Slovakia, and
  2. the parent(s) or grandparent(s) originally were but ceased to be Czech/Czechoslovak citizen(s) at any time up to 31 December 2013, with certain exclusions.

Whether the parent(s) and/or grandparent(s) are alive plays no role in determining the eligibility for Czech citizenship. What is crucial is the ability to prove ones family connection to the former citizen and to prove when and how the former Czech/Czechoslovak citizen lost the citizenship – usually through naturalization documents while accepting a different citizenship.

Parents can make such a statement on behalf of their minor children.

Here is a list of documents required to attach for the declaration under law:

  1. a birth certificate,
  2. a marriage certificate, a document establishing a partnership, divorce papers, a document cancelling a partnership, a death certificate for a deceased spouse or partner),
  3. birth certificate of parents, their marriage certificate or, where applicable, divorce papers or a death certificate when such documents are necessary for the declaration;
  4. birth certificates of grandparents, their marriage certificate and, where applicable, divorce papers, or their death certificates when such documents are necessary for the declaration;
  5. a document proving the date and manner of the loss of Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship for the claimant or a document proving the date and manner of the loss of Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship for one of the parents or grandparents.

The opportunity to reclaim citizenship also applies to Czech/Czechoslovak citizens who lost the citizenship before the end of 2013 and had permanent residency in the Czech Republic before the emigration.

If you are interested in claiming your Czech citizenship, contact us at info@stuchlikova.com and arrange an initial consultation with our immigration specialists, during which you will discuss in detail your current situation, possible solutions, and agree on the next steps in the process.