On this page, you will find:
To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Czech Republic LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For Czech Republic country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our Czech Republic COI page.
Refugee protection
Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by the Czech Republic.
The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which the Czech Republic is a signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.
Since 1993, the Czech Republic has been both a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to its 1967 Protocol. The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons was acceded to with reservations in 2004. Additionally, the Czech Republic acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in 2001. Further, the 1997 European Convention on Nationality was ratified by the Czech Republic in 2004.
Additionally, as a member of the European Union (EU), the Czech Republic is also bound to apply the rules of the Common European Asylum System.
The national legal instrument that defines the criteria for granting international protection in the territory of the Czech Republic is the Asylum Act. The asylum process in the Czech Republic is governed by the provisions of the Act No. 325/1999 Coll. on Asylum (Asylum Act), as amended, the Act No. 273/2008 Coll. on the Police of the Czech Republic, as amended, and the Act No. 326/1999 Coll. on the Residence of Foreigners on the Territory of the Czech Republic (Aliens Act), as amended.
The Czech Republic also provides for political asylum derived from the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, and asylum based on family reunification and humanitarian grounds. All applications for international protection are adjudicated at first instance level by the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior (DAMP) of the Czech Republic. The DAMP assesses and decides whether the criteria are met and whether you will be granted international protection in the Czech Republic. The DAMP also decides on the status of stateless persons.
Legal aid organisations
Website
Address: Senovážná 2, 110 00 Prague 1
Tel: +420 22 42 24 379 or +420 60 32 53 994
Email: poradna@migrace.com
Association for Integration and Migration is a non-profit organisation helping foreigners in the Czech Republic, with special focus on asylum seekers and refugees. It has a well established tradition of providing legal and social counseling to foreigners, such as asylum seekers, refugees, labour migrants, undocumented migrants and their families. As integral part of its activities it is working with the broader public on cultivating tolerance and combating xenophobia and racism. They are involved in several projects with the focus on migration and immigration issues and we frequently co-operate with international, national or regional governments; non-profit organisations and academic bodies.
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Address: Štefánikova 21, 150 00 Prague 5
Tel: +420 257 221 142
Email: info@helcom.cz
Český Helsinský Výbor (also known as the Czech Helsinki Committee) provides free legal aid to refugees and stateless people. In particular, they provide orientation materials for foreigners to aid in administrative and judicial proceedings.
Visit their Legal and Social Counseling page to learn more.
Address: Poděbradská 173/5, 190 00 Praha 9 – Vysočany
Tel: +420 730 158 779, +420 730 158 781
Email: opu@opu.cz (for general inquiries) | pravni@opu.cz (for legal inquiries)
A more detailed list of OPU contact information— including for the members of the OPU Legal Departments in Prague, Brno, Pilsen and Ostrava— can be found on their Contact Us page.
Website
Facebook
Address: Opletalova 921/6 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic;
Velká Hradební 33, 400 01 Ústí nad Labem
Tel: +420 603 281 269 (Prague), and +420 475 208 449 (Ústí nad Labem)
Email: usti@p-p-i.cz | praha@p-p-i.cz
PPI, or the Counselling Centre for Integration, offers free legal advisory to foreigners who legally reside in the Czech Republic. They provide information about migrant rights and obligations, advising on how to proceed in individual legal proceedings. Additionally, they help with preparing required documents, negotiating with bureaus and third parties, and in justified cases, they act as attorneys at law. PPI has many years of practical experience— particularly in the areas covered by the Law on Aliens Law on Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship and Asylum Act.
Learn more on their Legal Advisory page.
Tel: +420 602 586 092
Website
Facebook
Address: Havlíčkovo nám. 2, 130 00 Praha 3-Žižkov, Czechia
Tel: +420 224 224 379 or +420 603 253 994
Email: poradna@refug.cz
Sdružení pro Integraci a Migraci or the Association for Integration and Migration (SIMI) is a non-profit organisation helping foreigners in the Czech Republic, with special focus on asylum seekers and refugees. It has a well established tradition of providing legal and social counseling to foreigners, such as asylum seekers, refugees, labour migrants, undocumented migrants and their families.
For more information, visit their Legal and Social Counseling page.
Website
Address: Za Poříčskou bránou 365/21, Prague 8, 186 00
Email: info@ua.support
UA.SUPPORT is a distribution platform that allows to connect a request from Ukrainian refugees for legal support related to migration to different countries with a lawyer who has decided to provide pro bono legal support in this field.
They operate in in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Israel, Spain, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, France, Finland, and in the Czech Republic.
For more detailed information about UA Support, visit: About the Project – UA.SUPPORT.
Website
Email: contact@w2eu.info or w2eu_info@yahoo.com
The Welcome to Europe website is an independent source of information for refugees coming to Europe. It might be useful on their journey to and through Europe by giving access to counseling and useful contacts in different European countries. Their Czech Republic country page provides information on the Czech asylum application process and provides useful contacts.
Organisations providing other support to refugees
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Address: Londýnská 44, Prague 2 (currently under reconstruction) or P. O. Box 35, 120 00 Prague 2
Email: migrace@praha.charita.cz
Charita Česká republika, or the Czech Ecumenical Council of Churches, helps foreigners in the Czech Republic who find themselves in difficult situations. This group includes refugees, those displaces by war, persecution and poverty, among many others. Their services are offered free of charge to refugees their social services center headquarters in Prague. Based on the individual needs of each client, they also provide services outside of their headquarters, within the region of Prague and Central Bohemia.
Their work is focused mainly on psychosocial assistance and on supporting migrants’ integration into society. Specialised assistance is also given to unaccompanied minors and to those with physical disabilities.
Website
Address: Ekumenické rada církví v ČR Donská 370/5 101 00 Praha 10
Tel: +420 271 742 326, or +420 734 641 687
Email: erc@ekumenickarada.cz
Contact person: ThDr. Petr Jan Vinš (generální sekretář a tiskový mluvčí ERC)
Ekumenická Rada Církví v České Republice, or the Czech Ecumenical Council of Churches, offers pastoral care, social counselling and assistance, legal counselling, integration, spiritual guidance.
Visit their Accommodations page to learn more about their housing support.
Czech Republic LGBTQI+ Resources
Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in the Czech Republic.
Czech Republic COI
Find the Czech Republic's country of information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents.
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.
Last updated April 2023