Author
The only report about refoulement or push backs at the Prague airport transit zone (the only external non-EU border for Czechia) is Pushed Back at the Door, from 2017.[1] Since then, no reliable study has been conducted on the matter.
Border monitoring
In 2025, the border monitoring system was in place under an agreement between UNHCR and its implementing partner (an NGO, in the past it was Association for Integration and Migration, currently it is OPU). However, this “monitoring” is only conducted after a person has applied for asylum. Therefore, only the reception centre at the Prague airport transit zone is monitored. No one has access to persons prior to them having applied for asylum who are victims of actual push backs.
The visit of an NGO, who is UNHCR’s implementing partner, to the airport reception centre for asylum seekers happened once per week on a regular basis. They do not involve unannounced visits. They do not include the actual transit zone area where individuals express their wish to apply for asylum prior to being transferred to the reception centre. The visits consist of direct visits to the airport reception centre for asylum seekers and include the provision of free legal aid to asylum seekers who already successfully applied for asylum. They do not include the review of police records. In fact, prior to when a person applies for asylum successfully, the police is not obliged to keep any records.
As of April 2026 (following the end of AMIF funded legal aid – see below) OPU is no longer admitted to the reception centre, even though still being UNHCR’s implementing partner. As of June 2026, with the implementation of the Migration Pact, the Ombudsman’s office will be responsible for the monitoring of the screening procedure, which would also include border monitoring.
Legal access to the territory
Third country nationals cannot apply for a humanitarian visa with the intention to apply for international protection upon their arrival to the Czech Republic.
There are no official resettlement operations or relocation operations in place currently.
The Czech Republic has consistently opposed the introduction of mandatory migrant relocation quotas under the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. The Czech government has maintained that the Pact does not impose automatic obligations to accept relocated asylum seekers and that Member States may instead fulfil their solidarity obligations through alternative means, such as financial or operational contributions. Both the government in office during the adoption of the Pact in 2024 and subsequent political representatives have publicly rejected compulsory relocation mechanisms, emphasising national discretion in implementation.
Currently, Czechia enjoys full exemption from solidarity measures, as the European Commission has classified Czechia as a country facing a “significant migration situation”, due to a large number of Ukrainian refugees.[2]
[1] Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Pushed Back at the Door, 2017, available here.
[2] Council of the EU, Migration and asylum: Member states agree on solidarity pool, December 2025, available here.