Author
Administrative proceedings on applications for international protection are conducted by the Ministry of Interior, Department of Asylum and Migration Policy, as the first-instance authority. The initiation of asylum proceedings under the Asylum Act is tied to the submitting of an application for international protection by a foreign national, either in writing or orally into the record. This is an expression of the applicant’s will showing that they are seeking protection in the Czech Republic from persecution or serious harm.
Such an application may be submitted only on the territory of the Czech Republic (not, for example, through an embassy), specifically to the Immigration Police at locations designated by the Asylum Act: at a border crossing, in a reception centre, at the foreign police department of a regional police directorate (provided that the foreign national appears voluntarily), or in a detention facility for foreigners if the applicant is being held there. The only exceptions are cases where the applicant is serving preventive detention, protective treatment, remand (custody), or a term of imprisonment, or if they are placed in an educational institution for institutional or protective education, or in a facility for children requiring immediate assistance. In such cases, the application may be submitted in writing directly to the MoI.
The procedure is always conducted by the MoI, regardless of the place where the application was submitted. After the application is submitted, the Ministry allows the applicant to provide the necessary details on the application (this moment is considered to be the ‘lodging’ of the application) and informs them of their procedural rights and obligations.
The MoI must issue its decision within six months of receiving the applicant’s detailed information. If the nature of the case does not allow a decision to be taken within this period, the Ministry may extend the deadline for reasons provided by law, up to a total of 18 months. The applicant must be notified of any extension without undue delay.
Asylum proceedings may end with a decision on the merits (positive or negative), a decision dismissing the application as manifestly unfounded, or a decision to discontinue the proceedings. None of these outcomes include a return decision. Once the decision becomes final, the applicant is issued a departure order (usually valid for 30 days), on the basis of which they are expected to leave the territory of the Czech Republic.
The MoI shall dismiss an application as manifestly unfounded under Section 16 of the Asylum Act if, for example, the applicant invokes only economic reasons; provides false identity or nationality information without serious cause, or refuses to provide such information; applies for asylum solely to avoid a situation of general hardship; comes from a country designated by the Czech Republic as a safe country of origin; presents clearly non-credible claims; has destroyed, damaged, or concealed travel or other important documents to obstruct the establishment of the facts, or has submitted forged or altered documents with that aim; or has applied for international protection in order to avoid imminent expulsion or extradition despite having been able to apply earlier. In manifestly unfounded cases, the Ministry conducts an accelerated procedure, in which a decision must be issued no later than 90 days after receiving the applicant’s detailed information.
Asylum proceedings may also end in discontinuation. The MoI will discontinue the procedure, for example, if the applicant withdraws the application, acquires Czech citizenship, or dies; if the applicant, without serious reason, fails to appear to provide information or attend an interview; if they fail to provide information necessary to reliably establish the facts; if, during the procedure, they enter or attempt to enter the territory of another country without serious reason; or if their whereabouts cannot be determined and a decision cannot be issued based on the information available.
Proceedings are also discontinued in the case of ‘inadmissible applications’ under Section 10a of the Asylum Act. Applications are inadmissible when filed by an EU citizen; when another EU Member State is responsible for examining them; when the applicant has already been granted international protection in another EU Member State; or when the applicant comes from a country designated by the Czech Republic as a European safe third country or a safe third country. An application is also inadmissible if it is a subsequent application in which the applicant has presented no new facts or findings that were, through no fault of their own, not examined in the previous finalised procedure and that would indicate that they might face persecution under Section 12 or serious harm under Section 14a of the Asylum Act.
If the applicant lodges a ‘further subsequent application’, i.e. a third or subsequent application, the Ministry may discontinue the proceedings within 10 days of filing (lodging). This applies in cases where, in view of previous proceedings or the absence of a substantial change in circumstances related to possible persecution under Section 12 or serious harm under Section 14a, it cannot reasonably be assumed that the applicant would face persecution or serious harm. Applicants who lodge such further repeated applications do not enjoy the rights normally granted to asylum applicants under the Asylum Act or other special laws.
A final decision of the MoI may be challenged by filing an action before the Regional Court with territorial jurisdiction based on the applicant’s registered address on the day the decision was issued. The action must be submitted within one month (in the case of a negative decision on the merits) or within 15 days of delivery (in other cases such as discontinuation or manifestly unfounded decisions). Filing an action has automatic suspensive effect only in the case of merit-based decisions refusing international protection and in some cases of manifestly unfounded applications. In other cases, the applicant may apply for suspensive effect. For discontinuation decisions (with certain exceptions), decisions rejecting the application as manifestly unfounded (among others if the applicant comes from a safe country of origin), and decisions granting subsidiary protection, the action does not have automatic suspensive effect. Where suspensive effect applies, the applicant remains in the position of an asylum seeker and cannot be expelled from the Czech Republic until the court proceedings are completed.
A decision of the Regional Court may be further challenged by filing a cassation complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court within two weeks. The Asylum Act grants a cassation complaint automatic suspensive effect only if the action before the Regional Court also had suspensive effect by law. If suspensive effect applies, the applicant cannot be expelled from the Czech Republic while the cassation proceedings are pending.