Author
A recognised refugee is automatically entitled to permanent residence according to the Immigration Act (§ 76 of the Asylum act). The biometric residence permit card is issued for the duration of 10 years and, after its expiration, the refugee status is still valid so the recognised refugee only has to apply for a new biometric card and not for extension of the refugee status or residence permit.
Subsidiary protection is granted for as long as the person is at risk of serious harm, minimal duration is 1 year (§ 53a of the Asylum act). Usually it is granted for the period of 2 years, occasionally for 3 years. Subsidiary protection can be prolonged repeatedly, if the risk of serious harm persists. After 5 years, the beneficiary of subsidiary protection can apply for permanent residence, if they fulfill the requirement of knowledge of the Czech language at A2 level and has a stable income and accommodation.
The decision granting international protection automatically grants the residence permit. After the decision is handed over to the beneficiary, they apply for the biometric residence permit card. The card is issued by the local MoI office according to the residence address of the beneficiary, usually within 3 to 6 weeks. In practice there are no systematic difficulties in obtaining such cards.
Regarding the renewal of the residence permit, the procedure differs between refugee status and subsidiary protection. Recognised refugees only have to apply for a new biometric residence permit card every 10 years. In practice there are no observed difficulties in obtaining this card.
Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection can apply for the extension of their status before expiration of its validity. The MoI then conducts administrative proceedings similar to the asylum procedure to assess if the risk of serious harm still persists. These proceedings can take up to 6 months. If the validity of subsidiary protection expires in the meantime, the person will still retain the status of subsidiary protection beneficiary until the decision on extension comes into force. In practice, minor difficulties occur. When the biometric card expires, the beneficiary has to hand it over to the MoI and is left without a residence permit card till they receive a new biometric card based on the extension decision. In the meantime, the beneficiary will only have the alien’s passport with a stamp confirming extension of its validity for the duration of the extension proceedings (i.e., maximum for 3 months). This causes difficulties in communication with employers, banks, state offices, etc., and makes travelling abroad complicated (for information on negative extension decisions see Cessation).