Overview of main changes in 2025

Author

OPU

International protection

Statistics

• Asylum applications and recognition rate: The number of applications for international protection saw a slight decrease in 2025, falling from 1,363 in 2024 to 1,197 in 2025. There was an increase in the number of individuals granted refugee status, rising from 54 in 2024 to 70 in 2025. Conversely, grants of subsidiary protection declined from 149 in 2024 to 127 in 2025. The overall protection rate went slightly up from approximately 13.4% in 2024 to 16.1% in 2025 (see Statistics).
• Caseloads and length of procedures: Management of the caseload showed progress, as the number of pending cases at the end of the year dropped from 689 in 2024 to 627 in 2025. The average length of the first-instance procedure in 2025 was 147 days (see Regular Procedure).

Asylum procedure

• Cancellation of humanitarian asylum: As of 1 October 2025, the national form of protection known as “humanitarian asylum” was cancelled (see National protection statuses and Return procedure).
• EU Pact: An extensive amendment to the Asylum Act was adopted in the summer of 2025 to implement the EU Migration Pact (with most provisions taking effect in June 2026). The most significant changes include (for details see the annex at the end of this report):
  • Combined Decision on Protection and Return: If the MoI rejects an asylum application on its merits, it will now directly decide in the same ruling on the illegality of the stay and the obligation to leave the EU territory within a provided departure period (7 – 30 days).
  • Limitation of the refugee status: Asylum will now be granted for a period of at least 3 years (previously indefinite).
  • Restriction of health care for asylum seekers: Adult applicants and those with “tolerated stay” status (those awaiting a decision of the SAC) will now only receive state-funded healthcare in the scope of necessary (emergency) care.
  • Possibility of reducing reception conditions: The MoI will now be able to reduce financial allowances to the existence minimum if the applicant submits a subsequent application, fails to cooperate in the proceedings, engages in illegal secondary movements within the EU, or grossly violates accommodation rules (e.g., aggression, drugs). Benefits will be mandatorily reduced once a decision to transfer the applicant to another responsible EU state is issued.
  • Shortening of the appeal deadlines: 10 days for denials of manifestly unfounded applications, border procedures, and detained persons (previously 15). Other cases have a 15-day deadline (previously 1 month).
  • Fixed court deadlines for issuing a decision: Regional Courts must decide within 5 weeks (border procedures), 4 months (manifestly unfounded/withdrawn applications), 6 months (cases with suspensive effect), 12 months (other cases).
• Syria: Proceedings for Syrian applicants were frozen for six months due to the situation in Syria, resuming only at the end of 2025 (see Differential treatment of specific nationalities in the procedure).
• Jurisdiction for actions against entry denials: From 11 February 2025, territorial jurisdiction for actions against entry denials was centralized under the Municipal Court in Prague (see General).

Reception conditions

• Labour market: A significant integration project (OPZ+) focused on the labor market ended on 31 August 2025 (see Employment and Education).
• Legal aid: Following the 2025 elections, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the future state funding of free legal aid provided by NGOs (see Information for Asylum Seekers and Access to Reception Centres).

Detention of asylum applicants

• Statistics: A total of 216 asylum seekers were placed in detention in 2025. A significant improvement was noted in the average duration of detention of asylum seekers, which decreased from 111 days in 2024 to 76 days in 2025 (see Detention of Asylum Seekers).
• Alternatives to detention: In practice, no alternatives to detention were utilized during the year (see Alternatives to Detention).
• Legal counselling in detention: In October 2025, there was a three-week gap in the provision of legal counselling in detention facilities due to administrative delays in funding. Police focus shifted toward foreigners working illegally in the Czech Republic (see Legal Assistance for Review of Detention).

Content of international protection

• Registered partnerships: Effective 1 January 2025, a change in the law allowed two foreign nationals to enter into a registered partnership in Czechia (see Status and Residence).
• Cessation of protection: The cessation of protection remained rare, with fewer than 5 cessation decisions issued throughout 2025 (see Cessation and review of protection status).
• Extension of subsidiary protection for Syrian nationals resumed: In autumn 2025, the Ministry of Interior began resuming suspended procedures for the extension of subsidiary protection for Syrian nationals (see Differential treatment of specific nationalities in the procedure).

Temporary protection

The information given hereafter constitutes a short summary of the Annex on Temporary Protection.

Temporary protection procedure

• Inadmissibility of temporary protection applications for beneficiaries in other EU Member States: In early 2025, significant judicial rulings addressed the inadmissibility of temporary protection applications by temporary protection beneficiaries in other EU Member States. Following the CJEU judgment in Krasiliva (February 2025), the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) ruled in April 2025 that rejecting applications from individuals who held temporary protection in another Member State was contrary to EU law. Despite this, a September 2025 amendment to Lex Ukraine introduced a new inadmissibility ground based on capacity notifications to the European Commission. However, the SAC ruled this new ground illegal in December 2025.
• Extension of temporary protection: Temporary protection was extended through registration until 31March 2027.

Content of temporary protection

• Long-term residence permit: A major development in 2025 was the introduction of a special long-term residence permit, granting a stable five-year status to those who have held temporary protection in the Czech Republic for at least two years and meet specific income and integrity requirements.
• Humanitarian accommodation: Free humanitarian accommodation was limited to 90 days (shortened from the previous 150 days) and centralized exclusively at the KACPU centre in Ostrava. The humanitarian allowance for those in such housing increases after 90 days to 4,000 CZK/€ 164 (or 6,000 CZK/€ 246 for vulnerable persons). In education, purely Ukrainian classes were abolished as of September 2024 to foster better integration in 2025.