The Czech passport ( cs, italic=yes, cestovní pas, ''pas'') is an international

travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the be ...

issued to nationals of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, and may also serve as proof of Czech citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of Czech citizenship, the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from Czech consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case a Czech consular is absent, if needed. Czech citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 183 countries and territories, ranking the Czech passport 7th overall in terms of travel freedom according to the

Henley Passport Index The Henley Passport Index ( abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restricti ...

. Czech citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty. Every Czech citizen is also a

citizen of the European Union European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...

. The nationality allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade As ...

, but a

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

or a

national identity card National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

is in practice needed for identification.

Application

The passport is issued by the Interior Ministry (''Ministerstvo vnitra''), and as is internationally customary remains property of the Czech Republic and can be withdrawn at any time. It is a valid Proof of Citizenship document according to the Czech nationality law. Citizens can hold multiple passports at the same time, and children can be included in the passport. The

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

sporadically issues a list of nations with visa-free travel arrangements with the Czech Republic. In an application for a Czech passport, one must submit two photographs of 35mm x 45mm size.

Physical appearance

Czech passports are

burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

like other

passports of the European Union The European Union itself does not issue ordinary passports, but ordinary passport booklets issued by its 27 member states share a common format. This common format features a coloured cover (for which burgundy is compulsor all countries exce ...

, with the Czech coat of arms emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words "EVROPSKÁ UNIE" ( cs, European Union) and "ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA" ( cs, Czech Republic) are inscribed above the coat of arms and the words "CESTOVNÍ PAS" ( cs, Passport) are inscribed below the coat of arms. Czech passports adhere to the common EU design and

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

requirements

Identity information page

* Photo of passport holder * Type (P) * Code (CZE) * Passport no. * 01 Surname * 02 Given names * 03 Nationality (''Česká republika/Czech Republic'') * 04 Date of birth * 05 Place of birth * 06 Sex * 07 Date of issue * 08 Date of expiry * 09 Authority * 10 Holder's signature * 11 Personal no. The lower area of the data page contains the Machine-readable zone.

Passport note

Passports typically contain a message from the minister or official in charge of passport issuance addressed to the officials of foreign states, requesting that the citizen bearing the passport be allowed free passage through the state, and if in need be provided assistance consistent with international norms. Today this treatment is expected rather than requested, but the message remains as a tradition. Czech passports bear this message only in Czech, in capitals and as follows: :''Držitel českého cestovního pasu je pod ochranou České republiky. Všichni, jichž se to může týkat, se žádají, aby v případě potřeby poskytli držiteli tohoto pasu nezbytnou pomoc a ochranu podle mezinárodního práva.'' The above message when unofficially rendered in English, would read: :''The holder of a Czech passport is under the protection of the Czech Republic. All those whom it may concern are hereby requested to, in times of need, render the holder of this passport all essential help and protection under international law.''

Languages

The data page is printed in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, followed a few pages later with translations to all remaining official EU languages and Russian.

Visa requirements

Czech citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 183 countries and territories, ranking the Czech passport 7th overall in terms of travel freedom according to the

History

Non-machine-readable passports

These series have become obsolete and are only issued for emergency reasons due to more expedient processing.

1993 passport series

The first passport of the

, issued between the

dissolution of Czechoslovakia The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries ...

and 31/3/2000, with a ten-year validity. The data page is inside the back cover and printed in Czech and English. The photograph is attached with adhesive. These features remain constant for all non-machine readable passports

1998 passport series

Issued: ::::* from 2000 until 30/6/2000 with a ten-year validity ::::* from 1/7/2000 until 31/8/2006 with a one-year validity ::::* from 1/9/2006 until 31/12/2006 with a six-month validity, or for citizens under five years of age with a one year validity

2005 passport series

Issued: ::::* from 2005 until 31/8/2006 with a one-year validity ::::* from 1/9/2006 until 31/12/2009 with a six-month validity, or for citizens under five years of age with a one year validity

2007 passport series

Issued from February 2007 with a six-month validity, or for citizens under five years of age with a one-year validity.

Machine-readable passports

2000 passport series

Issued from 1/7/2000 until 15/3/2005 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five-year validity. The data page is inside the back cover and printed in Czech and English. The photograph is printed onto the page.

2005 passport series

Issued from 16/3/2005 until 31/8/2006 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five-year validity. As the first passport series issued following Czech ascension into the European Union, it is first to bear the words "Evropská Unie" and has been modified to conform to standard EU passport design. The data page was moved to page two, and French was added. Pages six and seven now bear translations of the data fields into eighteen languages of the European Union and Russian.

2006 passport series

Issued from 1/9/2006 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five-year validity. The 2006 series was the first

biometric passport A biometric passport (also known as an e-passport or a digital passport) is a traditional passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip which contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of the pa ...

issued by the Czech Republic. The data page is now printed on a polycarbonate card and the photograph is laser-etched.

2009 passport series

In March 2009 a new series begun to be issued. The most notable change is the addition of two fingerprints, one from the index finger on each hand in order to conform to new EU regulations.

Service passports

Issuable to: * the Supreme Public Prosecutor of the Czech Republic * the deputy Supreme Public Prosecutor of the Czech Republic * deputy ministers of the

Government of the Czech Republic The Government of the Czech Republic ( cz, Vláda České republiky) exercises executive power in the Czech Republic. The members of the government are the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (Chairman of the Government), the deputy prime min ...

* the vice-president of the

Supreme Court of the Czech Republic The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic (') is the court of highest appeal for almost all legal cases heard in the Czech Republic. As set forth in the Constitution of the Czech Republic, however, cases of constitutionality, administrative law ...

* the vice-president of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic * the clerk of the

Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic The Chamber of Deputies, officially the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic ( cs, Poslanecká sněmovna Parlamentu České republiky), is the lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The chamber has 200 seats ...

* the clerk of the

Senate of the Czech Republic The Senate (), literally "Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic", is the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Structure The Senate has 81 members, chosen i ...

* the clerk of the

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The president mostly has ceremonial powers as the day-to-day business of the executive govern ...

* employees of the

* employees of the embassies and consulates of the

1993 Service passport series

The first service passport issued after the

2002 Service passport series

With the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union in 2004 this is no longer the current series issued.

Diplomatic passports

Issuable to: * the

(and former presidents) * ministers of the

* members of the

Parliament of the Czech Republic The Parliament of the Czech Republic ( cs, Parlament České republiky) or just Parliament ( cs, Parlament) is the legislative body of the Czech Republic, seated in Malá Strana, Prague. It consists of two chambers, both elected in direct elec ...

* justices of the

Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic ( cz, Ústavní soud České republiky) is a specialized type of court which primarily works to protect the people in the Czech Republic against violations of the Constitution by either the legisl ...

* the president of the

Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic The Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic (') is the court of highest authority on issues of judicial review of executive (and regulatory) action. It also has jurisdiction over competence disputes and many political matters, such as t ...

* the president of the

* the president of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic ** the spouse of: *** the

*** the

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

*** the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic *** ministers of the

*** the president of the

*** the chief justice of the

* diplomatic staff

1993 Diplomatic passport series

The first diplomatic passport issued after the

2001 Diplomatic passport series

With the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union in 2004 this is no longer the current series issued.

References

{{Passports Passports by country Law of the Czech Republic European Union passports

Application

Physical appearance

Identity information page

Passport note

Languages

Visa requirements

History

Non-machine-readable passports

1993 passport series

1998 passport series

2005 passport series

2007 passport series

Machine-readable passports

2000 passport series

2005 passport series

2006 passport series

2009 passport series

Service passports

1993 Service passport series

2002 Service passport series

Diplomatic passports

1993 Diplomatic passport series

2001 Diplomatic passport series

See also

References