Czech Republic will no longer issue visas and residence permits to Russians, Belarusians

This is reported by Ceske Noviny.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the government supported the extension of the resolution at the suggestion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But, according to him, the Cabinet of Ministers should also create conditions for the activities of the opposition or students in the Czech Republic who do not want to have anything to do with the regimes of Russia and Belarus.

"There are a number of exceptions to the rules, but we will continue to work on it," Fiala said.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Czech government decided to stop issuing visas to citizens of Russia and later Belarus, except in humanitarian cases. The last decree was in effect until March 31, 2024, and now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed a new government decree without a specific timeframe for simplification.

Applications for residence in the Czech Republic submitted by Russians or Belarusians are considered inadmissible. This means that there are no proceedings against them. Since last year, the ban also applies to citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus who are also citizens of another state.

• On February 13, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed to extend the ban on issuing visas and residence permits to citizens of Russia and Belarus. The previously introduced rules are valid until March 31, 2024, and the ministry wants to make the ban indefinite.