Love finds a way, new Czech rule favour bi-national couples

The Czech Republic is now changing the rules for unmarried partners of citizens of the country who were separated by COVID-19 related travel ban in the EU. The ban was in effect since mid-March 2020.

The need of these unmarried couples to reunite is a different scenario than trying for a Czech Republic tourist visa.

Czech Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have announced that from July 20, 2020, third country nationals can arrive in the country with a visitor visa to meet their partners if they meet certain special conditions. This facility is especially applicable to visa-free third country nationals.

A similar system was applied by Austria and Denmark for couples who are unmarried.

For these couples to reunite in Czech Republic, they should:

• Submit a solemn declaration revealing their long-term relationship (to be sent to vo@mzv.cz)
• Send proof of their relationship like a joint bank account, joint lease agreement, or birth certificate of common children

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will process the entry requests electronically. Within 3 days the possibility of the partner coming to the country will be confirmed. This confirmation will then be forwarded to the Czech citizen’s partner. That partner can use it as proof upon entering the Czech Republic.

As soon as the confirmation is available, partners coming from visa-free countries can enter the Czech Republic immediately. But those who must have a short-term visa should apply for the same in the standard procedure.

The new decision comes following a campaign bi-national couples have been pushing on Twitter. The campaign called upon the governments of European countries to abolish the ban on travel and allow them to reunite and even get married.

After the campaign that started in June 2020, a group of members of the European Parliament penned an open letter to Horst Seehofer, the German Minister of Interior, to bring the issue to his notice. Ylva Johansson, the Swedish EU Commissioner for Home Affairs also had the letter directed to her. She expressed her support for the twitter campaign under the hashtags “#LoveIsEternal” and “#LoveIsNotTourism”.

Currently, third country nationals can reunite with their lovers in Denmark, Austria, Norway, and the Netherlands.

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