The Alien Act under the resident status understands the situation when a third-country national possess a permanent residency permit issued by another EU Member State which has had conferred on him/her “the legal status of long-term resident in the European Community”. This status is granted due to the Council Directive 2003/109/EC on the status of third-country nationals who are long - term residents. Conferring this status is visible via a residence permit document stating that it presents a “residence permit for a long-term resident – EC” („povolení k pobytu pro dlouhodobě pobývajícího rezidenta – ES“).

A third-country national who has been granted this legal states enjoys on the territory of another EU Member States “equal treatment” as nationals of this or another EU Member States (e.g. access to labor market, education, services, but also security insurance etc.).

The long-term residence status may be granted to a foreign national who is not a national of the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland (further referred to as a “third-country national”) provided that he/she has been granted permanent residence by the Czech Republic after five years of uninterrupted stay on the territory and he/she fulfills conditions laid down by the § 83 of the Alien Act. A third-country national, who has been granted permanent residence without fulfilling the condition of a 5-year uninterrupted stay, may be granted this status additionally once the requested conditions are met.

In case that a third-country national applies for a permanent residence after five years of uninterrupted stay in the Czech Republic, the status of a long-term resident will be granted to him/her simultaneously with granting the residence permit. If he/she applies for granting the legal status subsequently, the application will be processed within period of time laid down by the Administration Procedure Code (§ 71 par. 3).

If above stated conditions are fulfilled, the long-term residence status may be granted to a family member of a national of the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland who is not a national of any of these states.

A resident of any other EU Member State is a third-country national who is in possession of a permanent residence with conferred legal status of a long-term resident of the EC. Such a third-country national is entitled to stay in the Czech Republic without a visa for a period of time not exceeding 3 months. If he/she intends to stay in the Czech Republic for longer than 3 months, he/she is obliged to apply for a long-term residence permit on the Czech territory.

The application should be submitted together with documents laid down by the § 42c of the Alien Act. The decision on the application will be taken within 120 days of the date on which the application was filed.