The interview at the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic is required for applicants willing to obtain a residence permit.

After you send the application for the residence permit, you will receive an official letter from the Ministry of Interior with information about an interview. In the letter there will be written the date and address of office where you are obliged to come.
Eh, an interview? Should I be scared?
The main reason for the interview is to find out if your purpose of stay in the Czech Republic, which you have written in the application for a residence permit, is genuine.
Previously, there were many cases of arranged marriages or faked family reunions for obtaining a Czech visa and this is the reason why the Ministry of Interior with the foreign police is required to do interviews with foreigners.
What you should know before the interview:
Before the interview you should be familiar with your purpose of stay in the Czech Republic.
For example:
- If you want to start a business in the Czech Republic, you must report information about the type of business you want to start. It is because you have to show that your company will not be just a shell company for the purpose of obtaining a visa.
- If you want to be reunited with your family, you must show you are willing to live in the Czech Republic only because your family/partner live here.
- If you want to study in the Czech Republic, you have to show what course you want to study and why.
My Czech is not good enough, what can I do?
If you do not speak Czech or your Czech is not good enough, you can hire an interpreter.
The list of recommended interpreters is issued on the website www.justice.cz in the section «znalci a tlumočníci».
The approximate cost of an interpreter is around 600-2500 CZK per interview.
Interpreters usually offer to pay for each commenced hour, but some of them have a fixed price for the whole interview.
Some of them are lawyers who can help you with questions regarding the business registration or the Czech legislation, but for an additional payment.
The interview at the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic
All participants of the interview and the interpreter must come on time
If your purpose of stay is family reunion and your family member is Czech or has a permanent residence permit, he is also obliged to come and go through the interview.
You will be interviewed separately and the answers about your relationship will be .
How long does the visa interview take?
The interview for one person lasts one hour with all formalities. There will be about 20-30 questions.
How does the interview take place?
The foreigners who do not speak go first, accompanied by their interpreter.
You will be invited into the room where besides you and the interpreter will be two office workers: the one who will ask you some questions and the second who will record your answers and then make a report.
Do not be scared of meeting a strict and abrasive policeman, who may be unpleasant. Usually office workers are very polite and professional.
The atmosphere of the interview
Generally the atmosphere of the interview is friendly, try not to be nervous and do not create fake answers in advance. It can be easily recognized.
At first you will be asked to sign a document about your mental state. It is just proof that you are not under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
The interview starts with the simple questions about:
- Your name
- Surname
- Date of arrival in the Czech Republic
- Your purpose of coming
Such questions make you feel calm and let you get used to the situation.
It is better to give simple answers like ‚Yes‘ or ‚No‘ and do not go into details until you are asked to do so.
Residence permit with the purpose of starting a business
If you apply for a residence permit with the purpose of starting a business be ready to answer questions about your business plan and market analysis, as mentioned above.
Residence permit with the purpose of a family reunion
If the purpose is a family reunion the questions will be about your relationship with your partner.
For example:
- Do you know his or her relatives?
- What are their names?
- Are you planning a holiday together?
- When and where were you traveling together?
- Where do your family members work?
- What are their jobs and the name of the company?
- Who in your family pays for food and housing?
- What are the colors of your toothbrushes?
The end of the interview in the Ministry of Interior
At the end of the interview you will be asked a question requiring detailed description.
For example
A story about how you spent the last day or the last weekend.
You will be asked clarifying questions to figure out all details such as the number or color of the bus which you took.
If you do not know for sure do not try to lie or think about the details for a long time. It is better if you just tell them that you do not know or do not remember these details.
Pay attention!
At the end of the interview you will get a printed protocol in the Czech language and you will be asked to sign it.
In this part you have to be very careful, especially if you are with the interpreter.
Check out your answers together and do not leave any chance to ambiguous statements. If you or the interpreter find a mistake ask the office workers for an immediate correction. They must change and reprint the protocol.
Do not hesitate to ask to reprint…
Do not hesitate to ask to reprint the protocol 3-4 times or more, if it is required.
With any wrong data or names you risk a rejection of your application. Sign the protocol only when you are really confident that everything is correct.
Other participants of the interview will have the same procedure. They will also be asked clarifying questions and asked to sign their protocol.
When do I receive the decision about my application?
The terms of the final decision depends on many factors but usually it takes three or four weeks.