Acquiring Czech citizenship under the rigid and peculiar laws which existed prior to January 2014, when the new law came into force, sometimes led to absurd situations.
What does that mean?
The Czech law regulating Czech citizenship that was in force until the end of 2013 often led to absurd situations, in which some family members were eligible for Czech citizenship while others, descendants of the same parents, were not.
For example, a descendant born in Israel before May 8, 1969 to one Czech parent and one non-Czech parent was not entitled to receive Czech citizenship, while a descendant born in Israel on or after May 8, 1969 to one Czech parent and one non-Czech parent was entitled to receive Czech citizenship.
Annulment of Czech citizenship after applying for its renewal
In addition, over the course of the last twenty years, many Czechoslovakian émigrés and their descendants lawfully established their entitlement to Czech citizenship, and even bore and travelled around the world on a Czech passport.
In no few cases, sometimes more than ten years later and most often upon submitting a request to renew a Czech passport, they were told by the Czech authorities that they were not entitled to Czech citizenship, and that their citizenship, although previously granted, was invalid because the Czech authorities had failed to make the appropriate checks when the initial application for citizenship was submitted.
Consequently, many people were forced to hand over the Czech passports in their possession, and their citizenship was revoked.
They were unable to argue that they had acted in good faith, and the assertion of reliance on the actions of the Czech authorities was of no avail to them.
The new law and the easing of citizenship eligibility requirements.
The new law, which came into force at the beginning of January 2014, was intended to redress most of the aforementioned absurd situations and other, additional problems.
Hence entitlement to Czech citizenship has been opened to additional Czechoslovak émigrés and their descendants.
The main changes in the new law:
• Anyone born between October 1, 1949 and May 7, 1969 outside the borders of Czechoslovakia to a Czech mother or father is entitled to receive Czech citizenship.
Since this entitlement can only be utilized until the end of 2014, it is advisable to act expeditiously.
Since this entitlement can only be utilized until the end of 2014, it is advisable to act expeditiously. {br9/}• A person born to a Czech mother and a Slovak father, who married after June 20, 1947 and did not both reside in the Czech Republic, is entitled to receive Czech citizenship.
The change in the law enables all the applicant’s children, and grandchildren under the age of 18, to obtain Czech citizenship. For example, a Czech grandmother and a Slovak grandfather.
The grandfather’s last permanent residence prior to leaving Czechoslovakia was in Slovakia.
The grandfather and grandmother were married in Israel.
Their son or daughter is eligible to receive Czech citizenship, as are their grandchildren who are under the age of 18. • A person whose father is Czech and mother is not Slovak (for example, Israeli), who were married before June 20, 1947, is entitled to receive Czech citizenship.
The change in the law enables the applicant’s children who are over the age of 18 and his grandchildren who are under the age of 18 to receive Czech citizenship. {br12/} For example, a Czech grandfather and a grandmother of Polish descent.
They were married in Israel in 1946.
Their son or daughter is entitled to receive Czech citizenship, as are their grandchildren under the age of 18.
