Permit.cz

What actually counts toward the 5 years for permanent residence?

Five years of continuous residence on long-stay visas and long-term permits, where continuity survives your absences only inside two limits that apply at the same time: no single absence longer than 6 consecutive months, and no more than 310 days away in total across the whole period. Certain serious-reason absences up to 12 months do not break continuity, but do not count as residence either.

Who this is for: Third-country nationals on long-term permits, Employee Cards and Blue Cards included, planning or checking their path to permanent residence under § 68 of the Aliens Act.

Not for: EU citizens, whose continuity rules are different and gentler; their route is the EU permanent-residence procedure, see the form. Spouses of Czech citizens may also have a shorter path, covered in the permanent residence guide.

The two limits, together

Permanent residence — how much time you may spend outside the Czech Republic during the 5 qualifying years

No single absence longer than 6 consecutive months, AND no more than 310 days absent in total. Separately, one absence of up to 12 consecutive months for serious reasons — pregnancy and birth, serious illness or study — does not break continuity, but that period does not count toward the 5 years either.

Third-country nationals counting the 5 years of continuous residence for permanent residence under § 68(1). TWO limits apply at once and both must be met. EU citizens are under a different rule entirely: § 87g(7) preserves continuity if absence does not exceed 6 months in total per year.

Show the Czech text

The wording the rule above was read from. It is the authoritative text, and it is in Czech.

“§ 68 odst. 2 písm. e): "e) období nepřítomnosti cizince na území v průběhu doby pobytu podle písmen a) až d) , pokud tato jednotlivá období nepřítomnosti nepřesáhla 6 po sobě jdoucích měsíců a pokud ve svém souhrnu nepřesáhla 310 dnů; pokud jedno období nepřítomnosti cizince na území nebylo delší než 12 po sobě jdoucích měsíců ze závažných důvodů, zejména jde-li o těhotenství a narození dítěte, závažné onemocnění nebo studium, nepřetržitost pobytu je zachována, přičemž toto období se do doby pobytu podle odstavce 1 nezapočítává,"”

Read from e-sbirka.gov.cz on 13 September 2026Check it yourself

Run both tests over your travel history, not one: eleven short trips totalling 320 days fail the total limit with no single long absence, and one 7-month assignment abroad fails the single-absence limit with plenty of total allowance left. Airlines and calendars do not warn you; count before you book, especially long home-country stays.

The 12-month serious-reason exception (pregnancy and birth, serious illness, study) protects continuity only. The time away still does not count toward the 5 years, so a protected year abroad moves your application date a year further out.

What the clock runs on

The period is built from residence on long-stay visas and long-term residence permits. Time under the protective fiction while a properly filed extension was being decided belongs to the permit it extended, which is one more reason filing in time matters, see fikce pobytu. For how study years are weighted and the special cases, the permanent residence guide carries the detail.

The rest of the application, briefly

  • Czech at level A2, with exemptions, and a pass mark across both halves of the exam, the cards below state both.
  • Proof of income and accommodation, with document-age limits that catch people (most supporting documents may not be older than 180 days).
  • The application itself and its fee, see the permanent residence form.

Permanent residence — the level of Czech you must prove

A2 (Common European Framework of Reference)

Third-country nationals applying for permanent residence who are not exempt from proving Czech. It is a different exam from the B1 one for citizenship.

Show the Czech text

The wording the rule above was read from. It is the authoritative text, and it is in Czech.

“§ 2 odst. 1: "Pro účely získání povolení k trvalému pobytu na území České republiky se požaduje znalost jazyka alespoň na úrovni A2 podle Společného evropského referenčního rámce pro jazyky."”

Read from e-sbirka.gov.cz on 13 October 2026Check it yourself

Czech language exam for permanent residence (A2) — the pass mark

60% of the available points in each half — at least 42 points across reading, writing and listening, and at least 24 points for speaking

Candidates sitting the A2 exam for permanent residence. Both halves must be passed: the written parts are scored together, speaking separately, and failing either means retaking the whole exam. This is NOT the citizenship exam, which is B1 plus reálie and is scored differently.

Show the Czech text

The wording the rule above was read from. It is the authoritative text, and it is in Czech.

“Za část čtení, psaní a poslech musíte získat minimálně 42 bodů (to je 60% všech bodů). Za část mluvení musíte získat minimálně 24 bodů (to je 60% všech bodů).”

Read from cestina-pro-cizince.cz on 13 September 2026Check it yourself

Permanent residence (trvalý pobyt) — application fee

2,500 CZK

Third-country nationals applying IN the Czech Republic. EU citizens and their family members pay 200 Kč under a separate schedule.

“Permanent residence | Application submission | 2,500”

Read from ipc.gov.cz on 9 September 2026Check it yourself

Quick questions

Do business trips and holidays count against the 310 days?
Days absent are days absent; the statute’s limits do not ask why you travelled, except for the specific serious-reason absence it names. Count everything.
Does time as a student count fully?
Study time is weighted differently for the 5 years. The rule and its source are in the permanent residence guide; check it before building plans on a student-year count.
My card says 10 years. Is that the status expiring?
No. The status is permanent; what expires is the plastic. The card runs 10 years, 5 for under-15s, and is then renewed as a document, not re-earned.

Official sources, and when we read them

A summary to help you act in time, not legal advice. Rules change; the dates above say when each source was actually read, and the fact boxes carry their own.

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