Foreigners in the Czech Republic

The course of the asylum procedure is regulated by Act No. 325/1999 Coll., on Asylum and on the Amendment to Act No. 283/1991 Coll., on the Police of the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Asylum Act). On 1 February 2002, Amendment No. 2/2002 Coll., to the Asylum Act entered into force. The commencement of the asylum procedure is conditional on the foreigner’s statement apparently showing the foreigner’s intention to ask for granting asylum. The statement can be made at a border crossing, reception centre, detention centre for foreigners, health establishment during hospitalisation, or prison. The foreigner’s duty is to make appearance in the reception centre within 24 hours since he/she made the statement to submit the application for asylum.

The administrative body ruling in the 1st instance on the matter is the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic (the Asylum and Migration Policies Department). Within ninety days following the commencement of the procedure, the Ministry issues its meritorious decision. Filing remonstrance with the Minister of the Interior had been the form of appeal against the Ministry’s (first instance) decision by 31 January 2002. For the purpose of making decisions on remonstrance, the Minister set up the Remonstrance Commission for the work of which the staff of the Remonstrance Commission Unit under the Asylum and Migration Policies of the Ministry of the Interior prepared necessary documents and data. Since 1 February 2002, the applicants could file an application for remedial measure against the Ministry’s decision with the High Court in Prague. This step, also stipulated in the amendment to the Asylum Act, ensures that the asylum seeker can be provided with an independent review by the Court of the administrative decision. The Minister of the Interior could make meritorious decision and thus decide that the asylum would be granted or confirm the first instance decision or abolish the first instance decision and refer the case new asylum procedure. The court reviews the decision for legality – it does not decide on the asylum matter. Hence, it can either confirm the decision of the administrative body or abolish and refer it to new procedure. (On 1 January 2003, this legislation was amended again and unsuccessful asylum seekers are free to bring an action against the decision of the Ministry of the Interior with a regional court of justice.)

The Ministry of the Interior establishes asylum facilities (reception centres, residential centres, and integration asylum centres) for asylum seekers and refugees. Such a foreigner has to stay in the reception centre for the time stipulated by the law (for the purpose of identification, writing his/her application for asylum, medical examinations, etc.). The reception centres are established in the municipality of Vyšní Lhoty, District of Frýdek-Místek; the airport Praha-Ruzyně, and in the detention centres for foreigners (Balková, Frýdek-Místek, Velké Přílepy, Poštorná, a Bělá pod Bezdězem). The asylum seeker leaves the reception centre for the residential centre where he/she is accommodated until the decision on the grant of asylum comes into force. The residential centres are located in the municipalities of Zastávka u Brna, District of Brno – venkov; Červený Újezd, District of Teplice; Bělá pod Bezdězem, District of Mladá Boleslav; Havířov, District of Karviná; Seč, District of Chrudim; Bruntál, District of Bruntál; Zbýšov, District of Brno – venkov; Stráž pod Ralskem, District of Česká Lípa; and Kostelec nad Orlicí, District of Rychnov nad Kněžnou. The integration asylum centre is used to temporarily accommodate foreigners who were granted asylum. The integration asylum centres are found in the municipalities of Jaroměř, District of Náchod; Zastávka u Brna, District of Brno – venkov; Krásná Lípa, District of Děčín; Náchod, District of Náchod; and Ústí nad Labem – Předlice, District of Ústí nad Labem.

Table 2-1. New applications for asylum procedure and decisions by both instances of administrative procedure: 2002

The numbers of decisions entail all decisions, including the ones concerning minors participating in the procedure and for whom their statutory representative lodges the application. The total number of decisions is not a simple sum of the types of decisions presented in the table, but also includes other decisions (e.g. withdrawals of the right to asylum already granted. In total comparison, however, these are minimum in number.

Table 2-3. Decisions of the second administrative distance: 2002

Since 1 February 2002, the asylum seekers have started appealing to the High Court, but the Secretariat of the Remonstrance Commission was still receiving remonstrances against decisions lodged by 31 January 2002. The Commission consists of three representatives of state bodies and four representatives of non-state institutions. In its resolutions, the Commission recommends decisions to be made on a particular case by the Minister of the Interior. It is supposed to work until all remonstrances are decided on (at least by the end of 2003).

Table 2-4. High Court proceedings - appeals against the first instance decisions of the Ministry of the Interior of the CR: 1 February to 31 December 2002

Since 1 February 2002, the asylum seekers have been free to lodge applications for remedial measure against decisions of the Ministry of the Interior with the High Court in Prague. The application is dealt with by the Ministry’s Asylum and Migration Policies Department which refers the file along with its opinion to the High Court. Where the asylum seeker withdrew the remedial measure, the case is not referred to the High Court and the first instance decision comes into force.

Table 2-5. Appeals submitted to and decisions of the High Court: 31 December 2002

They are appeals against final and conclusive decisions of the Ministerof the Interior i.e. against decisions of the second administrative instance (see Table 2-3). Involved is the possibility of reviewing the case within the framework of administrative judicature: a foreigner lodging the appeal is no longer asylum seeker, but usually asks the Alien Police for granting a stay sufferance visa.

Table 2-7. Asylum seekers: by place of residence; 31 December 2002

The asylum facilities include reception, residential and integration asylum centres, while other places of stay include hospitals, prisons, and detention facilities for foreigners.

Table 2-8. Asylum seekers: by age, sex and citizenship; 2002

The age is given as at 31 December 2002.

Table 2-13. Citizenship of the CR granted to refugees

The table gives the numbers of refugees who were granted the citizenship of the CR. Under the previous Act No. 498/1990 Coll., on Refugees, the status of refugee was withdrawn from persons who were granted Czech citizenship (and also for other reasons). Records of the Asylum and Migration Policies Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the CR list no accurate information on reasons for the withdrawal of this status. Therefore, information on the withdrawal due to the grant of citizenship can be provided for 1999 only, when the reasons started to be recorded accurately. According to the new legal regulation – Act No. 325/1999 Coll., on Asylum – asylum is extinguished when the citizenship is granted. Hence, the columns for 2000 to 2002 list the numbers of persons whose asylum extinguished due to the granting of citizenship.

In 2002, 8 484 persons asked for asylum in the Czech Republic, which translates into a year-on-year drop of 53%. A total of 60 470 persons asked for asylum in the Czech Republic between 1990 and 2002.

The decrease on the number of the applications results from the amendment to the Asylum Act, because the amendment made stricter some conditions of the asylum procedure (asylum seekers are not allowed to work the first year of their stay, the possibility to lodge repeated applications is curbed, asylum procedures are held in detention facilities for foreigners without the asylum seekers being let out).

The most significant group of asylum seekers included citizens of the Ukraine (1 676 asylum seekers, 20%) followed by citizen of Viet Nam (891, 11%), Slovakia (843, 10%), Moldova (724, 9%), Georgia (678, 8%), Russia (629, 7%), and China (511, 6%).

80% of asylum seekers lodged their applications at the reception centres of Vyšní Lhoty and Praha-Ruzyně and 18% at detention centres for foreigners. The number of persons who asked for asylum at the detention centres in 2002 was a great deal lower than in 2001. 2% of the applications come from hospitals and prisons. These applications also included children born to asylum seekers – in such a case the asylum seekers concerned do not have to travel to the reception centre and the application is written in the residential centre.

The asylum was granted to 103 persons in 2001, of which to 101 persons in the first instance. 27 persons (16 in the first and 11 in the second instance) were rendered obstacle to leave along with the decision dismissing their applications for asylum.