Are you under 18 and need to extend your temporary protection in the Czech Republic? Need help figuring out where to start because you have learned that the application must be made by an authorized representative? Read on for a simple how-to guide.
Who must extend the temporary protection?
All who have been granted temporary protection until the end of 2022 and want to stay in the Czech Republic must apply for an extension by the end of March 2023. The application can be started electronically.
Can I do it alone?
If you are under 18 years of age, your representative must formally act for you and must have documents confirming that they are authorized to represent you. Authorized representatives are usually parents, grandparents, an adult sibling, or other relevant persons who can prove their relationship to the minor (you). Examples of documents that can be used to prove a specific relationship, including sample documents, can be found on the FRS website.
The first step in extending temporary protection you can do alone is online registration, after which you will receive an appointment for an in-person visit to OAMP at which time a visa sticker will be affixed to your passport after other conditions are met. This will extend your temporary protection until the end of March 2024.
When registering online, you provide your personal details, your registered place of residence in the Czech Republic, the address and name of the school or kindergarten where you are registered for compulsory attendance (if you are obliged to attend); and you select who acts for the person under 18 (you) and for what reason.
If you fail to register (or your representative fails to register you) online to extend your temporary protection by 31 March 2023, your temporary protection will end on that date. In this case, you will need to reapply.
6 steps for extending temporary protection:
1. Register on the website
A detailed pictorial guide to registration has been prepared by the Home Office here.
2. You will receive an email with the next steps (check your spam if you haven't received one)
3. Fill in the form. In the section that asks you about your relationship with the represented person, select the option that applies to you. If you are unaccompanied, select "represented by OSPOD"
If you are not attending school in the Czech Republic (e.g. you are studying online), select "child does not attend school in the Czech Republic"
4. By registering and reserving a date to collect your visa sticker, your temporary protection is extended until 30.9.2023.
Important: If you are registered, your name will appear on the generated PDF and you will be assigned a registration number. If you do not find your name there, you can be re-registered until 31.3. The system is set up so that your name will be added to the date you choose to get the sticker on your passport. If you do not see your name in the profile even after registration, please notify the MV hotline.
5. On the date you have booked during the online registration, you will attend the OAMP MVČR office and bring with you:
a. valid travel document (if you have one), or another document to prove your identity
b. proof of accommodation (if you applied for temporary protection before 27 June 2022 and you are still living at the same address stated in your original application for temporary protection),
- Such proof can be, for example, a rental contract or a written confirmation from the owner (if the accommodation is provided by your landlord, use the form for natural persons, if the accommodation is provided by a real estate agency, use the form for legal persons.
- You do not need to provide proof of accommodation if you are accommodated under the state emergency accommodation scheme, or you applied for temporary protection after 27 June 2022 and your current address matches the address reported to the Ministry of Interior.
c. documents demonstrating bonding to represent the OSPOD.
Examples of documents can be found on the FRS website.
6. If everything is in order, a visa sticker will be issued to you at the OAMP office to extend your temporary protection until 31 March 2024.
If you would not be present in person at the OAMP office and the extension would be handled only by your representative, he/she should have your current passport-size photograph and your passport (to affix the sticker).
Tip: You can arrange or renew Ukrainian or international passports at the mobile office in Prague. The office is open from Monday to Saturday (9 a.m. - 6 p.m.).
Online registration is required.
What to do if there is no authorized representative with you in the Czech Republic?
If you are in the Czech Republic without a legal guardian or other authorized people, according to Czech law you are represented by the social-legal protection of children (OSPOD).
You should contact the Office of Social and Legal Protection of Children (OSPOD) responsible for your place of residence as soon as possible.
Non-profit organizations and integration centers can help you find the address of this office or a department of the municipal (town) office, or you can write to Refugee Info Czechia team on any of our channels to ask about this.
The OSPOD will issue you with a document that you need to present when you visit the OAMP in person, where - if all your documents are in order - they will give you a visa sticker in your passport.