New migration laws: Czech government seeks tougher rules but embraces much of EU pact
The present Czech government is seeking to tighten the country's migration laws, including conditions for Ukrainians under temporary protection. The proposals are still making their way through parliament, where the governing coalition has a comfortable majority. Czech Radio analyst Viktor Daněk says the political rhetoric and the reality of the new rules are often two very different things.
The bills have not yet completed their passage through parliament, but the governing coalition's comfortable majority means they have a strong chance of being approved. Some of the proposed changes are administrative. A new residence law is intended to simplify and digitalise communication between foreigners and the Czech authorities and introduce compulsory registration for EU citizens staying in the country for more than 90 days.
Other measures proposed by the government are considerably more political. They would tighten conditions for Ukrainians living in Czechia under temporary protection, including requirements linked to social benefits and the amount of time they spend in the country.
Viktor Daněk, an analyst with Czech Radio, says the two strands of the legislation have very different origins.
“One part of the changes is moving Czech law towards more unification of the rules, towards simplification and digitalisation of all the procedures regarding asylum procedures. The ultimate goal is to make basically all the communication, the whole environment for communication with the authorities, fully digital in the following years. And in parallel, there is also a proposal to set a couple of changes in the national law that is also changing conditions for Ukrainians that are staying in the country under the temporary protection mechanism. I think this is the part that is actually the result of the elections.”
Governing coalition seeks tougher approach towards Ukrainians
Under the government's proposals, access to humanitarian benefits would be linked more closely to employment or registration with the Labour Office, while recipients would have to spend a minimum number of days in Czechia. The government argues that the measures would help prevent abuse of the system.
Viktor Daněk sees the proposed changes as part of a broader political shift following the elections and the entry of the far right into the governing coalition.
“There were some rumours going around social networks about alleged stories of Ukrainians that only claim benefits and are not actually living in Czechia and contributing to the Czech social system. I don't think there's evidence that something like this is happening on a broad scale. There might be individual cases. But when we look at the data, we see quite clearly that Ukrainians are net contributors to the Czech system. They are contributing quite largely, actually exceeding quite vastly the amount of money that Ukrainians are, on the other side, claiming as social benefits.” According to Viktor Daněk, the tougher approach reflects promises made during the election campaign which the parties in the current governing coalition are now seeking to translate into law.
Another controversy concerns non-EU family members of Czech citizens. Critics say the proposed residence law could leave them facing more paperwork and more restrictive conditions than non-EU relatives of other EU citizens living in Czechia. Daněk says the provision may eventually be tested in court if parliament approves it:
“There is this discussion that this will lead to a disparity where non-EU family members of Czech citizens would actually lose their preferential status and face much more administrative burden, more documentation, more restrictive conditions and fewer opportunities to apply from within Czechia, which is something controversial. I don't think it is against EU rules, because we are talking about non-EU family members. However, this could go potentially against other family rights. And I think it's quite possible that, if the law is approved and applied, there might be cases where this would be contested in front of courts.”
Rejecting a pact while implementing it
At the European level, the current Czech government has repeatedly said it rejects the solidarity mechanism contained in the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. The pact creates common rules covering asylum procedures, screening at the EU's external borders, returns and solidarity between member states. Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar says Czechia favours tougher protection of the EU's external borders and more effective returns rather than compulsory solidarity.
Daněk argues that the government's position is difficult to reconcile with what Czechia is actually doing. “This is actually quite ridiculous because the government says one thing and then does the complete opposite. When we look at the implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, we see that Czechia fully implemented everything that was required. In some cases, it is actually advancing even more, which is of course allowed under EU law. And there is no part whatsoever that was not implemented. I think this was mainly something that was used, maybe one can say even abused, in the campaign ahead of the elections. But then the government realised that there is not much actually to refuse.”
Viktor Daněk also points out that much of the pact corresponds closely to positions long advocated by Czech governments and other Central European countries. It places greater emphasis on protecting the EU's external borders, accelerating some asylum procedures and returning people who do not qualify for protection.
The solidarity dispute is not over
Czechia will not be required to contribute to the EU solidarity mechanism in 2026 because it hosts a large number of refugees from Ukraine. The mechanism is assessed annually. Daněk believes the country's position is unlikely to change as long as the war continues and large numbers of Ukrainians remain in Czechia.
If Czechia eventually loses its reduction, however, it would have to contribute to the solidarity system. That would not necessarily mean accepting relocated asylum seekers: countries can also provide financial, material or operational support.
For Viktor Daněk, this is the part of the pact most likely to remain politically explosive in Czechia. Misconceptions and false claims about EU migration policy remain widespread, he says, making the solidarity mechanism an obvious target for future political campaigns. The present government's proposed migration legislation has yet to complete its passage through parliament. With the governing coalition holding a comfortable majority, however, the bills are likely to be approved. The deeper political battle may continue outside the chamber – over whether the changes are primarily about improving migration administration and security, or fulfilling the current coalition's election promises to take a visibly tougher line on foreigners and, in particular, Ukrainians.
