Foreigners in the CR

The course of the asylum procedure is regulated by Act No. 325/1999 Sb., on Asylum, and on the Amendment to Act No. 283/1991 Sb., on the Police of the Czech Republic, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the Asylum Act).

The Ministry of the Interior is an administrative body adopting decisions on the matter in the first instance (department of international migration, asylum). The Ministry issues within 90 days (from the day of the commencement of the procedure) a judgement on merits. The decision comes into force on the day when it is delivered to the asylum seeker. Against the decision foreigners may file a complaint with regional courts having local jurisdiction. In case of dismissal of a complaint foreigners have the right to file a cassation complaint. If they apply for suspensory effect at the same time they are granted a stay sufferance visa for a year period.

The Ministry of the Interior of the CR operates asylum facilities for asylum seekers. In the reception centre a foreigner is obliged to stay during a certain period of time determined by law (for the purpose of identification, medical examination and the like). Reception centres are at Vyšní Lhoty municipality, district Frýdek-Místek, at the Ruzyně airport. Foreigners may apply for asylum also in a facility for detention of foreigners (Frýdek-Místek, Velké Přílepy, Poštorná and Bělá pod Bezdězem). Unless there exists any legal obstacle (applicant is in detention facility for foreigners, in prison), the applicant is transferred to residential centre where he/she can on the basis of an approved application find private accommodation. Residential centres serve for accommodation of asylum seekers until the decision on granting asylum enters into force. Residential centres are in municipalities: Zastávka u Brna, district Brno-venkov, Havířov, district Karviná;, Zbýšov, district Brno – venkov, Stráž pod Ralskoem, district Česká Lípa and Kostelec nad Orlicí, district Rychnov nad Kněžnou. Integration asylum centres provide transitional accommodation to foreigners with asylum. Integration asylum centres are in Jaroměř, district Náchod; Zastávka u Brna, district Brno – venkov; Krásná Lípa, district Děčín, Havířov, district Karviná; and Ústí nad Labem – Předlice, district Ústí nad Labem.

Methodological notes on the tables

Table 2-1. New applications for asylum procedure and decisions by first instance: 2006

Data on the numbers of decisions include all decisions, i.e. also decisions issued in cases of minor participants of the procedure in the name of whom it is their statutory representative who files an application for asylum. Total number of decisions is not a simple sum of types of decisions as stated in the table but includes other types of decisions (e.g. decision on withdrawal of asylum) which, however, made a small part of total.

Compared to the last year the table 2-2 giving the numbers of decisions of second instance, i.e. number of appeals against decision of first instance to the High Court was excluded. The applicants could appeal to the High Court only until 31 December 2002 while in 2006 the 2nd instance did not decide on any remaining cases. Beginning from 2003 unsuccessful applicants for asylum may file a complaint against the decision of the Ministry of the Interior of the CR to the competent regional court (see below). Exclusion of the table had an impact on numbering of other tables which was adjusted.

Table 2-2. Asylum procedure at regional courts of justice: 2006

From 1 January 2003 asylum seekers can file a complaint against the decision at the relevant regional court (depending on the place of residence of the asylum seeker at the time when the complaint is filed). If an asylum seeker receives a negative decision of the regional court, he/she ceases to be an asylum seeker (after the decision comes into force). A foreigner can file a cassation complaint against the decision of the regional court to the Supreme Administrative Court in the city of Brno. If legal conditions are met, he or she can be granted a stay sufferance visa.

Tabulka 2-3. Course of the cassation complaints proceedings at the Supreme Administrative Court: 2006

The number of foreigners with cassation complaints is understood the number of foreigners whose cassation complaints have not been decided yet.

Table 2-5. Asylum seekers: by place of residence; 31 December 2006

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

Table 2-11. Citizenship of the CR granted to refugees

According to the Act No. 325/1999 Sb., on Asylum, when Czech citizenship is granted the asylum ceases to exist. Columns for the years 2000 to 2005 show numbers of persons, whose asylum ceased to exist because they were granted Czech citizenship.

The year 2006 brought to asylum-related issues besides the on-going drop of the number of asylum applications two significant migration waves mostly from Kazakhstan and Egypt. Common feature of both waves was that during a few months unusual high numbers of people from these countries applied for asylum.

In the first half of 2006 a monthly development of the number of asylum applicants did not show any significant changes. However, in August the number of asylum applicants reached 426 individuals. This increase owed to the migration wave of Egypt nationals. Due to measures adopted the number of applicants dropped since September and an average monthly number of applicants returned to the original condition of the first half of the year.

In 2006, Ukraine, in the long term the most frequent country of origin of asylum seekers in the CR, recorded a significant decline of contribution of applicants for asylum to the total number of applicants. The Ukrainians traditionally belong to the top applicant nationalities. In spite of these developments Ukraine with its 571 applicants is the main source region of asylum seekers.

In 2006, the second top applicant nationality was Egyptian. The Czech Republic registered in 2006 the total of 422 applicants for asylum from Egypt while compared to 2004 their number increased 60times. Citizens of Egypt arrived to the CR by plane while in compliance with their travelling documents the CR was not a target destination for them. Although, in transit at the airport Praha-Ruzyně they refused to continue their journey and applied for asylum. Introduction of airport visas was a response to an extreme growth of the number of applicants for asylum.

In 2006, the third biggest number of applicants for asylum in the CR came from Kazakhstan. In the course of 2006 the total of 236 applicants for asylum from Kazakhstan was registered, i.e. seven times more than in the previous year. Like in case of migration wave from Egypt the inflow of applicants for asylum from Kazakhstan was markedly limited by airport visas.

The growth of number of applicants for asylum without citizenship should also be mentioned. In 2006, their number increased by 37%, year-on-year. In the Czech Republic the total of 100 individuals without citizenship applied for asylum.

Compared to the previous years when applications for asylum filed by people from the European continent prevailed, in 2006 the numbers of applicants coming from other continents were balanced. The share of applicants coming from Europe dropped from 60% to 34%, the share of applicants from Africa markedly increased up to 25%, percentage of Asian countries remained more or less unchanged. The share of Miscellaneous category doubled reflecting the increased number of applicants for asylum without citizenship. In 2006 the percentage of individual citizenships in the total number of applicants for asylum in the Czech Republic was significantly balanced.

Development of total number of applicants for asylum in the Czech Republic corresponds with the situation in other European countries. The decreasing trend in the number of applicants for asylum is registered for a long time in most of the EU countries. From the aspect of the number of applicants for asylum the Czech Republic in 2006 compared to other EU member countries occupies the fourteenth place in a row.

The Ministry of the Interior granted asylum to 268 individuals in total. The highest number of asylums was granted to nationals from Belarus (66) and Russian Federation (51). Other more numerous applicant nationalities who were granted asylum in the CR in 2006 were Kazakhstan (31) and Ukraine (31).