If you are applying for any type of Czech visa/residency, you need to present proof of accommodation or rental contract. Since you will not be given your original contract you will have to make a legalized copy of the rental contract which can depend on the number of pages you have expensive (33 kč per page ) That is why we are recommending everyone to get proof of accommodation.
Advantages of having proof of accommodation than rent contract
1. 0 costs;
If you use your rental contract for the residency file then you should leave the original rent contract or make legal copies of the rent contract. A legal copy of each page will cost 33 kč per page
2. Incomplete documents;
If your rental contract has been extended in the last few years you should provide "Amendments" which you might not find
3. Signature;
For proof of accommodation only one legal owner can sign but for rental contract all of them
4. Proof of accommodation can be sent by the landlord's databox in case if he doesn't live in the Czech Republic
Signatures and authorizations
Proof of accommodation should be signed by the legal owner of the property or it can be signed by the person representing them in which case you would have to provide the original Power of attorney or legal copy of the power of attorney. If you are a Non-EU citizen then the signature of the owner should be legalized.
If you are an EU citizen, the signature of the owner doesn’t need to be authorized unless you are applying for a Czech Permanent residency!
If the apartment has multiple owners, The proof of accommodation should be signed at least by 50% of the shareholders. Proof of accommodation for permanent residency of EU citizens should be authorized.
Duration of the proof of accommodation
If you are an EU citizen duration of the proof of accommodation doesn’t have a fixed period requirement.
After the recent immigration law updates starting 1.7.2023 Non-EU citizens’ duration of Czech residency/visa doesn't depend on the duration of the accommodation proof. For example, if you are applying for an employee card that will be valid for 24 months, the proof of accommodation period can be valid for 12 months and you will still long term residency for 2 years.
It is important to have proof of accommodation for a maximum period of time for a Freelancer visa. According to Czech immigration, the first long-term visa is issued for a maximum of 12 months from the date of approval. If you are hoping to get your first visa for the maximum period of time, your accommodation proof should be for at least 16 months from the date of visa application because your visa approval process can take up to 4 months
If you need virtual proof of accommodation please check out our service!