Czechia
Borders, customs and immigration in Czechia
Czechia has no border body and no external land border: its external-border crossing points are its international airports, and the law gives external-border protection to the police, within which the alien police service carries out border checks. Customs belong to a separate armed customs administration under the finance ministry; residence and international protection to the interior ministry; animal and plant health to agriculture bodies.
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Czechia guards its border with its police. The State Border Protection Act provides that "Ochranu vnějších hranic zajišťuje policie" — the police protect the external borders — and the Police Act makes the police a "jednotný ozbrojený bezpečnostní sbor", a single armed security corps under the Ministry of the Interior. Within the police, the Aliens Act gives border checks to the Directorate of the Alien Police Service, which "provádí hraniční kontrolu" and decides refusals of entry. The directorate’s own page calls the alien police service a "specializovanou složkou Policie České republiky" and places the directorate directly under the Police Presidium.
The external border is crossed only at airports. The same Act defines a border crossing point as a "prostor na mezinárodním letišti" designated for crossing the external borders, and the customs administration says that in customs terms Czechia has, "s výjimkou mezinárodních letišť pouze vnitřní hranice (sousedí pouze se státy EU)" — only internal borders apart from its international airports. At an international airport, the Aliens Act gives the border tasks to an alien-police inspectorate there.
The Act treats protecting the internal borders as an exception, for a time only: the government may by a measure of general nature "dočasně znovu zavést ochranu vnitřních hranic", and then "Ochranu vnitřních hranic zajišťuje policie". Whether such protection is in force on any given day was not established here.
Customs belong to a separate body under a different ministry. The Customs Administration "je soustavou správních orgánů a ozbrojeným bezpečnostním sborem" — a system of administrative bodies and an armed security corps — and its General Directorate is subordinate to the Ministry of Finance. Its own page adds that it "zajišťuje některé bezpečnostní úkoly"; which ones was not researched.
Who may stay is decided by the Ministry of the Interior, and who is expelled by the police. Under the Aliens Act the ministry decides long-term, temporary and permanent residence permits and "vykonává dozor nad policií při výkonu státní správy" — supervises the police in this field — while the Directorate of the Alien Police Service "rozhoduje o správním vyhoštění cizinců". Under the Asylum Act the ministry decides international protection, including in the procedure at the border.
Animal and plant health at the border belong to agriculture bodies. Animals and animal products from outside the Union may enter only through a border veterinary station, a "pohraniční veterinární stanice". The State Veterinary Administration, subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture, designates the stations, and the regional veterinary administration that includes one carries out the check. Plant-health checks on goods entering the Union are carried out by the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture, which designates the border control posts where they take place.
Sources
Sources
Česká republika — Sbírka zákonů (e-Sbírka, Ministerstvo vnitra) · Legislation · 2016-06-17 · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: who protects the external and internal borders, and where external-border crossing points are — nothing about how any power is used against a person. The official Collection of Laws, version in force from 1 October 2025, read from the publisher’s own document service (the e-Sbírka page is assembled in the browser); no later version is listed. Supports s 2(1)(a), defining a member state as one that applies the Schengen Borders Code in full; s 2(2), "Hraničním přechodem je prostor na mezinárodním letišti" designated for crossing the external borders; s 10(1), "Ochranu vnějších hranic zajišťuje policie"; s 11(1), that the government may by a measure of general nature "dočasně znovu zavést ochranu vnitřních hranic"; and s 14(1), "Ochranu vnitřních hranic zajišťuje policie". Whether internal-border protection is in force on any day was not established.
Česká republika — Sbírka zákonů (e-Sbírka, Ministerstvo vnitra) · Legislation · 2008-08-11 · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: §§ 1 and 4–6 only — what the police are, to which ministry they are subordinate and what kinds of unit compose them. The official Collection of Laws, version in force from 12 June 2026 to 30 June 2027, read from the publisher’s own document service as for the Health Services Act. Supports § 1, that the police are a "jednotný ozbrojený bezpečnostní sbor" — a single armed security corps; § 4(2), which introduces "ministr" for the Minister of the Interior and "ministerstvo" for the Ministry of the Interior; § 5(1), "Policie je podřízena ministerstvu"; § 6(1), that the police consist of the Police Presidium, "útvary policie s celostátní působností", regional directorates and units within them; and § 6(2), that units with national competence are established by the minister on the police president’s proposal. §§ 1, 5 and 6 read identically in the version the same service lists as taking effect on 1 July 2027 (compared on 2026-10-10). The act establishing the Kriminalistický ústav itself was NOT read.
Česká republika — Sbírka zákonů (e-Sbírka, Ministerstvo vnitra) · Legislation · 1999-12-23 · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: which bodies carry out border checks, refuse entry, expel and decide residence — nothing about any procedure, ground or case. The official Collection of Laws, version in force from 12 June 2026, read from the publisher’s own document service; no later version is listed. Supports s 1(1), which names the "Ministerstva vnitra (dále jen „ministerstvo“)"; s 161(1), that the Act’s administrative powers are exercised within the police by the "ředitelství služby cizinecké policie" and the foreign-police departments; s 163(1), under which the Directorate of the Alien Police Service "l) provádí hraniční kontrolu", "n) rozhoduje o odepření vstupu cizince na území" and "x) rozhoduje o správním vyhoštění cizinců"; s 163(3), which gives an alien-police inspectorate at an international airport those border tasks; and s 165, under which the ministry "vykonává dozor nad policií při výkonu státní správy" and decides long-term, temporary and permanent residence permits.
Ředitelství služby cizinecké policie — O nás
Policie České republiky · Government publication · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: what the alien police service is and where its directorate sits — nothing about any power or case. The directorate’s own page on the current police site, reached through that site’s navigation (Útvary Policie ČR → Celostátní útvary) and read directly; it carries no archive notice. Supports that "Služba cizinecké policie je specializovanou složkou Policie České republiky", which checks the residence of foreigners, detects illegal migration and performs "úkolů souvisejících s ochranou státních hranic"; that the service was established by an Interior Ministry order, no. 67/2008; and that the directorate "je celostátním řídicím, metodickým a kontrolním pracovištěm, které je přímo podřízeno Policejnímu prezidiu České republiky".
Česká republika — Sbírka zákonů (e-Sbírka, Ministerstvo vnitra) · Legislation · 2012-01-17 · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: what the customs administration is and which ministry it answers to — nothing about any customs procedure. The official Collection of Laws, version in force from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026, read from the publisher’s own document service. Supports s 1(1), that the Customs Administration "je soustavou správních orgánů a ozbrojeným bezpečnostním sborem"; and s 1(3), "Generální ředitelství cel je podřízeno Ministerstvu financí". Both read identically in the version the same service lists as taking effect on 1 January 2027 (compared on 2026-10-10).
Celní správa ČR (the Customs Administration’s own description)
Celní správa České republiky · Government publication · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: the customs administration’s own account of what it is and where Czechia’s customs borders lie — nothing about any procedure, duty or figure. Read directly; a current page with no archive notice. Supports that it "Je zřízena zákonem č. 17/2012 Sb., o Celní správě České republiky"; that "Nadřízeným orgánem Celní správy ČR je Ministerstvo financí ČR"; that it "zajišťuje některé bezpečnostní úkoly"; and that "z celního hlediska má Česká republika s výjimkou mezinárodních letišť pouze vnitřní hranice (sousedí pouze se státy EU)". The page’s staff numbers and collection figures are deliberately unused.
Zákon č. 325/1999 Sb., o azylu (e-Sbírka, version in force from 12 June 2026)
Česká republika — Sbírka zákonů (e-Sbírka, Ministerstvo vnitra) · Legislation · 1999-12-23 · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: which body decides international protection — nothing about any procedure, ground or case. The official Collection of Laws, version in force from 12 June 2026, read from the publisher’s own document service; no later version is listed. Supports s 1(d), that the Act governs the "působnost Ministerstva vnitra (dále jen „ministerstvo“) a Policie České republiky" in this field; and s 27(4), "V azylovém řízení na hranicích ministerstvo rozhodne ve věci mezinárodní ochrany" within a stated period — the ministry decides international protection, including in the border procedure.
Česká republika — Sbírka zákonů (e-Sbírka, Ministerstvo vnitra) · Legislation · 1999-07-30 · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: who carries out veterinary checks on animals and animal products entering from outside the Union — nothing about any check’s content. The official Collection of Laws, version in force from 1 January 2026, read from the publisher’s own document service; no later version is listed. Supports s 32(1), that such goods may enter only through a "stanoviště veterinární hraniční kontroly České republiky (dále jen „pohraniční veterinární stanice“)" or another member state’s; s 47(1), that the State Veterinary Administration is an authority with nationwide competence "podřízeným ministerstvu" — the Ministry of Agriculture, as the Act defines it; s 47(4), that it is made up of the central veterinary administration and the regional ones; s 48(1)(j), under which the central administration designates the border veterinary station; and s 49(1)(o), under which a regional veterinary administration that includes such a station carries out the border veterinary control.
Zákon č. 326/2004 Sb., o rostlinolékařské péči (e-Sbírka, version in force from 1 April 2025)
Česká republika — Sbírka zákonů (e-Sbírka, Ministerstvo vnitra) · Legislation · 2004-05-31 · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: who carries out plant-health checks on goods entering the Union — nothing about any check’s content. The official Collection of Laws, version in force from 1 April 2025, read from the publisher’s own document service; no later version is listed. Supports s 4(1), which names the "Ústřední kontrolní a zkušební ústav zemědělský (dále jen „Ústav“)"; s 21(1), that the Ústav carries out the control of plants, plant products and other objects entering the European Union, the "dovozní rostlinolékařská kontrola"; and s 25(1), that it designates the border control posts where that control is carried out. To which ministry the Ústav answers was not read here.
Publications Office of the European Union (Cellar) — consolidated text · Legislation · link verified 2026-09-19
SCOPE: the current wording of the Schengen Borders Code, and only what it says at Union level. Read directly from the Publications Office. The publisher’s own metadata records the latest consolidation of the whole act — as distinct from its individually consolidated segments — as 2016R0399/20251012, dated 12 October 2025 and marked final. It consolidates the original act, Regulation (EU) 2017/2225, Regulation (EU) 2024/1717 and corrigenda, over the previous 10 July 2024 consolidation. LEGAL EFFECT, STATED BY THE DOCUMENT ITSELF: "This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. … The authentic versions of the relevant acts … are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union." It is cited for current wording, never as the authentic instrument. Supports Art. 1, that the Regulation "provides for the absence of border control of persons crossing the internal borders between the Member States of the Union" and "lays down rules governing border control of persons crossing the external borders". Supports Art. 2(1) and 2(2), defining internal borders (common land borders, airports for internal flights, ports for regular internal ferry connections) and external borders (land, sea, air and port borders "provided that they are not internal borders"). Supports Art. 22, that "Internal borders may be crossed at any point without a border check on persons, irrespective of their nationality, being carried out", and Art. 23, that this "shall not affect … the exercise of police or other public powers". Supports Art. 5(1), that external borders "may be crossed only at border crossing points and during the fixed opening hours", with Member States notifying their list to the Commission. Supports Art. 15, that "Member States shall deploy appropriate staff and resources in sufficient numbers to carry out border control at the external borders", and Art. 16(1), that border control "shall be carried out by border guards". Supports Art. 2(14), that a "border guard" is "any public official assigned, in accordance with national law, to a border crossing point … who carries out, in accordance with this Regulation and national law, border control tasks". THE AGENCY APPEARS EXACTLY ONCE in the whole consolidated text, and only as a recipient of Member State risk assessments and six-monthly reports: this record does NOT support any claim that the European Border and Coast Guard Agency carries out border checks or replaces a national authority. Establishes nothing about which states apply the Code, nothing about customs, and nothing about any national institution.