Prepare for your visit
The Czech Republic is now an EU member state and it has an open-border policy with neighbouring EU countries. It is a Schengen treaty member. To enter the Czech Republic even if you have the valid visa, you must have a passport with at least 6 months validity on it i.e. if you arrive on January 1st, your passport must not expire before June 1st of that year. If you have children aged 15 or over they must have their own passport.
Researchers should now take a look at the Interior Ministry website (with English version options on some documents) which is a goldmine of information if you have the patience to work through it.
Visa Requirement
To find out if you need a visa read the paragraph below and then click here and select the "Information for Aliens" tab. On this tab there is an option "list of States Whose Citizens are Required to Have Visa".
If you've clicked on the link above then you are now looking at a list of countries whose citizens need a visa. If you are on the list then the details for obtaining short or long term visas are on the same page. Note that all EU member countries do not need a visa and can stay as long as they like. Non-EU but still European are generally allowed 90 days. Note that British Passport holders who are NOT British Citizens should contact the nearest Czech Consulate for details on visa restrictions.
British Embassy in Prague
Webpage is here
Postal Address:
British Embassy Prague
Thunovska 14
118 00 Prague 1
Czech Republic
The consular section is open at the following times:
Monday to Thursday: 0900-1200 1400-1630
Friday: 0900-1200
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
Normal Number: +420 257 402 111
Emergency number for outside the hours above: +420 602 217 700 (Emergency constitutes the arrest, serious injury, serious illness, death, or disappearance of a British Citizen, it does not include petty crime or replacing lost passports).
NOTE: The embassy no longer issues UK passports. This is now a postal service done by the consulate in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Lost or stolen credit/bank cards and travellers cheques
Make a note of the numbers that you require. This normally would be the number of the credit card company lost card hotline or your bank. Make sure you get a number that can be called from abroad i.e. freephone numbers cannot usually be called from outside of your own country.
Lost or stolen cards should also be reported "in person" to the following police station:
Foreign Police HQ
Konevova 188/32
Prague 3
This Police station is open 24 hours and has on-site English language translators (and some of the police speak English as well).
Health
Your primary concern in Prague should be no more than how much space to leave in your suitcase for your souvenirs but, of course there are other matters to attend.
A visit to the Healthy Travels page might be useful for you. Prague has many well stocked chemists etc but, you may wish to bring medicine with you if you need a certain type. Mains water in Prague is safe to drink but, I wouldn't recommend lots of it. You will find that most Prague shops stock mineral water (perliva means with bubbles, neperliva means still, jemne means mild i.e. with bubbles but not sharp). The local brand is Mattoni (perliva) and you may also see "Dobra Voda", "Aquila" or "Toma". We regularly use all of these brands.
Adaptors and Transformers
For types of plugs and sockets etc, look at the Kropla website (www.kropla.com) as this has all the "compatibility" info i.e. for which types of plug will fit which type of socket etc for both power and telephone. Also the Internet Resources page on this site contains other information that may be helpful at this stage.
You need a power transformer if your appliance does not say that it can run on 220-240V and 50Hz i.e. if it runs only 110v 60Hz then bring a transformer.
You need a power plug adaptor if your appliance has a "three pin" or "two flat pin" arrangement.
Other advice
The Guidebook advice page will help you with selecting a good guidebook.
The Important Information page lists many details that you may want to note in order to help assist you in a medical emergency.
The Checklist page will help you keep focused on the basic pre-travel requirements.
The Duty Free page keeps you up to date on the import/export limits here in Prague.
The other links on the main link bar should answer most of your questions and what you can't find here you might be able to find at Marys.cz news page.
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