
Czech passport

The Czech passport (, "pas") is an international travel document issued to nationals of the Czech Republic, and may also serve as proof of Czech citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of Czech citizenship, the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from Czech consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case a Czech consular is absent, if needed.
 Czech citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 183 countries and territories, ranking the Czech passport 7th overall in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index. Czech citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.
Every Czech citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The nationality allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union, Switzerland and the European Economic Area, but a passport or a national identity card is in practice needed for identification.
Application.
The passport is issued by the Interior Ministry ("Ministerstvo vnitra"), and as is internationally customary remains property of the Czech Republic and can be withdrawn at any time. It is a valid Proof of Citizenship document according to the Czech nationality law. Citizens can hold multiple passports at the same time, and children can be included in the passport. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sporadically issues a list of nations with visa-free travel arrangements with the Czech Republic.
In an application for a Czech passport, one must submit two photographs of 35mm x 45mm size.
Physical appearance.
Czech passports are burgundy like other passports of the European Union, with the Czech coat of arms emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words "EVROPSKÁ UNIE" () and "ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA" () are inscribed above the coat of arms and the words "CESTOVNÍ PAS" () are inscribed below the coat of arms. Czech passports adhere to the common EU design and International Civil Aviation Organization requirements
Identity information page.
The lower area of the data page contains the Machine-readable zone.
Passport note.
Passports typically contain a message from the minister or official in charge of passport issuance addressed to the officials of foreign states, requesting that the citizen bearing the passport be allowed free passage through the state, and if in need be provided assistance consistent with international norms. Today this treatment is expected rather than requested, but the message remains as a tradition. Czech passports bear this message only in the Czech language, in capitals and as follows:
The above message when unofficially rendered in English, would read:
Languages.
The data page is printed in Czech, English and French, followed a few pages later with translations to all remaining official EU languages and Russian.
Visa requirements.
 Czech citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 183 countries and territories, ranking the Czech passport 7th overall in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
History.
Non-machine-readable passports.
These series have become obsolete and are only issued for emergency reasons due to more expedient processing.
1993 passport series.
The first passport of the Czech Republic, issued between the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and 31/3/2000, with a ten-year validity.
The data page is inside the back cover and printed in Czech and English. The photograph is attached with adhesive. These features remain constant for all non-machine readable passports
1998 passport series.
Issued:
2005 passport series.
Issued:
2007 passport series.
Issued from February 2007 with a six-month validity, or for citizens under five years of age with a one-year validity.
Machine-readable passports.
2000 passport series.
Issued from 1/7/2000 until 15/3/2005 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five-year validity.
The data page is inside the back cover and printed in Czech and English. The photograph is printed onto the page.
2005 passport series.
Issued from 16/3/2005 until 31/8/2006 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five-year validity.
As the first passport series issued following Czech ascension into the European Union, it is first to bear the words "Evropská Unie" and has been modified to conform to standard EU passport design. The data page was moved to page two, and the French language was added. Pages six and seven now bear translations of the data fields into eighteen languages of the European Union and Russian.
2006 passport series.
Issued from 1/9/2006 with a ten-year validity, or for citizens under fifteen years of age with a five-year validity.
The 2006 series was the first biometric passport issued by the Czech Republic. The data page is now printed on a polycarbonate card and the photograph is laser-etched.
2009 passport series.
In March 2009 a new series begun to be issued. The most notable change is the addition of two fingerprints, one from the index finger on each hand in order to conform to new EU regulations.
Service passports.
Issuable to:
1993 Service passport series.
The first service passport issued after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
2002 Service passport series.
With the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union in 2004 this is no longer the current series issued.
Diplomatic passports.
Issuable to:
1993 Diplomatic passport series.
The first diplomatic passport issued after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
2001 Diplomatic passport series.
With the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union in 2004 this is no longer the current series issued.