Information about the content and organisation of the Czech Citizenship Exam can be found on this website. We recommend studying these tabs: General Information, Czech Language Exam and Czech Life and Institutions Exam. More information can be obtained on the contact information provided.

The levels of the various “Czech as a Foreign Language” exams correspond to the foreign language knowledge levels under CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

Level B1 (independent user) includes the following language skills:

• Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.
• Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
• Can produce simple connected text on topics that are familiar or of personal interest.

You have to achieve the B1 level to be able to pass the Czech Language Exam and the Czech Life and Institutions Exam.

It is possible to sign up for the exams electronically using the on-line application on the ILPS CU website. A candidate may not take the exam without submitting the application form. Please select the exam date and venue in the exam application from. If a date does not appear in the application form, there are no longer any spaces available on that date and it is no longer possible to sign up at the exam centre in question. A place may become available if a candidate cancels. You have to register for the exam at least 14 days prior to the exam date. The application can be cancelled or changed until the application is closed, that is 14 days before the examination date. In case of cancellation or change of the paid application, the candidate is charged a handling fee of CZK 500.

Please bring a valid, internationally recognised travel document (passport), your permanent residence card and proof of payment of the exam fee (a printout of the on-line banking confirmation or bank account statement is sufficient). 

A list of the venues where it is possible to take the Czech Language Exam and Czech Life and Institutions Exam can be found under the Exam Venues tab. An overview of dates of the Czech Language Exam and Czech Life and Institutions Exam can be found under the Exam Dates tab. The examining institution for the Czech Language and Czech Life and Institutions Exam is the Istitute for Language and Preparatory Studies of Charles University (ILPS CU). Please select the exam date and venue in the exam application from. If a date in the application does not appear on the website http://ujop.cuni.cz/obcanstvi, there are no more places available on such date and it is no longer possible to sign up at the exam centre in question. A place may become available if a candidate cancels.

The following fees apply to the granting of Czech citizenship:

• Administration fee for granting Czech Citizenship

1. Administration fee for granting Czech citizenship to an adult: CZK 2 000
   • The Ministry of the Interior may reduce the administration fee for an adult for reasons deserving special consideration to up to CZK 500.
2. Administration fee for granting Czech citizenship to a minor child: CZK 500
   • The Ministry of the Interior may reduce the administration fee for a minor child for reasons deserving special consideration to up to CZK 100.
3. Administration fee for granting Czech citizenship to an asylum-seeker: CZK 500
   • The Ministry of the Interior may reduce the administration fee for a minor for reasons deserving special consideration to up to CZK 100.

The administration fee is in the remit of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.

• Fee for the Czech Language Exam and the Czech Life and Institutions Exam

1.  Fee for taking the Czech Language Exam and the Czech Life and Institutions Exam: CZK 5 700 
2.  Fee for the Czech Language Exam: CZK 3 700
3.  Fee for the Czech Life and Institutions Exam: CZK 2 000

The fee for the Czech Language Exam and/or the Czech Life and Institutions Exam is in the remit of the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies of Charles University. The invoicing details for payment of the exam fee will be sent to you by e-mail after you have submitted the on-line application form. The exam fee must be paid no later than 7 days after sending/submitting the exam application form. Proof of payment of the exam fee must be brought with you on the day of the exam (a printout of the on-line banking confirmation or bank account statement is sufficient).

The conditions for demonstrating knowledge of the Czech language and of Czech life and institutions are specified by Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on Czech citizenship and Decree No. 433/2013 Coll., on demonstrating knowledge of the Czech language and of Czech life and institutions for the purposes of granting Czech citizenship.

Pursuant to Section 14(5) of the Czech Citizenship Act, the Czech Life and Institutions Exam need not be taken by the following individuals:

• An applicant who documents that he or she has attended three years of basic, secondary or post-secondary school where classes were taught in Czech.
• An applicant who on the date of submission of the Czech citizenship application was less than 15 years old or more than 65 years old.
• An applicant with a physical or mental handicap that prevents him or her from learning Czech.

Pursuant to Section 14(4) of the Czech Citizenship Act, the Czech Language Exam need not be taken by the following individuals:

• An applicant who documents that he or she has attended three years of basic, secondary or post-secondary school where classes were taught in Czech
• An applicant who on the date of submission of the Czech citizenship application was less than 15 years old or more than 65 years old
• An applicant with a physical or mental handicap that prevents him or her from learning Czech
• An applicant who documents that he or she has successfully completed an equivalent language exam (pursuant to Section 13 of the Decree on demonstrating knowledge of the Czech language and Czech life and institutions for the purposes of granting Czech citizenship), which includes:
  • School-leaving exam in Czech
  • State Czech language exam taken at a language school with authorisation to give state language exams
  • State final exam, state rigorous exam or state doctoral exam taken at a university as a party of a study programme taught in Czech
  • A Czech as a Foreign Language exam for the B1 level or higher, certified by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) and given by a full-fledged member of this association.

Recognition of documents is in the remit of the Ministry of the Interior. Documents for assessment are accepted by the Regional Authorities. ILPS CU does not assess these documents or decide on whether they should be recognised.

The Ministry of the Interior may, based on Section 15(3) of the Czech Citizenship Act, exempt Czech citizenship applicants from the obligation to demonstrate knowledge of the Czech language and the obligation to demonstrate knowledge of Czech life and institutions for reasons worthy of special consideration. The exemption request is submitted along with the Czech citizenship application, and such request has to contain an explanation of the specific reasons worthy of special consideration based on which the exemption request is filed.

Before taking the exam in question, please review the Exam Rules and Information for Candidates. At the exam, each candidate will receive the printed exam paper and an answer sheet. The candidate writes his or her answers on the answer sheet. 

To prepare for the Czech Language Exam, we recommend

• testing your skills in the sample Czech Language Exam and in the sample Czech listening comprehension test
• becoming acquainted with the leaflet 10 tips how to succeed in WRITING or Beware of the most common mistakes
• trying out other sample tests (e.g. from the publication PEČENÝ, P. a kol.: Připravujeme se k certifikované zkoušce z češtiny: úroveň B1 (CCE–B1). Praha: Karolinum, 2013.)
• becoming acquainted with the document Manual for Preparation for the Subtest Writing
• reinforcing your language skills using available textbooks
• attending one of the various preparatory courses for the exam or language courses at the B1 level
• try the examination in Czech with the sample test

To prepare for the Czech Life and Institutions Exam, we recommend:

• testing your knowledge by taking the interactive sample test
• repeating the interactive sample test and completing the 30 test exercises
• reviewing all 300 test exercises in the Text Exercise Database
• practicing the correct answers to the 300 text exercise in the Test Exercise Database
• study the meanings of the headwords in A monolingual dictionary for the test tasks in Czech life and institutions
• reinforce your knowledge with the help of available textbooks
• attending the various courses offered by organisations assisting foreigners

Information about results are not provided either by telephone or e-mail. Candidates will be able to view their results 30 days after the exam at this address: http://ujop.cuni.cz/obcanstvi/vysledky. ILCS CU issues certificates to successful candidates within 7 weeks of the exam.It is not possible to request that the exam be marked earlier and/or that the certificate be issued earlier. There is no time limit on the validity of the certificate. Certificates will be sent by post. To ensure delivery of your certificate, please check that the data provided in the application, including your name and address, are correct. If you do not receive your certificate by post within seven weeks of the date of the exam, please contact the RTC Secretariat – ILPS CU. If you do not report this fact within 9 weeks of the date of the exam, you can still obtain a duplicate of the certificate, but for a fee of CZK 500.

If a candidate only does not pass one of the Czech Language Exam sub-tests, he or she has to take the whole Czech Language Exam Again, i.e., all four of its sub-tests.

Candidates who do not pass the exam can apply for the exam (or its part, or only for Czech Life and Institutions or the Czech language) for another announced date. In the case of the examination of the Czech language, all of its subtests are repeated. A candidate, who repeats the exam (or its part), must properly apply again and pay the fee for the exam again..

Candidates who have been expelled from the Czech language exam because they have been represented by another person at the registration or at the exam can apply for the next exam date at the earliest 2 years from the date of expulsion.

As there is no time limit on the validity of the certificate, you can take the test before you have fulfilled the other conditions for being granted Czech citizenship.

Recognition of documents demonstrating knowledge of the Czech language and/or documents demonstrating knowledge of Czech life and institutions is in the remit of the Czech Ministry of the Interior. Documents for assessment are accepted by the Regional Authorities, which then pass them on to the Czech Ministry of the Interior, which decides whether to recognise them. ILPS CU neither assesses these documents nor decides on their recognition. If a document is recognised, the applicant for Czech citizenship does not have to take the Czech Life and Institutions Exam and/or the Czech Language Exam for the purposes of granting Czech citizenship. If a document is not recognised, knowledge of the Czech language and of Czech life and institutions has to be demonstrated by passing the Czech Citizenship Exam. The conditions for demonstrating knowledge of the Czech language and Czech life and institutions are laid down in Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on Czech citizenship  (Section 14) and Decree No. 433/2013 Coll. on demonstrating knowledge of the Czech language and of Czech life and institutions for the purposes of granting Czech citizenship (Section 15).