Very soon the controversial Aliens Act amendment will enter in force. It was passed by the Czech Parliament on 27.6. 2017. The Aliens Act will change significantly. The Amendment is the biggest change in the Czech Aliens Act in the past decade. The amendment was passed in spite of critique at the Senate which had previously rejected the amendment due to its discrepancy with international law and constitutional law and lack of respect to human rights. This criticism was raised also by the Czech Bar of Attorneys, by the Governmental Committee on Human Rights as well as from nongovernmental organizations. The largest Czech trade unions pointed out out that the law will complicate employment and conducting business by foreigners and will therefore weaken Czech companies´ competitiveness and will weaken Czech economics.
The restrictions in the amendment will affect life of foreigners who work in the Czech Republic, who study here, run businesses, have partners or families here, and it will also affect their Czech family members.
“The Aliens Act, in the final text as approved today (27. 6. 2017) by the Parliament in spite of the veto raised by the Senate, personifies the shift toward a repressive perception of legal migration. The generic points about increasing security have nothing to do with the amendment, and yet they were prioritized over respecting a proper legislative procedure, constitutional principles and EU law. We expect that in specific cases, many of the controversial provisions will not pass the test of judicial review” says Tomáš Jungwirth, policy officer of the Consortium of Nongovernmental Organizations Working with Migrants in the Czech Republic.
We offer you a list of the most significant changes, especially some of the problematic points of the amendment, as well as how these affect lives of migrants, their Czech partners, their employers and others: