Number of foreigners living in Czechia falls for first time in over a decade

The number of foreigners legally residing in the Czech Republic remained above one million at the end of 2023, with authorities registering 1,065,740 individuals. However, this represents a 4.5 percent decrease compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of the Interior's annual report on migration.

The Ministry largely attributes this decrease to Ukrainian refugees, who came to the Czech Republic after the Russian invasion two years ago but have since returned to their home country or moved elsewhere.

Most foreigners living in the Czech Republic last year were from non-EU countries, primarily Ukraine, Vietnam, and Russia. Among EU citizens, Slovaks were the largest group. The number of foreigners in the country first surpassed one million in 2022, largely due to the influx of individuals granted temporary protection by the ministry, particularly those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

At the end of last year, 374,642 people held temporary protection status in the Czech Republic, a number that had decreased to 338,736 by this April following requests for extensions.

In 2023, 349,995 people in Czechia held a temporary residence visa, while 341,103 foreigners had permanent residence. Citizens of Ukraine, Slovakia, Vietnam, and Russia were the largest groups with permanent or temporary residency.

There was a notable increase among citizens of the Philippines, whose numbers rose by over 40 percent in 2023 to 7,026, mainly due to employment-related temporary residence applications supported by economic migration programs.

Despite a record increase in applications for international protection across Europe, the Czech Republic saw its third-lowest number of asylum or supplementary protection applications since 2015 last year, with 1,425 applications marking a 16 percent decrease from the previous year.

Turkish nationals, often detained during illegal transit, made up a significant portion of these applicants for asylum status. The Czech Republic granted asylum to 56 people and supplementary protection to 268 others last year.

The Ministry of the Interior reported that 9,345 foreigners were prosecuted for crimes last year, representing less than 12 percent of the total number of prosecuted individuals in the country. Ukrainian, Slovak, and Polish citizens were the most prosecuted. Sentences were ultimately handed down to 6,392 foreigners.

The number of foreigners residing in the Czech Republic has seen significant growth in recent years, more than doubling over the past decade. In 2013, there were 441,536 foreigners legally residing in the country, and this number steadily increased each year, reaching an all-time high of 1,116,154 in 2022.

Despite the slight decline in 2023, the overall trend shows a substantial rise in the foreign population over the years. More data on the number of foreigners residing in the Czech Republic since 2000, and the Interior Ministry's latest 2023 report, can be found here.