Voting rights and elections for foreign residents

This election only: October 2026 (dated notice)

• Municipal elections and elections to one-third of the Senate: 9–10 October 2026. A possible Senate second round: 16–17 October 2026.
• EU citizens: deadline to register on the voter annex for these municipal elections is 7 October 2026 at 16:00, at your city-district office.
• This notice applies to the October 2026 cycle only and will be reviewed for future elections. The general rules below do not change with each election.

The core rule

• EU citizens can vote and stand as candidates only in municipal council elections and European Parliament elections — not in presidential, Chamber of Deputies, Senate or regional elections.
• Third-country nationals — including US, UK, Canadian and all other non-EU nationals — cannot vote in any Czech election on the basis of residence, however long they have lived here. Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland count as third countries for this purpose.
• Permanent residence alone never gives a non-EU national a vote. Only Czech citizenship does.
• Voting is not compulsory.

Registering for municipal elections (EU citizens)

• You must be an EU citizen, 18 or over by the second polling day, with registered residence (permanent residence or a certificate of temporary residence) in the municipality where you vote.
• Registration is not automatic. Ask to be added to the annex to the permanent voter list (dodatek stálého seznamu voličů) at the office of your registered residence — in Prague, your city-district office.
• Free, no set form: in person, by data box (datová schránka), or by email with a recognised electronic signature.
• Deadline: no later than two days before election day, 16:00.
• Once registered you stay on the annex for future municipal elections until removed or your residence lapses; it moves with you if you move within Czechia.

Registering for European Parliament elections (EU citizens)

• Similar conditions, plus at least 45 days' residence before election day.
• This is a separate list. If you are already on the municipal annex, apply for a transfer rather than a new entry.
• Deadline: 40 days before election day, 16:00.
• If you register in Czechia, you vote here only — not in your home country — for that election.

Standing as a candidate

• EU citizens can stand in municipal and European Parliament elections under the same citizenship, age and residence conditions.
• The offices of mayor and deputy mayor are reserved for Czech citizens.
• Details are on the government portal (linked below).

Party membership: the sources disagree

The Czech government portal states that a non-national cannot become a member of a Czech political party or movement, although they can appear on a candidate list as unaffiliated.

The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that this restriction is incompatible with Article 22 TFEU for EU citizens living in Czechia.

Prague Compass does not decide which position applies today. If this matters to you, ask the party directly or get legal advice.

How polling works

• Usual hours: Friday 14:00–22:00 and Saturday 08:00–14:00.
• Show your identity to the polling-station commission. EU citizens bring their home-country ID card or passport plus their Czech residence document.
• Ballot papers are posted to your registered address. If you lose them, you can get a full set at the polling station.
• Your polling station is printed on the information sent before the election, and your city-district office can tell you. We could not confirm a working address for an official online lookup, so none is linked here.
• Voting is secret.

Election data

The Czech Statistical Office publishes free, open election data — results, precinct boundaries and candidate lists — at volby.cz.