Permanent residency is not a disgrace. How to do it?

What does permanent residency mean

Permanent residence is an important institution in the Czech Republic, which serves mainly for administrative purposes. It is not just “the address where you live”, but mainly the address where you can receive official letters, which determines the electoral district and which determines the jurisdiction of certain authorities or courts. By default, permanent residence is declared at the address where you actually live – typically in a rented flat, family home or your own apartment. But what if, for some reason, you don’t have any such housing?

That’s when the permanent residence option comes into play. This means that you do not have a specific house or flat address as your permanent residence, but your official address is the relevant town or municipal office. Typically, this is the address of the building where the municipal or town or district office is located.

This institution did not arise by chance. It serves as a protection mechanism for people who have lost their home or been removed from their address by the property owner, but still need to have a registered address for official purposes. It should be stressed that permanent residency is an administrative solution. It does not mean that a person can actually live at the authority or that they are entitled to be provided with accommodation. Rather, it is an ‘alternative’ address that ensures that the citizen remains accessible to the State and its institutions.

When to register permanent residence at the office

Permanent residence at the office occurs when a person loses the possibility of having permanent residence elsewhere. This most often happens when they lose the legal title to use the flat or house, for example when their lease expires and the owner removes them from the population register. If the person concerned does not find a new address to register at in the meantime, the address of the municipal or city council automatically takes over.

Another common situation is when a person does not actually have any housing, such as homeless people. These people then report to the local authority in order to have an official address, which they need to claim social benefits, vote in elections or communicate with the courts.

Permanent residence at the office can also occur if the owner of the property where you were registered applies to cancel your permanent residence. If they can prove that you have lost the right to use the property (for example, that the lease has ended or that the bailiff has vacated the flat), the authority will decide whether to remove you. And if you have no other address to register at, you will officially become ‘resident’ at the local authority’s address.

It is important to remember that this is not always your decision. Whilst you actively apply for a normal change of domicile, registering with the council may be the result of a decision by the council at the request of the owner or for other reasons.

The legal basis for this option is based on the Population Registration Act. The Act explicitly states that if a citizen has no other address, the address of the registration office (i.e. the municipal office) is registered as his/her permanent residence. This is therefore a mechanism to ensure that no one is left ‘without an address’.

How is the change of permanent residence to the city office

The process of changing your permanent residence to a municipal or local authority is relatively straightforward. It is not a complicated administrative procedure, but a process with clearly defined steps.

If you happen to lose your home where you were previously resident, you must notify the relevant reporting authority. In some cases, however, everything happens automatically, for example, when the owner asks to cancel your permanent residence and provides the necessary documents (notice of termination of the lease, termination of the contract, etc.). The office will then delete your original residence from the register and at the same time enter the address of the reporting office as the new address.

For the change itself, you will need to provide your ID card or a certificate of termination of the right of occupancy. As far as the owner’s proposal is concerned, you as a citizen do not have to actively apply for cancellation, you will just be notified of the decision.

The whole process is rather formal, permanent residency is not something that one has to apply for, but rather an alternative solution that comes in when there is no other option. Changing your permanent residence is subject to an administrative fee of 50 CZK (payable for a standard change, for example when you choose a new address yourself), but if the office automatically registers you with the office, you usually don’t have to pay anything.

The turnaround time is relatively short, with everything usually sorted out within a few days. The office will then issue you with a certificate of your new permanent residence and you must have your ID card replaced, as it always contains your current permanent address.

Consequences of staying permanently in the office

There are a number of specific consequences of being a permanent resident that everyone should consider.

One of the biggest practical issues is the delivery of mail. This is because letters sent to you by the authorities or the courts go to the address of the local authority. The post office will accept them, but you have to actively collect them. If you do not hear about the letter and do not pick it up, the so-called fiction of delivery occurs – a situation where the letter is deemed to have been delivered even if you have not actually read it. This can have serious consequences, for example, in court proceedings or in the event of execution, where you do not get the information you need in time.

Another consequence is the determination of the local jurisdiction of the authorities. If you reside in a municipal office, all your official business will be conducted according to that address. This may be the case, for example, in welfare benefits, court proceedings or elections. You will have a polling station at the location of ‘your’ office, even if you actually live somewhere else.

Daily life can also be a problem. Some banks or financial institutions may look askance at the “office” address. When negotiating a loan, mortgage or lease, the address of the local authority may seem risky. This does not mean that they cannot enter into contracts with you, you just need to be prepared for possible explanations.

On the other hand, being a permanent resident of the municipality is also advantageous in a way – the state will not stop taking care of you administratively. You still have the right to vote, access to social benefits and the ability to communicate with the authorities.

Summary

Permanent residency is a statutory solution for cases where a citizen loses the ability to reside permanently in an apartment or house – typically when a tenancy ends, a property owner moves out or loses their home. In such a situation, the seat of the municipal or city authority is registered as the official address so that the citizen is not left “without an address”. The change itself takes place either automatically at the request of the owner or at the suggestion of the citizen himself, and is usually associated with the need to provide an identity card and possibly other documents. This situation has a number of consequences: all mail goes to the office and unclaimed items are deemed to have been delivered, the local jurisdiction of the authorities and courts is linked to the office address, and such an address may be perceived as risky when negotiating financial products. Nevertheless, it is an administrative certainty – the citizen still has the right to vote, access to social benefits and the possibility to communicate with the State.