Czech deputies have adopted a legal amendment which imposes new restrictions on Russians in the country hoping to apply for Czech citizenship, the parliament’s website revealed on Wednesday.
The vote passed by 92 votes to 35, with 47 abstentions. The bill will now go to the Czech Senate, and must then be signed into law by the president.
The amendment means Russians will not be able to become Czech nationals without first renouncing their Russian citizenship. There will be a number of exceptions, including for children and political refugees. The legislation also provides for all applications from Russians over the age of 15 years to be frozen indefinitely, including those which have already been submitted.
The proposal was put forward in September by Martin Exner, a member of Mayors and Independents, one of the parties in the ruling coalition. The party then published a poster depicting Matryoshka dolls, suggesting Russians “abused dual citizenship in the interests of Russia,” and that Czechia did not need “Putin’s dolls” in the country. Exner later clarified that the poster did not refer to all Russians, only those who “might be Russian agents”.
There are approximately 40,000 Russians with temporary or permanent residence permits in Czechia, equivalent to 0.4% of the country’s population. The Czech Interior Ministry says the number of Russians applying for citizenship has grown in recent years. Between 2019 and 2022, Russians accounted for about one fifth of the total number of foreign residents who received Czech citizenship, whereas in 2023 that had increased to about a quarter.