Record number of foreigners residing in Czech Republic

A total of 464,700 foreigners resided in the Czech Republic legally in 2015, the highest number since the Czech Republic was established in 1993, the Czech Statistics Office reported on Thursday. The number of foreigners with permanent residence, that is people who remain in the country for more than five years, is also on the rise. The majority of them came from EU countries. Ukrainians are the biggest group of foreigners in the Czech Republic, making up 23 percent of all foreign residents, followed by Slovaks, 22 percent, and Vietnamese nationals, who account for 12 percent. Eight percent come from Russia, five from Germany and four from Poland. Since 2004, the number of foreigners residing in the country has almost doubled.