Czech consulate in Hanoi no longer accepting long-term residence applications

The Czech consulate in Hanoi has stopped accepting visa application requests and requests for work permits from Vietnamese nationals until further notice, the Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its web page on Thursday.

This is largely due to security reasons as well as the fact that the Czech consulate is overwhelmed by applications and has problems processing them.

According to Interior Minister Jan Hamáček, who is also in charge of the foreign ministry portfolio, Vietnam has become a security risk in terms of exporting organized crime.

Hamáček said the authorities would in future prioritize long-term residence applications made of the grounds of merging families.