The Czech Police Presidium on 28 July published half-year statistics showing 5,358 foreign nationals were detected in irregular-migration situations between 1 January and 30 June 2026, a year-on-year increase of 5.9 %. The vast majority (96 %) involved overstaying rather than illegal entry, with citizens of Ukraine, Moldova, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Russia leading the count. Transit cases—migrants aiming mainly for Germany—rose sharply in percentage terms but still represent only 3.3 % of total incidents. Of particular concern to corporate travel planners is a spike earlier this year in forged-document use on intra-Schengen flights from Athens. In response, the Foreigners’ Police deployed a document-fraud expert to Athens Airport on 1 March; since then, no illegitimate arrivals via that route have been recorded. At Prague’s Václav Havel Airport, officers now perform random biometric checks on third-country nationals even on domestic EU flights, a practice that could add a few minutes to disembarkation processes during peak hours. The report also notes a 13 % jump in on-site workplace inspections, with nearly 275,000 foreigners verified and more than 9,400 business premises visited. Employers found to be hosting workers without proper residence status face fines up to CZK 5 million and may be barred from government “economic-migration” quotas for two years. The message is clear: compliance matters as the labour market tightens. For HR and immigration teams the immediate implication is to audit assignment timetables and ensure that blue-card or employee-card renewals are filed well before expiry; the ministry offers no grace period. Travellers from visa-waiver countries should also be reminded that even one extra day beyond the 90/180-day Schengen limit now triggers automated alerts under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) launched in April. Looking ahead, police will expand automated e-gate coverage at Prague and Brno airports to include certain third-country frequent flyers once new IRIS scanners arrive in October. Companies whose staff travel frequently between Czechia and the Balkans may be eligible for a trusted-traveller pilot scheme now under internal review.
Source: Police of the Czech Republic
