The Czech Republic’s Foreign Police Service has published its half-yearly statistics on irregular migration covering the period 1 January – 30 June 2026. According to the report, officers detected 5 358 foreign nationals in breach of immigration rules, a 5.9 % increase (--about 300 people) on the same period last year. Fully 96 % of cases (5 158 persons) concerned foreigners who had overstayed or otherwise violated the terms of their residence in Czech territory. The six largest nationality groups were citizens of Ukraine, Moldova, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Russia. Only 169 cases – 3.3 % of the total – related to migrants transiting Czech territory on their way to another EU country, chiefly Germany. Russian nationals accounted for 103 of those transit detections, most of whom had entered the EU via the Western Balkan route before moving north through Croatia, Hungary and Austria or Slovakia. Another 40 Afghans tried to exploit intra-Schengen flights from Athens using fraudulent documents. Police officials stressed that, despite a 225 % percentage rise in transit detections, the absolute numbers remain very low and pose “minimal security risk”. They credited an expert liaison officer deployed to Athens airport since 1 March 2026 and an intensified schedule of workplace and accommodation inspections inside Czechia. In the first six months of the year officers carried out 96 862 on-site checks (up 13 %), scrutinised nearly 275 000 foreigners and visited more than 25 000 accommodation and business premises nationwide. For employers the key takeaway is continued enforcement pressure: inspections have risen every year since 2023 and are now targeting unregistered short-term work as well as classic overstay offences. Companies using seasonal or agency labour are advised to keep copies of residence permits on file and schedule internal compliance audits before the peak autumn manufacturing period. Travellers on the Prague–Athens route should also expect continued document screening. While the headline numbers confirm that Czechia remains largely a destination rather than a transit corridor, the rising share of Russian and Afghan nationals in irregular flows mirrors broader EU trends and could trigger tighter checks at land borders with Slovakia and Austria if the numbers were to grow. Corporate mobility managers should monitor any future Police press releases, as these are often followed by ad-hoc operations that can delay coach and rail services between Prague, Vienna, Bratislava and Munich.
Source: Policie České republiky
