In a step that tightens oversight of movements by foreign diplomatic personnel, the Czech Foreign Ministry has introduced a new notification regime that obliges all Russian diplomats and consular staff to report any planned entry into—or transit across—the Czech Republic at least 24 hours in advance. The ministry confirmed on 24 September that the diplomats must provide the purpose of travel, the exact route, the length of stay and the address of accommodation for every trip. The measure is explicitly reciprocal. Since June 2026, Czech diplomats posted to Moscow have been subject to nearly identical reporting requirements, and Prague had been under growing domestic pressure to level the playing field. President Petr Pavel, speaking on the side-lines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, welcomed the change and framed it as a proportionate response to Russia’s own restrictions and to long-standing warnings from Czech counter-intelligence that Moscow uses diplomatic cover for espionage. Practically, the system enhances situational awareness for the Czech authorities but stops short of a formal pre-approval process; diplomats will still be able to travel once the notification is filed. Nevertheless, the data will allow the Interior Ministry and Police to adjust protective security or counter-intelligence measures around sensitive sites and high-level visits. Companies employing Russian nationals on diplomatic visas must now factor the advance-notification clock into any short-notice trips between Czechia and neighbouring Schengen states. The move also aligns Czech practice with an EU-wide sanctions package that tightened travel rules for Russian diplomatic personnel within the Schengen Area earlier this year. Other Member States, notably Poland and the Baltic countries, have gone further by demanding prior authorisation. Czech officials say they will review whether to adopt that stricter model if the security situation deteriorates. For global-mobility and corporate-security managers, the key takeaway is that any itinerary involving Russian diplomatic passport-holders—even for bilateral meetings hosted by Czech branches—now carries an administrative step and a 24-hour lead time. Firms arranging cross-border events should build in additional buffer and liaise early with hosting ministries to avoid last-minute complications.
Source: Expats.cz
