Czech citizenship by descent through a declaration

Who can declare, and who cannot

The starting point is a person who lost Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship before January 1, 2014. For most American families that loss happened at a naturalization ceremony. Between 1993 and 2013 a Czech citizen lost Czech citizenship on the day they voluntarily took a foreign one by an express act such as an application, and earlier losses under Czechoslovak law are covered as well. Section 31 covers any such loss, whatever the year, with two groups left out: people who lost it under the 1945 presidential decree on Germans and Hungarians or under the 1945 treaty on Subcarpathian Ukraine, and people who became or are Slovak citizens. The Consulate General in Chicago spells out both exclusions.

If your parent never lost Czech citizenship, for example because they took US citizenship in 2014 or later, or never naturalized at all, you are probably Czech already. Under the current Act a child is Czech at birth if at least one parent is Czech on the day of the birth, wherever the child is born. In that case you do not declare anything: you ask for a citizenship certificate, which costs CZK 600 at a consulate. The certificate is the proof a Czech registry and passport office will ask for.

How the declaration works

You fill in the declaration form that matches your case: one for former citizens, one for children and grandchildren, and a separate one for a minor child. You add the records described below and a signed statement that you have not acquired Slovak citizenship, then hand everything in person to a Czech consulate, in originals with two sets of copies. Under section 31, a consulate forwards the declaration and its documents to the competent regional office within 30 days. If you never had permanent residence in the Czech Republic, the competent office is the one for Prague 1. Because the declaration is made in person, the appointment at the consulate is often the first step to book.

The office checks two things: that the ancestor was a citizen who lost citizenship before 2014 in a way the law covers, and that each link from that ancestor to you is proved by civil records. Parents can file a separate declaration for a minor child with the notarized consent of the other parent; a child over 15 signs too.

The documents a consulate asks for

The checklist starts with your own birth certificate and, where relevant, marriage, divorce or death records. Then come the birth and marriage records of the parent and, for a grandchild, of the grandparent, so that each link is visible. The key document proves how and when the ancestor lost citizenship: in most American files this is the naturalization certificate, or a copy from USCIS if the family no longer has it. The document checklist explains how to order those records.

US records need an apostille from the state that issued them, plus an official Czech translation. The Chicago consulate lists a few exceptions to the translation rule, among them the apostille itself and the naturalization certificate. A valid US passport or driver's license serves as identification if you hold no Czech document. The cost calculator adds up certified copies, apostilles and translation pages.

Fee and waiting time

The consular fee schedule for October 2026 sets the declaration at CZK 1,000, collected as $46 at US consulates, and a citizenship certificate at CZK 600 ($28). The dollar amounts follow the exchange rate and are updated with each schedule. No decision time is published: the only time in the law is the 30 days the consulate has to forward the file. Plan for the regional office to write if a record is missing or unclear; each request adds months.

Dual citizenship with the United States

Since January 1, 2014, a Czech citizen no longer loses Czech citizenship by taking another one, as the Czech embassy in Canberra explains. A Czech citizen can now lose it only by declaring renunciation while living abroad and holding another citizenship. On the US side, acquiring a second citizenship does not put your US citizenship at risk unless you intend to give it up; the dual citizenship page sets out the US position and the country table compares the rules of other countries. Taxes do not change with a Czech passport: US filing obligations follow citizenship, as the tax page explains.

Slovak roots in a Czechoslovak family

Many families simply remember "Czechoslovakia". If the ancestor was born in what is now Slovakia, Slovakia has its own route for descendants up to great-grandchildren, without a language test but at the Ministry's discretion. It is described on the Slovak citizenship page. The two routes do not mix easily: section 31 is closed to anyone who holds Slovak citizenship, so the order in which you file matters. Families with Czech and Slovak branches often settle the Czech declaration first. The family tree checker compares every country in your tree at once, and the second passport overview lists the other routes open to Americans.