AKMV 
Similarly to Slovak legislation, Czech law also allows the possibility of acquiring citizenship through one’s ancestors.
According to Section 31(3) of Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on the Citizenship of the Czech Republic,
“A natural person whose at least one parent or grandparent is or was a former citizen as referred to in paragraph 1 may acquire citizenship of the Czech Republic by declaration, provided that, on the day of making the declaration, they are not a citizen of the Slovak Republic.”
Paragraph 1 of Section 31 of Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on the Citizenship of the Czech Republic, further provides that:
“By a declaration on the acquisition of citizenship of the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as ‘declaration’), citizenship of the Czech Republic may be acquired by a natural person who lost Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship prior to the date of entry into force of this Act, unless such loss of Czechoslovak citizenship occurred under the Constitutional Decree of the President of the Republic on the Adjustment of Czechoslovak Citizenship of Persons of German and Hungarian Nationality or under the Treaty between the Czechoslovak Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Subcarpathian Ukraine, or unless the person concerned was a Czechoslovak citizen who, as of 1 January 1969, became or would have become a citizen of the Slovak Socialist Republic, or who after 1 January 1969 acquired citizenship of the Slovak Socialist Republic or the Slovak Republic and remains its citizen.”
Paragraph 3 of Section 31 of Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on the Citizenship of the Czech Republic, entered into force on 6 September 2019, when the Act was amended by Act No. 207/2019 Coll. As follows from the explanatory memorandum to the Act, the original government draft of the Act from 2012 already contained Section 31, which included the possibility of acquiring Czech citizenship by declaration for former citizens of Czechoslovakia, or of the Czech Socialist Republic or the Slovak Socialist Republic. This possibility, as originally proposed, also extended to children and grandchildren, provided that at least one of the parents could prove their original citizenship. During the deliberations on the draft Act on Citizenship in the Chamber of Deputies, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, at its meeting on 27 February 2013 (Resolution No. 164), proposed to amend Section 31 so that children and grandchildren could no longer acquire citizenship by declaration. This amendment was subsequently adopted by the Chamber of Deputies. Although an amendment was submitted in the Senate during its 10th session in the 9th term on 16 May 2013, aiming to restore Section 31 to the original wording proposed by the government, this proposal was not adopted. From the above, it follows that, on one hand, the introduction of dual citizenship was received with great anticipation, yet, on the other hand, the adopted legislation in practice often divided families. Situations arose where one child, born before the introduction of dual citizenship, held a different nationality from a sibling born after that date. This has caused significant complications — for example, with travel, return to the Czech Republic, or access to education — since one child holds the rights and obligations of a Czech citizen while the other does not. Article 12 of the Constitution stipulates that the manner of acquiring and losing Czech citizenship shall be determined by law (paragraph 1) and that no one shall be deprived of their citizenship against their will (paragraph 2). The proposed amendment is therefore consistent with Article 12 of the Constitution as well as with the broader constitutional context of the institution of citizenship. The proposal has no financial impact on public budgets. Only a partial increase in the administrative burden on the authorities responsible for receiving and deciding on declarations of Czech citizenship can be expected, which entails a slight rise in operational costs. However, these costs are offset by revenues from administrative fees.
According to Section 31, paragraph 4, the declarant shall attach to the declaration the following documents:
- a birth certificate,
- a marriage certificate, certificate of registered partnership, or, where applicable, a divorce decree, certificate of dissolution of partnership, or death certificate of a deceased spouse or partner,
- the parents’ birth certificates, their marriage certificate, and, where necessary, divorce decrees or death certificates, if such documents are required for processing the declaration,
- the grandparents’ birth certificates, their marriage certificate, and, where necessary, divorce decrees or death certificates, if such documents are required for processing the declaration,
- a document proving the date and manner of the loss of Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship of the declarant, or a document proving the date and manner of the loss of Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship of one of the parents or grandparents.
In the case of a child, the parents, or one of them, may make a separate declaration on behalf of the child under paragraph 3. In addition to the documents listed in paragraph 4, the following shall be attached to the declaration:
- the child’s birth certificate,
- the consent of the other parent to the acquisition of Czech citizenship by the child, with an officially certified signature. The consent of the other parent shall not be required if that parent has been deprived of parental rights and responsibilities, if the exercise of such rights and responsibilities has been restricted or suspended in this respect, if their place of residence is unknown while living outside the territory of the Czech Republic, or if the parent is deceased.
If both parents are deceased, have been deprived of parental rights and responsibilities, if the exercise of such rights and responsibilities has been restricted or suspended, or if their place of residence is unknown while living outside the territory of the Czech Republic, a legal guardian or custodian may make the declaration of acquisition of Czech citizenship on behalf of the child. The following documents shall be attached to the declaration:
- the child’s birth certificate,
- a final court decision appointing the person as the child’s guardian or custodian.
For the acquisition of Czech citizenship by declaration under paragraph 3 by a child over the age of 15, the child’s consent with an officially certified signature is required. Official certification of the signature is not required if the child expresses their consent and signs the declaration in the presence of the administrative authority before which the declaration is made.
Despite the relatively complex legal terminology contained in Section 31(1) of the Act on the Citizenship of the Czech Republic, it is possible to derive from this provision specific conditions under which Czech citizenship may be acquired by declaration.
In cases where the conditions set out in this paragraph are not met, citizenship cannot be acquired by declaration.
This applies in particular to the following situations:
A person who lost Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship before 1 January 2014, except in cases where the loss of citizenship occurred:
a) under the Constitutional Decree of the President of the Republic No. 33/1945 Coll., which regulated the Czechoslovak citizenship of persons of German and Hungarian nationality, or
b) under the Treaty between the Czechoslovak Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Subcarpathian Ukraine (No. 186/1946 Coll.), or
c) in the case of a Czechoslovak citizen who, as of 1 January 1969, became or would have become a citizen of the Slovak Socialist Republic, or who, after that date, acquired the citizenship of the Slovak Socialist Republic or the Slovak Republic and continues to hold such citizenship.
In addition to the previously analyzed Section 31, the possibility of acquiring Czech citizenship for descendants also appears in Section 32. According to Section 32(2), a natural person who is a direct descendant of a former citizen as referred to in paragraph 1 may acquire Czech citizenship by declaration, provided that he or she has never been a citizen of the Czech Republic or a citizen of the Slovak Republic.
According to paragraph 1 of Section 32, Czech citizenship may be acquired by declaration by a natural person who, as of 31 December 1992, was a citizen of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic and was not a citizen of the Czech Republic or the Slovak Republic. Acquisition of Czech citizenship in this manner is not permitted for a person who, on the date of making the declaration, is a citizen of the Slovak Republic.
The declarant shall attach to the declaration
(a) a birth certificate,
(b) a marriage certificate, a certificate of registered partnership, or, where applicable, a divorce decree, certificate of dissolution of partnership, or death certificate of a deceased spouse or partner, and
(c) a certificate proving that he or she is not a citizen of the Slovak Republic.
With regard to Section 32(1), these are situations in which a former citizen of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, as of 31 December 1992, following the dissolution of that state entity, was neither a citizen of the Czech Republic nor of the Slovak Republic. As stated in the explanatory memorandum, these are very specific cases in which the individuals concerned were, paradoxically, left with the citizenship of the former federation. (Körbl, H. Zákon o státním občanství České republiky. Komentář. 1. vydání. Praha : C.H. Beck, 2019, 331s.)