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I read:

In Czech Republic there is an exception for EU citizens: they must register after within 30 days and there's no penalty for failing to do so. – JonathanReez♦ ↵ Feb 18 '16 at 10:35

What's the point in registering with the police when visiting Czech Republic?

For an official source: https://www.policie.cz/clanek/reporting-of-the-place-of-aliens-residence.aspx

An EU citizen is obliged, within 30 days from his/her entry into the Territory, to report the place of his/her residence in the Territory to the police if his/her expected stay is to be longer than 30 days; this obligation also applies to an EU citizen's family member if that EU citizen is staying in the Territory. The obligation to report the place of residence to the police does not apply to an alien who has fulfilled this obligation with the accommodation provider.

Another official source: https://www.mvcr.cz/mvcren/article/entering-the-czech-republic.aspx:

One of the obligations ensuing from the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals (pdf, 1 MB) for citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland is the "reporting requirement" in the event that the length of the intended stay in the Czech Republic is longer than 30 days. In this situation, within 30 days of entering the Czech Republic, an individual is required to report his/her presence to the appropriate Foreign Police Department that holds jurisdiction in the location of his/her stay in the Czech Republic.

JonathanReez
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2 Answers2

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Since the question is at risk of being closed, I'm writing down what I found so far in this answer. The following sources indicate the need to register with the police when visiting Czech Republic as a EU citizen:

None of them mentioned any upside for the citizen, so as far as I can see so far, there is no upside in registering aside from the sake of respecting a regulation (that JonathanReez reports as no having no penalty if not followed).

Franck Dernoncourt
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After further investigation, I've managed to find the full rules governing the registration of EU citizens. According to law number 326/1999, paragraph 93:

(2) Občan Evropské unie je povinen ohlásit na policii místo pobytu na území ve lhůtě do 30 dnů ode dne vstupu na území, pokud jeho předpokládaný pobyt bude delší než 30 dnů; tato povinnost se rovněž vztahuje na rodinného příslušníka občana Evropské unie, pokud tento občan pobývá na území. Povinnost ohlásit místo pobytu na policii se nevztahuje na cizince, který tuto povinnost splnil u ubytovatele.

Which translates to:

The citizen of the European Union is obliged to report to the police the place of residence within the territory within 30 days from the date of entry into the territory if his expected stay is longer than 30 days; this obligation also applies to a family member of a citizen of the European Union if he resides in the territory. The obligation to report the place of residence to the police does not apply to an alien who has fulfilled this obligation through the property owner.

The penalty for violating this rule is spelled out in paragraph 156:

(1) Cizinec se dopustí přestupku tím, že ...

d) nesplní povinnost podle § 93 odst. 1 nebo 2 anebo podle § 98 odst. 1, 3, 4 nebo 5.

Which translates to:

Foreigners commit a misdemeanour if they fail to fulfill their obligations according to paragraph 93 or 98.

And the punishment for this misdemeanour is:

(5) Za přestupek lze uložit pokutu do

d) 3000 Kč, jde-li o přestupek podle odstavce 1 písm. a), b), d), e), g) nebo k).

Which translates to:

Misdemeanours mentioned in sections a), b), d), e), g) or k) shall be punished by a fine up to 3000 CZK.

So you are potentially liable to pay a small fine if you fail to register. Note that you don't need to explicitly register if staying in a hotel or short-term rental, as the property owner should do this for you.

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