Prague, Oct 30 (CTK) – The system Visapoint which is used for online application for visas will no longer work as of Tuesday, Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Michaela Lagronova told journalists on Monday.
Newly the applications will be submitted directly at a specific diplomatic office, Lagronova said.
Visapoint was repeatedly criticised by Czech employers and human rights activists for allowing machinations with the visas.
“The Foreign Ministry has decided to make the changes in this sphere in connection with several factors such as the ending of the validity of the contract with the provider of the Visapoint system,” Lagronova said.
The applicants for visas and stays in the Czech Republic will be able to submit their applications again as of November 24 by e-mail, phone and personally at a specific diplomatic office, she added.
The period between October 31 and November 24 will be used for the handling of the already submitted applications, Lagronova said.
The Foreign Ministry has been using Visapoint since 2009.
With it, the applicants for visas or long-term stay in the Czech Republic may arrange an appointment at a diplomatic office online.
Critics say the Visapoint was congested, especially in some countries, and it is all but impossible to be registered in it.
Due to the effort to get a free date to submit an application at a Czech diplomatic office, many people were paying for their registration to the dealers who were able to break into the system.
Czech companies that want to employ foreigners have repeatedly warned of the shortcomings of Visapoint.
Due to the long waiting time to have the visa applications approved, the process of employment of foreign manpower became complicated.
The Foreign Ministry is of the view that the shortage of openings and long waiting time was largely due to the big interest in the work in the Czech Republic in some foreign countries.
Lagronova stressed that the new form of submitting the applications would not eliminate the shortcomings caused by the excessive demand.
“No system in itself is able to eliminate the problems arising from the enormous interest of foreigners in these stays in the Czech Republic,” she added.
Lagronova also warned that the employment of foreigners in the Czech Republic was not within the powers of the Foreign Ministry.
“If the Czech labour market is facing the shortage of manpower in certain industries, this state of affairs is not caused by the work of the Foreign Ministry or the capacity of its consular offices,” she added.
Czech industry representatives have repeatedly spoken about tens of thousands of openings that might be filled by employees from Vietnam and Ukraine.
The idea is opposed by the trade unions which argue that the influx of cheap labour from abroad pushes down the salaries.
Lagronova said the rules for the employment of foreigners were based on a government strategy, which was given by an agreement of the tripartite meetings of the employers, trade unions and the government and by economic factors, not by the Foreign Ministry.
