Prague, July 13 (CTK) – The number of the marriages between Czechs and foreigners rose by almost 20 percent since 2010, daily Lidove noviny (LN) wrote on Friday.
According to the latest data of the Czech Statistical Office (CSU), the marriages were concluded by 4,760 such couples.
Czech women were mainly marrying German, Slovak and British men, while Czech men mostly married Slovak, Ukrainian and Russian women. However, the latter often face problems due to their decision, LN writes, citing the example of a Ukrainian woman, aged 22.
Since Ukraine is one of the “third countries,” its citizens must gain the right to stay.
“This is neither citizenship nor permanent stay. There is the vital document, a blue book called the Stay Card of a Family Member of an EU Citizen,” the woman told the paper.
The Interior Ministry says everyone who wants to stay over 90 days in the Czech Republic must have it.
Due to the document, newly married people must undergo quite unpleasant questionings by the foreigner police.
“The couples often have the impression that the Interior Ministry treats them as fictitious unions,” Lucie Ditrychova, from the Foreigners Integration Centre, is quoted as saying.
Even a year may elapse during which the newly-wed live in uncertainty.
The Ukrainian woman was lucky as she received the documents after seven months, but this was preceded by a 90-minute questioning.
The officials asked her why the marriage was not held in Ukraine. They also wondered whether the couple uses contraceptives and whether it lives “a marital life.”
“This was unpleasant. This seems to me quite a personal affair,” the woman said.
She said she was also facing inspecting views when she said they were not yet planning children.
When the new spouses finishes the interviews, they wait for the verdict. The Interior Ministry should decide within 60 days after the application is presented, it says on its webpage.
“The Interior Ministry has been unable to observe the deadlines in the long run,” Ditrychova said.
The newly married foreigners only receive the permanent stays after they stay in the Czech Republic for five years without any interruption.
“Or after two years of a continuous temporary stay provided they are relatives of a Czech citizen for at least one year,” Interior Ministry spokeswoman Hana Mala told the paper.
Ditrychova said problems could also be faced by unmarried couples that have children, especially when the father is from a third country and the mother is Czech.
The father must prove his paternity and even a genetic test may be asked for.
“The measure is to prevent fictitious paternity with which to gain stay in the Czech Republic,” Ditrychova said.
“However, it touches upon all couples of the type a Czech and a foreigner, who usually have no idea about it, instead of ‘checking’ only those couples in which the maintenance duty to a child may not be fulfilled,” she added.
The statistical figures reveal that the unions between Czechs and foreigners are increasingly solid as their divorce rate is smaller than in 2010.
Fictitious marriages do exist, LN writes.
“It may be a friend from abroad and a Czech man or woman, acting in good faith, not for money, want to help them live in the EU,” Ditrychova said.
