Prague, April 18 (CTK) – The number of people who believe that foreigners endanger the way of life in the Czech Republic and should not be allowed to gain a long-term residence permit in the country has increased, according to a set of CVVM polls released on Monday.
The Czechs having this opinion say the foreigners should not be allowed to stay on a long-time basis in the country. At the same time, the pressure for their maximum possible adaptation to Czech habits has increased while support for their employment decreased.
On the other hand, the total of citizens who say the number of foreigners living in the Czech Republic is reasonable has increased and the number of those who consider foreigners in the country a problem decreased.
Fifty percent of citizens, the most since 2009, are convinced that the number of foreigners in the Czech Republic is reasonable, while 40 percent believe there are too many of them and a mere 2 percent think that there are very few of them in the country.
A majority of people, or 78 percent, do not agree with anyone who shows interest in settling in the Czech Republic being allowed this. The opposite is believed by 17 percent of Czechs, which is the least since 2005.
Three quarters of people said foreigners should be allowed to stay in the country under certain conditions only. Four percent of the polled would allow them to stay in the country without any limitations.
One fifth of Czech citizens believe that foreigners should not be allowed to stay in the Czech Republic for a long time, which is the biggest number since 2003, CVVM said.
Eighty percent of the polled, compared with 56 percent in 2003, believe that foreigners should adapt themselves to the local habits as much as possible.
Eighteen percent of people agree with the need for foreigners to partially adapt themselves to Czech habits and 1 percent of the polled said foreigners should be allowed to live in the Czech Republic fully according to their habits.
Fifty-five percent of people consider citizens of other nationalities who came to the Czech Republic in the past years a national problem. Thirty-five percent of people have the opposite opinion. This is a 14 percent decrease from 2015 and it is one of the lowest since 2003.
A mere one third of respondents were in favour of employing foreigners, while 57 percent were against it.
One third of people supported foreigners’ employment, while 57 percent were against it. The former figure is lower by 16 percentage points compared with 2013, and it has been the lowest since 2003.
Fifty-seven percent of people believe that foreigners from EU countries should be given priority in employment to people from other countries, which is the highest figure in 13 years.
The lowest number of people since 2003, or 42 percent, agree with the opinion that the influx of foreign capital improves the situation on the Czech labour market, CVVM said.
