Author(s): Demagog.cz
A video circulating on Facebook claims that people abroad can regain Czech citizenship by submitting a sworn statement that they were once Czech citizens. The government is allegedly trying to “create” five to ten million new voters abroad who would then support it via postal voting. In reality, however, a sworn statement is not sufficient for acquiring citizenship this way. Applicants must also submit a document proving the loss of Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship. The right to regain citizenship through such a declaration only applies to a small group of people of Czech origin, typically descendants of emigrants who left Czechoslovakia after 1948.
The video asserts that it is enough to simply declare oneself a “former Czech” to gain Czech citizenship and thus the right to vote by mail. It further claims that the government is using this tactic to “produce” five to ten million voters who will vote for it. It also states that these new citizens will be entitled to healthcare in the Czech Republic.
The following paragraphs explain the changes introduced with postal voting, who is eligible to vote by mail under Czech law, and whether foreigners can acquire Czech citizenship—and with it voting rights—simply by submitting a sworn declaration.
Postal voting
Postal voting is available to Czech citizens living abroad long-term. It applies to elections to the Chamber of Deputies, presidential elections, and European Parliament elections. To vote by mail, individuals must be registered in the electoral list at a relevant Czech embassy or consulate and request voting documents—either in person, via a data box, or a government portal.
The application must include, among other things, a foreign address to which the voting documents should be sent. The consulate will then send the voter an identification slip, official envelope, return envelope, and voting instructions. The voter must sign the identification slip to confirm that they are voting personally.
Only Czech citizens registered in the voter list are eligible to vote by mail. Foreigners must first acquire Czech citizenship.
Acquiring Czech Citizenship
The 2013 Citizenship Act allows people who previously lost Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship to regain it. To do so, they must submit a declaration along with official documents, especially one proving the “date and method” of loss of citizenship. Since 2019, children and grandchildren of former Czech or Czechoslovak citizens have also been eligible to apply under the same conditions.
This opportunity primarily applies to those who were forced to emigrate from Czechoslovakia after 1948 (.pdf, p. 3). However, it does not apply to people of German or Hungarian nationality who lost Czechoslovak citizenship under the Beneš Decrees, nor to those who lost it due to the cession of Carpathian Ruthenia to the Soviet Union. It also does not apply to people who became Slovak citizens after 1969 due to the federalization of Czechoslovakia.
According to the 2013 amendment, descendants of Czechoslovak citizens born abroad between 1949–1969, who were prevented by the communist regime from acquiring citizenship, could also apply. However, they had to apply by January 1, 2015. Many descendants, including those of so-called Winton’s Children, were not aware of this in time.
In November 2023, a group of MPs introduced a draft amendment (.pdf) to extend eligibility to great-grandchildren of emigrants who lost citizenship (.pdf, p. 7). The draft also reopens the possibility for children of emigrants born abroad between 1949–1969 to apply (.pdf, pp. 14–15). However, applicants would still need to provide documents showing the loss of citizenship of their direct ancestor (.pdf, pp. 14–15). The government expressed a favorable opinion on the proposal (.pdf, p. 2), but it has not yet been debated in Parliament.
According to the Czech Statistical Office, 6,389 foreigners acquired Czech citizenship in 2023, including 957 former Czech citizens or their descendants who gained it via declaration (.xlsx). In previous years, several hundred people gained citizenship this way annually. This is clearly not a method by which millions of voters are being “created.”
The law indeed allows people who have lost their Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship to regain it by declaration. However, they must also submit documents proving the loss of citizenship by themselves or their direct ancestor. Therefore, it is not possible to acquire Czech citizenship merely by declaring oneself a “former Czech.”
Number of Czechs Abroad
According to a 2015 estimate by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, around 2 to 2.5 million people of Czech origin live abroad. The largest expatriate community is in the United States, where about 1.4 million people claim Czech ancestry. Significant Czech diasporas also exist in the UK and Canada, each numbering around 100,000 people.
However, many people of Czech descent living abroad are not eligible for Czech citizenship. In the U.S., the largest wave of emigration from Czech lands occurred before 1918 (.pdf, pp. 15, 18). These emigrants could not acquire Czechoslovak citizenship after 1918 under the then-applicable laws (.pdf, pp. 13–28) and therefore could not have lost it either. Since proving the loss of citizenship is a requirement, the law and proposed amendments do not apply to descendants of these emigrants (.pdf).
The video originates from the website Paralelně.cz, which has previously spread false information, including misinformation about the World Health Organization’s pandemic treaty. The video features military analyst Martin Koller, who, in a March 2022 interview on Czech Radio, presented unsubstantiated claims about the war in Ukraine—such as that most Ukrainian refugees were economic migrants or that Ukrainian soldiers were widely using civilians as human shields. Czech Radio’s news department later apologized for the interview.
Sudeten Germans who were former Czechoslovak citizens and were expelled after World War II under the Beneš Decrees also do not have the right to acquire Czech citizenship via declaration. Therefore, the number of people abroad who might acquire citizenship this way is far below the “five to ten million” claimed in the video on Facebook.
Access to Health Care
The video also claims that people who acquire Czech citizenship by declaration will gain access to healthcare in the Czech Republic. However, only persons with permanent residence in the Czech Republic are eligible for public health insurance. Moreover, under international treaties, Czech citizens must deregister from the Czech health insurance system if they are working in certain treaty countries, such as those in the EU or the USA.
Summary
The video claims that declaring oneself a “former Czech” is enough to gain Czech citizenship and access to healthcare. It alleges that the government wants to “create” five to ten million new voters who would support it via postal voting. In reality, however, a declaration of acquisition of citizenship must be accompanied by documentation proving that the individual or their direct ancestor genuinely lost Czech or Czechoslovak citizenship. Only a small group of people with Czech ancestry—typically descendants of emigrants who left after 1948—are eligible for this program. Each year, only several hundred people acquire citizenship this way. Additionally, Czechs living abroad are not automatically eligible for Czech public health insurance unless they have permanent residence in the Czech Republic or are not working abroad.
A video with the same content was also shared on Facebook and Instagram by activist Nela Lisková, who has a history of spreading fabricated news. We have also flagged her video as false.