Learning Czech as a foreigner: the A2 and B1 exams and free courses

Czech is the language of Czech offices, and two big steps, permanent residence and citizenship, need proof that you speak it. This page explains which level each one asks for, how the official exams work, and where adults can learn for free. It doesn't rank language schools.

Why learn Czech, and which level do you need?

Offices deal with you in Czech: official proceedings and documents are in Czech or Slovak, and if you don't speak it, you bring an interpreter from the official list at your own cost.¹

The levels come from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:²

Who needs the A2 exam for permanent residence?

Most people applying for permanent residence need a certificate from the official Czech exam at level A2.³ You don't need it if:⁴

• you're under 15, or 60 or older, on the day you apply;
• in the last 20 years you spent at least one continuous school year at a Czech primary or secondary school, or one academic year at a university that teaches in Czech;
• you passed an equivalent exam, such as a Czech school-leaving exam (maturita), a state language exam in Czech or another recognised Czech exam at A2 or higher;⁵
• you have a physical or mental disability that affects your ability to communicate, and you can prove it; or
• you apply on humanitarian or similar grounds, or are the spouse or child of someone granted asylum.

The exam's official site says "over 60", but the law exempts you from the day you turn 60.^{4 6}

How does the A2 exam work?

1. Register. Sign up online on the exam's official site, or in person at some schools, with a valid passport. You join a waiting list, and the wait is usually shorter if you don't insist on a particular school.⁶
2. Confirm. You must be registered at least 14 days before your date and confirm in person, with your passport, at least 8 days before. You can withdraw without a reason up to 15 days before; if you don't come and don't excuse yourself, you've failed.⁷
3. Pay the school. The exam costs at most 3,200 Kč, paid to the school by the date it gives you.⁸ You pay again for each new attempt.⁹
4. Sit it. The written part comes first: reading for 40 minutes, writing for 25, a break, then listening for about 40. Then an oral part of up to 15 minutes, with no preparation time.¹⁰ A new version of the test has been used since 11 April 2026.⁹
5. Pass. You need 60% in each part: 42 of 70 points in the written part and 24 of 40 in the oral.¹⁰

If you fail, you retake both parts, and you can sit the exam at most 3 times in a calendar year.¹¹ The exam's handbook also says to wait 3 months after a failed attempt, though the decree on the exam doesn't say so.⁹ Results come out within 9 days, and the certificate never expires.¹² The Interior Ministry can still order a new exam if it has good reason to doubt your Czech.¹³

What does citizenship ask for?

Czech at level B1, and knowledge of Czech society, geography and history (reálie) at the level of a Czech primary school.¹⁴ You're exempt from both if:¹⁵

• you studied for at least 3 school years at a primary, secondary or university school that teaches in Czech;
• you're under 15 or over 65 on the day you apply; or
• you have a disability that makes it impossible for you to learn Czech.

The Interior Ministry can also waive both for special reasons.¹⁵

Both exams are run by Charles University's Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies (ÚJOP), which publishes the dates and fees.¹⁶

• The language exam: reading for 50 minutes, listening for 30 to 35, writing for 60, then speaking in pairs. You need 60% overall and in each part, though one written part can be at 50%. You can retake it as often as you like, and the certificate doesn't expire.¹⁷
• The realia test: 30 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, with 18 correct to pass. Every question comes from a public bank of 300, published with the answers.¹⁸

Where can adults learn Czech for free?

• Integration centres (Centrum na podporu integrace cizinců): every region has one, and teaching Czech is one of their legal tasks.¹⁹ They run drop-in classes you can join without signing up, and intensive courses in 40-hour blocks from beginner to B1, for which you register ahead. Textbooks are free.²⁰ They serve every foreigner who lives here legally, and people with international protection; people with temporary protection stay here legally too.²¹
• In Prague, Integrační centrum Praha runs courses for citizens of countries outside the EU who stay longer than 90 days, including people with temporary protection. You pay a deposit and get it back if you attend at least 70% of the lessons and, on standard courses, pass the final test; asylum applicants can't join.²²
• Other courses: the Labour Ministry says courses from integration centres, charities and municipalities are usually free, or have a deposit you get back.²³
• Job seekers: if you're registered with the Labour Office, it can pay for a Czech course as retraining (rekvalifikace).^{23 24}
• Asylum and subsidiary protection: people granted it get a free state Czech course.²⁵

Children who are new to Czech get free lessons at school: Schools explains how.²⁸

Can I learn on my own?

Yes, and the official materials are free. The exam's site has an online practice test in the new format, two model tests with answers and recordings, and a 2026 handbook with a key and recordings that you can use alone or with a teacher.²⁹ For citizenship, the whole realia question bank and a practice test are online.¹⁸ The oral part means talking to an examiner, so practise speaking as well as reading.

Sources

1. Administrative Procedure Code (Act 500/2004 Coll.), §16(1) and (3). ↩

2. Council of Europe, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, global scale. ↩

3. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §70(2)(h); Government Decree 31/2016 Coll., §2(1). ↩ ↩²

4. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §70(3) and (5). ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Government Decree 31/2016 Coll., §13. ↩

6. National Pedagogical Institute, information about the exam, cestina-pro-cizince.cz. ↩ ↩²

7. Government Decree 31/2016 Coll., §6(1) and (4), §7(1) and (3). ↩

8. Government Decree 31/2016 Coll., §5a(1) and (2). ↩

9. National Pedagogical Institute, handbook for candidates 2026, introduction and questions 27 and 28. ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. Government Decree 31/2016 Coll., §8 and §9(2), annex 1; National Pedagogical Institute, information about the exam. ↩ ↩²

11. Government Decree 31/2016 Coll., §11(1) and (2). ↩ ↩²

12. Government Decree 31/2016 Coll., §9(3); Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §72. ↩ ↩²

13. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §70(6). ↩

14. Decree 433/2013 Coll. on the knowledge of Czech and Czech realia for citizenship, §2(1) and §3(1). ↩ ↩²

15. Citizenship Act (Act 186/2013 Coll.), §14(4) and (5), §15(3). ↩ ↩²

16. Charles University, Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies, citizenship exams; Citizenship Act (Act 186/2013 Coll.), §70. ↩

17. National Pedagogical Institute, the Czech language exam for citizenship; Decree 433/2013 Coll., §8(2) and §10. ↩

18. National Pedagogical Institute, the Czech realia exam. ↩ ↩²

19. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §155a(2). ↩

20. Centres for the Integration of Foreigners, activities for clients, section on Czech courses. ↩

21. Centres for the Integration of Foreigners, about the centres; annual report 2025. ↩

22. Integrační centrum Praha, Czech language courses and about us. ↩

23. Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Czech for foreigners, updated 19 March 2026. ↩ ↩²

24. Labour Office, retraining, updated 27 August 2026. ↩

25. Asylum Act (Act 325/1999 Coll.), §68(1) and §70. ↩

26. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §155b(2) to (4); Decree 520/2020 Coll. on the integration course, §3, §12 and §13. ↩

27. Act 65/2022 Coll. (Lex Ukrajina), §7w(4). ↩ ↩²

28. Schools Act (Act 561/2004 Coll.), §20(9)(a) and (10). ↩

29. National Pedagogical Institute, preparing for the exam. ↩