Around 1.1 million foreigners were living in the Czech Republic at the end of March. More than half of them were Ukrainians, followed by Slovaks, Vietnamese and Russians. This was announced by the Ministry of the Interior in a report on migration in the first quarter of this year. According to the ministry, most foreigners – almost a third – live in Prague.
At the end of the first quarter of 2025, a total of 1,073,303 people with foreign citizenship were registered in the Czech Republic, which corresponds to around 10% of the country’s total population. Citizens of Ukraine (566,151) dominate among long-term residents of foreign nationality, followed by citizens of Slovakia (122,455) and Vietnam (69,281). The significant increase in the number of foreigners in the Czech Republic is mainly due to the granting of temporary protection to people fleeing Russian military aggression in Ukraine.
Integration of foreigners in the Czech Republic
The centres supporting the integration of foreigners, present in every region of the country, play a central role in integrating foreigners into Czech society. Most of these centres are run by the Administration for Refugee Institutions – with the exception of those in Prague (run by Prague City Hall), Brno (South Moravian Region), Ústí nad Labem (Advisory Centre for Integration, o. s.) and Hradec Králové (Diocesan Catholic Charity).
These integration centres form a nationwide network that ensures the implementation of Czech integration policy for foreigners legally residing in the Czech Republic on a permanent basis. Since the beginning of 2021, the centres have also organised so-called adaptation and integration courses, which are mandatory by law for certain groups of foreigners.
Illegal migration
In the first quarter of 2025, the Czech Republic recorded a slight increase in illegal migration compared to the previous year – a total of 2,527 people were recorded, corresponding to an increase of 6.7%. The majority of these (97.3% or 2,460 people) were cases of illegal residence. Only 67 people (2.7%) were apprehended while attempting to cross the external border of the Schengen area illegally.
The most common nationalities this year were people from Ukraine, Moldova and Vietnam, which together accounted for almost two-thirds (65.6%) of all detected cases.
According to the UNHCR, a total of 30,889 migrants entered Europe illegally via the Mediterranean in the first quarter of 2025 – a decrease of 20% compared to the first quarter of 2024 and 49% compared to the last quarter of 2024.
Nationalities of foreigners officially living in the Czech Republic (Q1 2025):
- Ukraine: 566,151
- Slovakia: 122,455
- Vietnam: 69,281
- Russia: 38,253
- Romania: 21,148
- Bulgaria: 17,690
- Poland: 17,677
- Germany: 14,373
- Mongolia: 11,802
- Hungary: 11,545
- …
- USA: 9,867
- Great Britain: 7,847
