Regional Assistance Centres for Ukraine (KACPU) have issued an updated holiday schedule covering 22 December 2025 through 2 January 2026. All 14 centres—including Prague, Brno and Ostrava—are completely closed on 24–26 December and again on 1 January, with half-day operations on 30–31 December. Full services resume Monday 5 January. The announcement, posted by the VisitUkraine portal on 31 December and echoed by VisaHQ today, affects thousands of refugees who need to extend Temporary Protection stickers or obtain social-service referrals.
Because Czech law requires in-person filing for TP renewals, applicants whose documents expire during the blackout risk falling out of legal status. KACPU advises using its on-line booking system for appointments from 5 January onward; email requests sent during the closure will not be processed. Mobility providers such as VisaHQ are offering courier submissions once offices reopen and recommend that employers of Ukrainian staff prepare duplicate employment confirmations to speed renewal.
![Czech Assistance Centres for Ukrainians Publish Holiday Hours, Warn of Limited Services Until 5 January]()
VisaHQ can bridge the gap during the holiday shutdown: through its Czech portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) the company offers a bilingual helpline, advance document checks, and priority courier drop-off of completed renewal files as soon as counters reopen, saving refugees valuable time and reducing the risk of status lapses.
The Ministry of the Interior confirms that a seven-day grace period will apply for TP extensions delayed solely due to centre closures, but warns that overstays beyond that window could jeopardise future residence applications. NGOs have set up hotlines in Ukrainian, Russian and English to field urgent queries.
Practical tip: Ukrainian employees whose protection expires before 7 January should carry proof of their original appointment request and the new January slot to avoid fines during police checks.
Because Czech law requires in-person filing for TP renewals, applicants whose documents expire during the blackout risk falling out of legal status. KACPU advises using its on-line booking system for appointments from 5 January onward; email requests sent during the closure will not be processed. Mobility providers such as VisaHQ are offering courier submissions once offices reopen and recommend that employers of Ukrainian staff prepare duplicate employment confirmations to speed renewal.
VisaHQ can bridge the gap during the holiday shutdown: through its Czech portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) the company offers a bilingual helpline, advance document checks, and priority courier drop-off of completed renewal files as soon as counters reopen, saving refugees valuable time and reducing the risk of status lapses.
The Ministry of the Interior confirms that a seven-day grace period will apply for TP extensions delayed solely due to centre closures, but warns that overstays beyond that window could jeopardise future residence applications. NGOs have set up hotlines in Ukrainian, Russian and English to field urgent queries.
Practical tip: Ukrainian employees whose protection expires before 7 January should carry proof of their original appointment request and the new January slot to avoid fines during police checks.
