A shake-up of Czechia’s asylum-support system takes effect this week after the Ministry of the Interior quietly cancelled EU-co-funded legal-aid projects run by non-governmental organisations. Instead, the state has issued a new tender worth more than CZK 23 million for a single commercial law firm to provide advice inside reception and detention centres.
![Czech Interior Ministry Drops NGO Legal Aid, Opts for Costlier Law-Firm Contract for Asylum Seekers]()
Global mobility teams looking for up-to-date guidance on Czech entry formalities—including humanitarian, work and business visas—can also tap digital platforms such as VisaHQ, which maintains a dedicated Czech Republic portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) and offers document-check, appointment scheduling and courier services. While VisaHQ does not replace specialised asylum counsel, its tools can streamline passport-validity checks and ensure that displaced employees arrive with the correct paperwork.
Until now, asylum applicants could consult either NGO lawyers—whose work was 75 % financed from the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF)—or attorneys retained directly by the ministry. Over the past two years, the NGO option cost the taxpayer roughly CZK 5.5 million, compared with CZK 22.8 million for the private-sector contract. Critics say switching to the more expensive model makes little fiscal sense and undermines independent oversight of asylum decisions. Human-rights groups such as the Organisation for Aid to Refugees (OPU) warn that access will be further restricted because NGO staff may now enter facilities only with a signed power of attorney—a document many new arrivals cannot produce before their first interview. The Office of the Public Defender of Rights has called the move “non-standard and unexplained,” noting that the ministry could have kept using AMIF money instead of tapping the national budget. For global mobility managers relocating staff under asylum or humanitarian programmes, the change translates into longer lead times and potentially higher costs for professional representation. Employers sponsoring displaced professionals—Syrian IT specialists or Afghan engineers, for example—should budget for private legal fees and ensure that newcomers receive clear instructions on granting power of attorney before arrival. The Interior Ministry argues that merging the two parallel systems will simplify procurement and allow EU funds to be “re-allocated to other integration activities.” Yet observers fear the policy could face legal challenges if asylum refusal rates rise. Companies with CSR commitments to refugee hiring may wish to engage alternative pro-bono networks or lobby for the reinstatement of NGO access.
Global mobility teams looking for up-to-date guidance on Czech entry formalities—including humanitarian, work and business visas—can also tap digital platforms such as VisaHQ, which maintains a dedicated Czech Republic portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) and offers document-check, appointment scheduling and courier services. While VisaHQ does not replace specialised asylum counsel, its tools can streamline passport-validity checks and ensure that displaced employees arrive with the correct paperwork.
Until now, asylum applicants could consult either NGO lawyers—whose work was 75 % financed from the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF)—or attorneys retained directly by the ministry. Over the past two years, the NGO option cost the taxpayer roughly CZK 5.5 million, compared with CZK 22.8 million for the private-sector contract. Critics say switching to the more expensive model makes little fiscal sense and undermines independent oversight of asylum decisions. Human-rights groups such as the Organisation for Aid to Refugees (OPU) warn that access will be further restricted because NGO staff may now enter facilities only with a signed power of attorney—a document many new arrivals cannot produce before their first interview. The Office of the Public Defender of Rights has called the move “non-standard and unexplained,” noting that the ministry could have kept using AMIF money instead of tapping the national budget. For global mobility managers relocating staff under asylum or humanitarian programmes, the change translates into longer lead times and potentially higher costs for professional representation. Employers sponsoring displaced professionals—Syrian IT specialists or Afghan engineers, for example—should budget for private legal fees and ensure that newcomers receive clear instructions on granting power of attorney before arrival. The Interior Ministry argues that merging the two parallel systems will simplify procurement and allow EU funds to be “re-allocated to other integration activities.” Yet observers fear the policy could face legal challenges if asylum refusal rates rise. Companies with CSR commitments to refugee hiring may wish to engage alternative pro-bono networks or lobby for the reinstatement of NGO access.
