VietNamNet Bridge – The Czech Republic will continue considering the granting of long-term visas, while ensuring the grant of the short-term Schengen visa for Vietnamese people, said the Czech Ambassador to Vietnam.

The Czech Ambassador to Vietnam, Michal Kral.

Answering VietNamNet’s question about visas for Vietnamese citizens, the Ambassador said the Czech Republic would continue considering resuming visa grants at this year’s end or early next year.

Regarding the reasons that the Czech Republic temporarily stopped granting long-term visas and residence status to Vietnamese citizens, the Czech Ambassador admitted that the percentage of Vietnamese in the Czech Republic who violate local laws is not high, but he said concerns about criminals should be understood in a wider context.

“The Czech Republic wants to protect the interests of immigrants and create a safe social environment for local people and foreigners who live in the Czech Republic,” Kral said.

The Ambassador said they are unable to solve the problems of criminals by unilateral solutions, but thanks to bilateral cooperation between the host country and the countries of immigrants.

“This is the topic that we can continue discussing with the Vietnamese government in future dialogues,” he said.

The diplomat said the halt of visa grants is not simply related to visas, but Czech Republic wanting to reconsider immigration.

Regarding the question of why Vietnam is not on the list of countries that can receive green cards from the Czech Government, Kral said the Czech Republic wants to strengthen its green card grant management system to ensure those who receive the cards are capable and skilled.

Accordingly, the Czech Republic is considering amending its Constitution in relations with long-term migration.

In November the Czech Republic Embassy in Hanoi announced it would stop receiving applications for long-term visa and residence status for Vietnamese citizens until December 31, 2008.

Vietnam said that this move is inappropriate to the agreement between leaders of the two countries and the friendly, traditional cooperation ties between Vietnam and the Czech Republic.

The community of Vietnamese is one of the largest communities of foreigners in the Czech Republic, with approximately 60,000 people.

Xuan Linh