Total population | |
---|---|
10,236 (June 2020) [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Prague, [2] Blansko, [3] Plzeň [4] | |
Languages | |
Mongolian, Czech | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Mongolian diaspora |
Mongolians in the Czech Republic form one of the country's smaller ethnic groups. Although the workers from Mongolia comprised 3.6% of the foreign workforce as of 2008 [update] , the group has grown over the last decade and numbered 10,236 men and women holding Mongolian nationality by June 2020. [5] By 2011 they had declined both in numbers and in relative size to other foreign populations, having been surpassed by Russians and Moldovans. However, the group began to resume its growth after 2014 once again. Currently, a large group of Mongolians reside in the city of Ceska Lipa and its surrounding area. [6]
In the 13th century, Mongol military detachments carried out plunder and scorched-earth operations in parts of what is now the Czech Republic. Nowadays, in 2005, only 1,900 Mongolians lived in the Czech Republic, according to the local police; by 31 March 2006, that figure had grown slightly to 2,607 individuals, including 2,051 workers and 213 businessmen. [7] [2] The following year would see significant growth in the Mongolian population, which nearly tripled to 7,515 individuals by June 2007. [7] As of July 2008, an additional thirty to forty Mongolians were arriving in the Czech Republic for work every week, many via train. [8] Their population had been expected to continue to grow at a rapid pace, since Mongolia, along with Vietnam, was chosen in 2008 as one of the nations to supply manpower to the Czech Republic to replace North Korean guest workers, whose visas were not renewed after international concern that their wages were being confiscated by the North Korean government and used to support their nuclear programme. [9]
However, at the beginning of 2009, the Czech government decided they would no longer grant employment visas to Mongolian or Vietnamese labourers, in response to an economic downturn which had left 380,000 Czech citizens jobless. [10] Visa issuance officially halted on 1 April that year; the government stated it would resume at some unspecified future date. [11] They also announced a plan to offer €500 and a free plane ticket back to Ulaanbaatar for any Mongolian workers in the Czech Republic who lost their jobs; a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry stated that the plan was intended to prevent unemployed foreign workers from remaining in the country illegally. [12] From February-April, Mongolians formed 66% of the total 1,345 foreigners who took advantage of such offers from the Czech government. [11] In May 2011, a group of ninety Mongolians sued the Czech government over the restricted access to work visas, and in particular for refusing to process their applications online through the Visapoint system. [13]
Aside from the community in Prague, there are also about 500 Mongolians employed at a steering wheel-cover firm in the South Moravian Region town of Blansko, and a few hundred more in Plzeň. [4] [14]
Mongolians make up one of the larger groups of illegal migrants detained at the border with Slovakia. [15] Previously, Ukraine had been one of the main sources of illegal foreign workers for the Czech Republic, but many had moved on westward to other countries of the European Union, lured by higher wages; Mongolians have been one of the main groups which has replaced them. [8] The Czech government are working with the Mongolian government in efforts to control the illegal migration, in a programme similar to those they already operated with the governments of Moldova, Armenia, and Ukraine, which combined education in the source country about the danger of abuse that foreign workers face, and increased enforcement in the destination country. [16]
There are fifteen Czech work agencies with permits from the Czech government to import workers from Mongolia. However, only two such agencies have permits from the Mongolian government to recruit on their territory; many thus operate without authorisation. This lack of registration is the reason why Czech government figures consistently show a large number of migrants from Mongolia—such as a total of 2,000 in 2007—while Mongolian government statistics show just a small number of workers leaving their country with the Czech Republic as their destination. [17]
The Czech Republic is a Central European country, a member of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations. It entertains diplomatic relations with 191 countries of the world, around half of which maintain a resident embassy in the Czech capital city, Prague.
Mongolia has diplomatic relations with 191 UN states, the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union.
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The Czech Republic is bound to adopt the euro in the future and to join the eurozone once it has satisfied the euro convergence criteria by the Treaty of Accession since it joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. The Czech Republic is therefore a candidate for the enlargement of the eurozone and it uses the Czech koruna as its currency, regulated by the Czech National Bank, a member of the European System of Central Banks, and does not participate in European Exchange Rate Mechanism II.
The Czech passport is an international travel document issued to nationals of the Czech Republic, and may also serve as proof of Czech citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of Czech citizenship, the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from Czech consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case a Czech consular is absent, if needed.
Petra Hůlová is a Czech writer.
Czech Republic–Mongolia relations refer to the diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and Mongolia. The Czech Republic has an embassy in Ulaanbaatar. Both countries are members of the International Investment Bank (IIB) and formerly Comecon.
Czech Republic–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation. Relations have substantially deteriorated in recent years due to events such as the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russian sabotage of Czech ammunition depot in Vrbětice in 2014, poisoning of Sergei Skripal in 2018 and Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Czech Republic–Kosovo relations are foreign relations between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008 and Czech Republic recognized it on 21 May 2008. The Czech Republic opened an embassy in Pristina on 16 July 2008.
There are small number of resident Koreans in the Czech Republic, primarily citizens of South Korea.
Visa requirements for Hungarian citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed on citizens of Hungary by the authorities of other states.
Visa requirements for Austrian citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed by the authorities of foreign states on citizens of Austria. As of May 2023, Austrian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 191 countries and territories, ranking the Austrian passport 3rd in the world in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Bruneian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states which are imposed on citizens of Brunei. As of 28 September 2019, Bruneian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 165 countries and territories, ranking the Bruneian passport 21st in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley & Partners Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Bulgaria. As of May 2023, Bulgarian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 177 countries and territories, ranking the Bulgarian passport 14th overall in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley & Partners Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Cypriot citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Cyprus.
Visa requirements for Icelandic citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed on citizens of Iceland by the authorities of other states.
Visa requirements for Slovak citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Slovakia. As of May 2023, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 185 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 9th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Greek citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Greece. As of May 2023, Greek citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 187 countries and territories, ranking the Greek passport 8th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Norwegian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Norway. As of May 2023, Norwegian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 189 countries and territories, ranking the Norwegian passport 6th overall in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
The State Migration Service of Azerbaijan Republic is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of regulation of activities the sphere of migration taking in consideration issues of national security and stable social-economic and demographic development in Azerbaijan Republic. The committee is headed by Vusal Huseynov.