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Studying in Czechia for Kazakh Students: Tuition-Free in Czech, the Visa in Astana, Apostille and Budget

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A citizen of Kazakhstan can enrol at a Czech university and study tuition-free on a Czech-taught programme at a public university: the fee rule does not depend on nationality, only on reaching the faculty's language level (usually B2). The study visa or residence permit is handled by the Czech Embassy in Astana, but you cannot book the appointment yourself: the Czech university or school registers you by email. The consular fee is $116 (CZK 2,500, about KZT 51,000), you must show $5,381 (CZK 115,810, about KZT 2.37 million) for a year, and your police clearance certificate needs a Kazakh apostille. The Czech Ministry of the Interior decides within 60 days. If you also hold Russian citizenship, the embassy will not accept the application.

At a glance Position on 1 October 2026
Tuition-free option Yes, Czech-taught programmes at public universities, for the standard length plus one year
Where to apply for the visa Czech Embassy in Astana: 15/1 Kabanbay Batyr Ave, Q2 business centre, 7th floor; or a Czech embassy in a country where you hold long-term or permanent residence
How to book Only through a Czech educational institution: email to astana.student@mzv.gov.cz; reply within a month, current wait 21–30 days
Fast track "Režim student" programme: 30 places a month for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan combined, nominated by the university
Fee $116 (CZK 2,500, about KZT 51,000)
Funds for a year $5,381 (CZK 115,810, about KZT 2.37 million); half for applicants under 18
Apostille On Kazakh school certificates, diplomas and police clearance certificates
Czech Government Scholarships 2027/28 Kazakhstan is not on the list of eligible countries
An elevated view of tiled roofs and a tower spire, a wide river with a weir and a wooded island, with bridges and hills beyond
An elevated view of the Vltava and Prague by Novotného lávka. Photo: Valentin F.R. / source, CC0.

Routes after school, college, university and grade 9

Your starting point Realistic route Time to first year
Certificate of general secondary education, no Czech Preparatory year in Czechia, then a tuition-free Czech-taught degree About 2 years from decision to first year
Certificate plus Czech at B2 Apply to Czech-taught programmes directly from Kazakhstan 10–12 months
Certificate plus good English Fee-paying English-taught degree with no language year 8–12 months
College diploma Bachelor's, if the diploma gives access to university in Kazakhstan Same as school leavers
Bachelor's or specialist degree Master's in Czech (tuition-free) or English (fee-paying) 8–12 months, plus language for Czech programmes
Completed grade 9 Czech secondary school or gymnázium, taught in Czech Depends on the school and the visa

Czech universities do not use UNT scores; each faculty selects through its own exams, tests or interviews. Requirements and the comparison of options across the country are covered in universities in Czechia and applying to universities in Czechia; the country overview is on our Czech Republic page, and Czechia is compared with other destinations in studying abroad from Kazakhstan.

After grade 9

Czech secondary schools teach in Czech. For applicants educated abroad, the Schools Act offers a significant concession: on request, the head teacher waives the entrance exam in Czech language and literature if the applicant is studying abroad in the year of application and studied abroad for at least one of the three previous years, or studied abroad for two of the three previous years. The school still checks the Czech needed for study through an interview. The visa needs care. The Act on the Residence of Foreigners (s. 64) treats secondary education as "study" only within an exchange programme, so a regular place at a gymnázium or other secondary school leads to a long-term visa for a different purpose. For such cases the embassy in Astana gives a processing time of up to 120 days rather than the 60 days that apply to university study. The Czech school registers the applicant with the embassy, and the full document list for a minor, including parental consent, should be confirmed with the embassy before applying.

Is it really free for Kazakh students?

The tuition is free on Czech-taught programmes at public universities. Everything else costs money:

Item Amount Paid to
Czech preparatory course, if needed University or school rate; see Czech language preparatory courses Course provider
Visa or residence fee $116 (CZK 2,500, about KZT 51,000) Embassy
Certification of a translation at the embassy $28 (CZK 600, about KZT 12,000) per page Embassy
Nostrification of the school certificate by a regional authority $139 (CZK 3,000, about KZT 62,000) Regional authority
Assessment of the certificate by the faculty during admission Up to $49 (CZK 1,055, about KZT 22,000) for Czech-taught programmes Faculty
Shared dormitory room $182–375 (€160–330, about KZT 80,000–165,000) a month Dormitory
Food $170–261 (€150–230, about KZT 75,000–115,000) a month —
Health insurance Insurer's rate, cover of at least $454,200 (€400,000) Insurer

The visa funds of $5,381 (CZK 115,810) are not a fee: they are your living budget, which you have to prove. On an English-taught programme, add tuition, for example $2,271 (€2,000, about KZT 1 million) a year at ČZU for the 2027/28 intake or $5,110 (€4,500, about KZT 2.25 million) a year at BUT's FEEC for non-EU students. Fees by university are compared in English-taught degrees in Czechia, the full estimate in the cost of studying in Czechia.

Czech Government Scholarships for developing countries do not cover Kazakhstan in 2027/28: the list has 13 countries, including Georgia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Realistic support comes from university scholarships, the JCMM programme for students at Brno universities and Erasmus Mundus joint master's.

Documents from Kazakhstan: apostille and translations

Apostille

Both Czechia and Kazakhstan are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so Kazakh documents are authenticated with an apostille rather than consular legalisation. Only Kazakh authorities can issue it, and according to the Hague Conference the competence is split by document type:

Document Apostille issued by
School certificate, transcript, college diploma Ministry of Education (documents from primary, basic and general secondary, technical and vocational education)
University diploma and transcript Ministry of Science and Higher Education
Police clearance certificate issued by the prosecutor's office Prosecutor General's Office
Civil registry and notarial documents Ministry of Justice

The ministries may delegate this to their regional bodies, so check the current filing procedure when you apply. Czech universities require the apostille on a Kazakh school certificate: in Charles University's table of authentication forms, Kazakhstan is among the countries where an apostille, not a certified copy, is needed.

Translations

The embassy in Astana accepts documents only in Czech. There are two lawful options:

  1. Court translation in Czechia. Done by a translator on the Czech Ministry of Justice register; the embassy knows of no such translator working in Kazakhstan. You send the original to Czechia, the translation is bound to it and returned to you. An electronic translation with a qualified signature is not accepted for the visa.
  2. Local translation certified at the embassy. A translation agency in Kazakhstan translates the document and the embassy certifies the translation: $28 (CZK 600) per page, paid in cash in euros or by card, in about 30 minutes. Book in advance via astana.consulate@mzv.gov.cz; translations are not certified on the day of your visa application.

Two embassy rules save translation costs: bank statements and balance confirmations are accepted in English, and the apostille itself needs no translation; bring it with the original, and it stays bound to the document and its translation.

If a document exists only in Kazakh, an authorised officer of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Prague can translate it into Czech, after which the translation is certified by the legalisation department of the Czech Foreign Ministry.

For nostrification and university admission, the rules of the regional authority and the faculty apply, not the embassy's, and translation requirements may differ. See nostrification in Czechia.

The study visa at the Czech Embassy in Astana

  1. Admission. Obtain confirmation of admission to a university or preparatory course.
  2. Registration via the institution. The Czech university or school emails astana.student@mzv.gov.cz with the institution's name and a student-booking note in the subject line, only the student's surname, first name, passport number and email in the body, and the admission confirmation attached. One email can cover several students. The appointment date is sent to the student within a month; at the end of July 2026 the embassy reported a 21–30 day wait. Assigned dates cannot be changed.
  3. Režim student. If your university takes part, it can nominate you for the fast track. The quota is 30 places a month for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan together. Under MŠMT rules, only students who sat an entrance exam (not waived), whose language of instruction was verified by the university and who finished their previous studies less than three years ago can be nominated.
  4. Applying in person. A passport no older than 10 years, valid for at least 18 more months, with two blank pages; the application form in capital Latin letters; two 35 × 45 mm photos; the university confirmation; proof of funds; proof of accommodation; a Kazakh police clearance certificate with an apostille, plus certificates from any country where you lived more than 6 months in the past 3 years (not needed under age 15); copies of everything. Apart from the passport and civil registry documents, papers must be no older than 180 days.
  5. Possible interview. It is held in Czech but can be conducted in Russian or English; if you speak none of these, bring an interpreter at your own cost.
  6. Decision. The Czech Ministry of the Interior decides on a study visa within 60 days of application. A positive decision is valid for 180 days from the application date; the visa is then issued for up to one year and allows travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180.

Proof of accommodation is a lease or a letter from your host with a signature certified by a Czech notary. If the landlord is a private person, the embassy recommends adding a land registry extract. Registration after arrival, the residence card and renewals are covered in student visa and residence in Czechia.

Dual Kazakh and Russian citizenship

Czech Government Regulation No. 55/2024 of 21 February 2024, in force since 1 April 2024, makes visa and residence applications by Russian citizens inadmissible at any Czech embassy, including when the applicant holds a second citizenship. A Kazakh passport does not change this. The exceptions cover family cases, certain Belarusian scholarship holders and cases confirmed by the Czech Foreign Minister; there is no separate exception for students holding a Russian passport. The Czech Foreign Ministry last updated its list of exceptions on 9 February 2026.

Recognising a Kazakh school certificate

Kazakh certificates are not recognised automatically in Czechia. There are two routes:

  • General nostrification by a regional authority (in Prague, the City Hall): $139 (CZK 3,000), valid anywhere in Czechia. If the curricula differ, the authority sets an exam; under the Schools Act, an applicant educated abroad does not take the nostrification exam in Czech language and literature.
  • Assessment by the faculty within admission: a fee of no more than $49 (CZK 1,055) for Czech-taught programmes, valid only for that faculty and that year.

Before leaving, ask your school for the transcript and a statement of subjects and hours by year: without it, the regional authority may set an exam. Apostille the certificate and transcript before departure, as it is harder to arrange from abroad.

Is a Czech degree recognised in Kazakhstan?

If you plan to work in Kazakhstan after graduating, budget for one more procedure. Under Article 39(7) of Kazakhstan's Law on Education, documents issued by foreign education institutions are recognised in Kazakhstan with the issue of a certificate; only Bolashak scholarship graduates are exempt from the recognition procedure. Keep the originals of your diploma and the transcript with grades and credits.

Calendar for a September 2027 start

When English-taught degree straight after school Czech-taught degree after a preparatory year
Autumn 2026 Shortlist 3–5 programmes, check English and certificate requirements Choose a field, apply for a preparatory course starting September 2027
Winter 2026/27 Submit applications, take tests; arrange apostille and translations Collect school documents for nostrification, get the apostille
Spring 2027 Receive the decision, ask the university to register you with the embassy Receive course confirmation, embassy registration via the school
Summer 2027 Apply in Astana, buy insurance, arrange housing Apply in Astana, buy insurance, arrange housing
September 2027 Start studies, register in Czechia Start the course, apply for nostrification
November 2027 – March 2028 — Apply to universities for 2028/29
September 2028 — First year of a tuition-free degree

Common mistakes

  • Expecting the embassy to book you on your own email: only a Czech educational institution can register you.
  • Bringing an agency translation not certified by the embassy, or trying to certify it on the day of the visa appointment.
  • Forgetting the apostille on the police clearance certificate, or bringing one older than 180 days.
  • Using a passport that expires within 18 months.
  • Counting on a Czech Government Scholarship: there is none for Kazakhstan in 2027/28.
  • Planning an application while also holding Russian citizenship.

FAQ

Yes, on a Czech-taught programme at a public university. You need to get your certificate recognised and prove Czech at the faculty's level, usually B2; most applicants without Czech take a preparatory year first. The university decides on admission through its own exams.

In Astana, or at the Czech embassy in another country if you live there on a long-term or permanent residence permit. Only the Czech university or school can book the appointment, by emailing the embassy. The legal decision period for a study application is 60 days, and the decision is made in Prague by the Ministry of the Interior.

$5,381 (CZK 115,810, about KZT 2.37 million) for 12 months; half for applicants under 18. Proof is a bank statement in your name with a copy of your international card, or a card linked to a parent's account plus that account's statement. The Ministry of the Interior assesses the funds as part of the application.

Yes. Czech universities require an apostille on Kazakh documents, issued by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Education for school and college documents. Without it, a faculty or regional authority may refuse to consider the document.

Yes, but a Kazakh agency's translation must be certified at the Czech Embassy in Astana: $28 (CZK 600) per page, by appointment and not on the day of the visa application. The alternative is a court translator in Czechia. Whether a university accepts a given translation is decided by its admissions office.

Czech Government Scholarships for 2027/28 do not include Kazakhstan. University fee waivers and awards, the JCMM programme in Brno and Erasmus Mundus joint master's remain available; the university, the centre or the consortium decides on each.

Programme selection, requirement checks and preparing documents for apostille, translation and submission are paid work by StudyU. The university decides on admission, the Czech Ministry of the Interior on the visa, and a regional authority or faculty on recognition.

Sources

If you want to work through your route from Kazakhstan, send a request: document preparation and submission are provided under an agreement with StudyU, and the university makes the admission decision.

During the free initial consultation, we clarify your goal, profile, timing, and budget and identify the next realistic step.

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