Last year, the Czech immigration police uncovered 5,677 foreigners staying illegally in the Czech Republic, 685 more than in 2018.
“All indicators show a slight increase. However, this rise is not that alarming over the past ten years,” said Deputy Police President Martin Vondrášek.
Most illegal foreigners were uncovered by the police authorities during their illegal stay in the Czech Republic. These foreigners usually entered the Czech Republic legally but did not leave the country by the set deadline.
Ukrainians represented the largest group of illegal foreigners in the Czech Republic, with 1,546 of them discovered by Czech police last year, followed by migrants from Moldova, Vietnam, and Russia.
The highest number of illegal foreigners, nearly 2,000 people, was found in Prague.
In the case of the illegal transit migration, Czech law enforcement detained 266 persons, 75 more than in 2018.
Most often, migrants came to the Czech Republic through the border with Slovakia or via intra-Schengen flights. Their destination country was primarily Germany. Most often them were citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Iran.
Last year, the Czech Foreign Police also decided to deport 7,067 people. Compared to 2018, this is an increase of 1,354 people.
“Deportation is issued in the case of foreigners who violate Czech laws. In 3,940 cases, expulsion was imposed due to unauthorized employment,” added Foreign Police Director Milan Majer. According to him, the majority of the deported people were citizens of Ukraine and Moldova.
