Embassy of New Zealand in Prague

New Zealand does not keep an embassy in Prague. The mission accredited to the Czech Republic is at 10117 Berlin, Friedrichstrasse 60 — see it on the map (52.51063, 13.39035). The nearest office on Czech soil is the honorary consulate at 110 00 Praha 1 Václavské nám. 838/9 — map. Honorary consuls handle a limited set of matters and keep short hours, but for a first question they are a great deal closer than the embassy.

The switchboard is open 09.30 – 13.00 14.00 – 16.00 /Mo-Fri/. Consular hours are usually shorter than the switchboard hours. Passport, visa and civil-status matters are almost always handled by appointment, so call 004930-20 62 10 or e-mail nzembber@infoem.org before you travel across the city. Missions close on Czech public holidays as well as on their own national day — for New Zealand that is February 6 – Waitangi Day.

In the Czech Republic a legally binding marriage is performed by a Czech registry office (matrika) or by a church authorised by the Czech state — not by a foreign embassy. A small number of countries allow a consular marriage between two of their own citizens; whether New Zealand is one of them is a question only its consular section can answer, so call 004930-20 62 10 or e-mail nzembber@infoem.org. What the mission does do in almost every case is issue or authenticate the paperwork the Czech registry office asks a foreigner for. The whole procedure, venue by venue, is in our guide to the legal requirements for getting married in the Czech Republic.

The Czech registry office asks a foreign national for a valid passport, a full birth certificate (the short version is not accepted), a certificate of no impediment — the certificate of legal capacity to marry, which is the document your own authorities or your embassy issue — an affidavit of marital status sworn before a notary, and, if you were married before, the divorce decree or the death certificate of your late spouse. Every foreign document has to be translated into Czech by a court-appointed translator and carry an apostille or consular legalisation. Start three to six months ahead: verification and appointment slots, not the ceremony, are what take the time. To ask which of these papers New Zealand issues for its citizens, call 004930-20 62 10 or e-mail nzembber@infoem.org. Our step-by-step marriage guide lists the fees and the order to do things in.

Bring your own — neither the embassy nor the Czech registry office provides one, and both give you a short, tightly scheduled slot in a small room, so a photographer who has already worked that setting is worth more than a big lens. Two practical points: a mission is a security-controlled building, so ask the consular section in advance whether a photographer may come in and whether their name and ID have to be registered at the door; and if the ceremony itself is at a Czech registry office, ask the matrika where the photographer is allowed to stand. We keep a list of photographers working in Prague and the best photo locations, a guide to Prague proposal photography for the moment before the paperwork, and a city photography guide for the portraits you will want afterwards on the Charles Bridge or in Letná.

No. Visas and residence permits for the Czech Republic are issued by Czechy embassies and consulates abroad and by the Czech Ministry of the Interior — never by another country’s mission in Prague. The mission of New Zealand works the other way round: it serves citizens of New Zealand living in or visiting the Czech Republic, and issues visas and documents for New Zealand to everyone else. If you are moving here rather than visiting, our guide to living in the Czech Republic covers permits, insurance and costs.

Report the loss or theft to the Czech police first and keep the report — the consular section will ask for it before issuing anything. Then contact the mission: call 004930-20 62 10 or e-mail nzembber@infoem.org. Ask for an emergency travel document, which is normally issued for a single journey home. Outside office hours many missions run an emergency duty line; the switchboard message or the website usually gives it, so note the number down before you need it. Because New Zealand has no embassy in Prague, the honorary consulate listed above is often the fastest first contact, even though the document itself comes from the embassy.

Yes. Besides the main office, New Zealand is represented by the following consulate in the Czech Republic:

• 110 00 Praha 1 Václavské nám. 838/9, tel. 234 784 777, Visits by Appointment, Mr. David CHIRNSIDE

They handle a narrower range of matters than an embassy — typically certifying documents, first-line emergency help and business contacts — and many open only a few hours a week, so call before you drive there.

The number already carries its own international prefix: dial +4930206210. Note that this is not a Czech number, so it is not a local call from Prague. Every number on this page is a tap-to-call link.

Usually yes, but only in one direction. A mission certifies signatures and copies for its own citizens and legalises documents issued in its own country. A Czech document that you need to use in New Zealand normally has to be apostilled by the Czech authorities first — the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for administrative documents, the Ministry of Justice for court and notarial ones — and only then presented to the consular section. Which route your particular paper takes depends on whether both countries are in the Hague Apostille Convention, so call 004930-20 62 10 or e-mail nzembber@infoem.org and describe the document before you pay for anything.