I would like to know if this document would be considered as Czech citizenship for my great grandfather and also what it means? Any assistance would be appreciated

by RepresentativeWeek88

2 comments

  1. No, not a proof of citizenship, at least not directly. It is a document confirming that your great grandfather had a “right of stay” (for the lack of better term) in the town of Skalice.

    This “right of stay” was a law existing approximately from 1850 to 1945 and it basically meant that you were eligible to vote in the town´s council elections. And if you ever became poor or homeless, your town had duty to take care of you (usually in a form of social housing).

    The “right of stay” was usually inherited from your father or mother (if father was unknown), wives gained the “right of stay” of their husbands. It also could be gained after 10 years of living in the village/town and if the local council approved it. Or if you were a civil servant, you automatically gained “right of stay” in the place you were posted to.

    Also, the “right of stay” was usually given only to citizens – so in this sense yes, it is an indirect proof of citizenship. But it has no legal value.

  2. Well, there’s one more tricky issue: up until recently (2014), Czechoslovakia and later Czechia didn’t permit double citizenship. This means that if your ancestors were granted SA citizenship in the past and didn’t live in SA as Czechoslovak citizens living abroad, they lost their original Austrian / Czechoslovak citizenship.

    The only exception is for those who emigrated from Czechoslovakia during communism (between February 25, 1948 and March 28, 1990) – they still lost their citizenship but they can regain it in a simplified way.

    [**https://cesky.radio.cz/moznost-znovuziskani-obcanstvi-8578186**](https://cesky.radio.cz/moznost-znovuziskani-obcanstvi-8578186)

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