Czech Republic

Our relationship with the Czech Republic

We have a friendly relationship with the Czech Republic and 2013 marked the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations. 

The Czech Republic and New Zealand enjoy a strong record of cooperation in multilateral areas. As small countries, we each work through international bodies to ensure our voices are heard. The Czech Republic and New Zealand served together on the United Nations Security Council in 1993-94.

We have a reciprocal working holiday scheme in place which enables 1,200 young Czech working holiday makers to travel to New Zealand each year.

There are strong links between our countries dating back generations and a small community of Czechs in New Zealand. Bohemians, Moravians and Slovaks first came to New Zealand in the 1860s. More recent migration followed in the late 1960s. More than 3,700 Czechs visit New Zealand each year. Approximately 100 New Zealanders are long-term residents in the Czech Republic.  A number of New Zealand soldiers who fell in World War II are also buried in Commonwealth War Graves in the Czech Republic.

A number of prominent Czechs have contributed to New Zealand’s cultural landscape including artist Gottfried Lindauer, whose portraits of Māori were exhibited in his birthplace, Pilsen, from March to May 2015 as a keynote event of Pilsen’s year as the ‘Europe Capital of Culture’. More recently Fred Turnovsky ONZ, OBE (1916-1994), a well-known, Prague-born, Wellington businessman was influential in the development of music and arts funding in New Zealand.

The Czech Australia and New Zealand Association (CANZA), based in Prague, is active and hosts many community and business events year round.

Information about New Zealand’s Working Holiday Scheme with the Czech Republic(external link) is available on the Immigration New Zealand website.

Trade

New Zealand’s trade with the Czech Republic is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

There is potential for growth in services trade in education and tourism, particularly as a number of Czech universities increasingly offer a range of courses and degrees in English. We already have some science and education links, most notably through Lincoln University.

Embassies

• New Zealand is represented in the Czech Republic by the New Zealand Embassy to Germany
• The Czech Republic is represented in New Zealand by the Embassy of the Czech Republic

Recent official visits

New Zealand to the Czech Republic

• April 2014: Special Envoy Jim Bolger visited to discuss New Zealand's bid for a non-permanent seat on the UNSC
• October 2014: Auckland Mayor Len Brown visited and met with the Mayor of Prague, Tomas Hudecek
• April 2013: Hon Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited to promote New Zealand's bid for a non-permanent seat on the UNS

Czech Republic to New Zealand

• November 2019: Chamber of Deputies’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Tlapa. The visit also marked the 30th Anniversary of the ‘Velvet Revolution’, which saw the end of the one-party government in the former Czechoslovakia