Based on two projects, co-financed from the European Integration Fund, four regional FNISCs based in Ostrava, Pardubice, Plzeň and Zlín started to operate on the first of July this year. The target group consists of third-country nationals who are staying in the territory of the Czech Republic under a long-term or permanent residence permit. The objective of the projects is to create opportunities for long-term and strategic support of integration of foreign nationals. FNISC should initiate, organise and carry out the activities supporting social, legal, lingual and cultural position of foreign nationals in the said regions. The task of each FNISC is to ensure the creation of regional counselling platforms, which will be addressing the current problems of foreign nationals. Thus, especially the regional and municipal offices, the Foreign Police, the governmental and municipal police, employment agencies, tax authorities, trade licence offices and other entities are contacted with an offer of cooperation in each region. The goal is to create opportunities for improved information exchange and to provide impulses for taking measures responding to the current demand concerning the issues of integration of foreign nationals.
All services are provided for free. All the services stated below will be put in place in all the FNISCs on a step-by-step basis; the current offer, including the time schedule, is available on the website under the tabs of the individual regional centres.
The regional FNISCs ensure informational and consultancy activities in the social and legal fields; they organise courses in Czech language or social-cultural courses. These services are provided by qualified social workers, lawyers and other employees. The courses in Czech language are implemented at two levels – the basic one and the intensive one. The basic courses, which are organised for foreign nationals in the evening to make the courses accessible to the foreign nationals in terms of time, aim to ensure that the trainees master the rudiments of the Czech language. If there are interested parties, intensive courses are organised, which are designed for foreign nationals with an advanced knowledge of the Czech language and which can help them, for example, in preparations for the required examinations in the Czech language. Social-cultural courses provide foreign nationals with basic knowledge of the living conditions in the Czech Republic. In simple example and model situations, they can rehearse how to respond correctly in everyday situations. If there is sufficient demand on the part of foreign nationals, all these courses can also be organised outside the regional capital. On the premises of FNISC, there are an Internet room and a library available to the clients. In the library, they can read foreign press publications in English, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese and Chinese.