In the almost seven years Denis Palekha has been in the Czech Republic, he has gotten used to one thing more than any other: waiting. In this case, he waits to own a flat in his adopted country.

Now, as lawmakers are poised to pass a bill that would cut in half the amount of the time it takes foreigners to get a permanent residency permit, the wait of Palekha and thousands of others seems about to end.

"People have been talking about it for a long time," says Palekha, who moved from his native Russia with a tightknit group of compatriots after the Russian financial crisis in 1998. He sits smoking a pipe in his spacious Anděl apartment as he considers the issue. "And they knew that a change in the law was eventually going to occur."

Currently, foreigners living in the Czech Republic for at least 10 years are eligible for permanent residency status. The new law, which is widely expected to pass the Senate soon, sets a five-year minimum.

An estimated 17,000 people applied for permanent residency permits in 2005. The Interior Ministry says Palekha's family is in a category of as many as 30,000 foreigners who have lived here for more than five years and would qualify for permanent resident status if the bill passes.

The Chamber of Deputies, which overwhelmingly approved the measure earlier this month, delivered it to the Senate Feb. 21. It follows the recent bill President Václav Klaus signed allowing former Czech citizens who fled the country during communist times to regain their citizenship.

Long time coming

The measure also comes nearly three years after a European Commission directive, which requires European Union member states to allow long-term resident status to all foreigners after five years of continuous residence. Currently, only EU citizens can apply for permanent residence in the Czech Republic after five years.

The country was required to change that law by Jan. 24.

"It is important to say that foreigners under no circumstances can have the same legal status as a Czech citizen," says Jana Matějusová, Interior Ministry spokeswoman. "But with a permanent residency permit, they can come closer to it."

Permanent residents are not allowed to vote or join either the police or military. But permanent residency affords foreigners significant benefits.

With that status, they are allowed to own property and no longer have to go through the oft-lamented trip to the Foreigners' Police to apply for a temporary residency permit every year.

A permanent resident also has better access to state healthcare benefits.

Since the country has held off passing this bill for a while now, considerable confusion — even at the Foreigners' Police — remains about when it takes effect, says Robert Hanawalt, an American expatriate who helps other foreigners in the permit process.

Still, Hanawalt says he expects an increase in business when the law takes effect.

"Enough people are here legally on visas that will be thinking, 'Why not go for it?' It's going to make a lot of things easier once it is taken care of," he says.

Benefiting business

Though the EU is requiring the country to implement the law, Czech officials see it as a benefit.

"More foreigners with permanent residence will strengthen the country's potential," says Klára Krejčí, a spokeswoman for the Foreigners' Police. "Permanent residence facilitates security and fuels interest in the Czech Republic and jobs it offers."

Indeed, the law would be a boon for the ruling Social Democrats (ČSSD), who vowed to get more foreigners to settle here in the next election term.

Party officials say the country lacks the qualified work force needed to draw foreign investment, and says that bringing in foreign workers will ensure an influx of foreign money.

More than 110,000 people are registered as foreign employees, and the country issued a record number 65,000 self-employment licenses in 2004.

More hurdles

Palekha says he left Russia in part because of the corruption and red tape that is rampant in his native country. But the very things in Russia that made him seek out a new country are likely to keep his dream of becoming a permanent resident here some ways off.

The process of getting a Russian criminal background check is so convoluted that Palekha estimates it alone would take at least eight months to complete.

"I will not get it before my temporary permit expires this year," he says. "After eight months, I can get a new permit and then start the process of getting permanent residency."

He says that it could take as long as 18 months to get permanent residency after the current bill becomes law.

Wouldn't it just be easier to just marry a Czech woman?

Palekha laughs.