The conditions of entry and residence of foreigners in Slovakia are regulated by Act No. 404/2011 on Residence of Foreigners and Amendment and Supplementation of Certain Acts (hereinafter referred to as the “Act on Residence of Foreigners”).
According to the Act on Residence of Foreigners, everyone who is not a citizen of the Slovak Republic (SR) is considered a foreign national. However, the residence of European Union nationals, who are considered to be foreigners as well, is regulated by special provisions. A third-country national is anyone who is neither a citizen of the Slovak Republic nor of the European Union, as well as a person without citizenship.
The following information will, therefore, relate only to the so-called third-country nationals.
As a foreigner, you can apply for one of three types of residence:
- Temporary residence;
- Permanent residence;
- Tolerated residence.
Temporary Residence
Temporary residence entitles a third-country national to stay, travel and re-enter the territory of the Slovak Republic at the time for which it was granted to him by the police. Temporary residence is tied to one purpose. If a third-country national wishes to pursue an activity other than that for which he or she has been granted temporary residence, he or she must submit a new application for temporary residence, unless otherwise provided by the Act on Residence of Foreigners. The purpose of the temporary residence is performed by a third-country national on the territory of the Slovak Republic.
Temporary residence may be granted by the police to a third-country national:
a) for the purpose of business (§ 22),
b) for the purpose of employment (§ 23),
c) for the purpose of study (§ 24),
d) for the purpose of a special activity (§ 25),
e) for the purpose of research and development (§ 26),
f) for the purpose of family reunification with a family member who has a valid residence permit in the Slovak Republic (§ 27),
g) for the purpose of fulfilling official duties by civilian components of the armed forces (§ 28),
h) a third-country national who has the status of a Slovak living abroad (§ 29),
i) a third-country national who has been granted long-term resident status in another Member State (§ 30).
A temporary residence is also a stay based on the European Union Blue Card.
The temporary residence permit may be granted by the police department for the time necessary to achieve the purpose declared by the applicant, for the purposes of: entrepreneurship (for a maximum period of 3 years), employment (maximum 5 years), study (maximum 6 years), special activity (maximum for 2 years), research and development (for a maximum of 2 years), family reunification (for a maximum of 5 years), or performance of duties by civilian components of the armed forces (for a maximum of 5 years); recognition of the status of a Slovak living abroad (for 5 years), recognition of the status of a person with a long-term residence in another Member State (for a maximum of 5 years), residence on the basis of a European Union Blue Card (for a maximum of 4 years).
Permanent Residence
Permanent residence entitles a third-country national to stay, travel and re-enter the territory of the Slovak Republic at the time for which he was granted by the police department, unless otherwise provided by the Act on Residence of Foreigners.
Permanent residence is:
a) permanent residence for five years (family reunification with a family member who is a citizen of the Slovak Republic),
b) permanent residence for an indefinite period,
c) the residence of a third-country national with the recognized status of a long-term resident of the European Union.
Tolerated Residence
Tolerated residence is a special type of residence, which can be granted to a foreign national exceptionally for a short time period in order to overcome a specific situation
How and where to apply for residence?
An application for temporary residence shall be submitted by the third-country national in person abroad at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic accredited to the State which issued him or her travel document or the State in which he resides; if there is no such embassy or in cases worthy of special consideration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall, in agreement with the Ministry of the Interior, designate another embassy at which the third-country national applies for temporary residence. An application for temporary residence may be submitted by a third-country national in person at the Foreign police department in Slovak republic, if:
- is staying in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of a valid residence permit,
- resides in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of the granted tolerated residence [§ 58 par. 1 letter a) to c) or par. 2],
- resides in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of a granted national visa (§ 15);
- is a third - country national for whom a visa is not required, or
- is a holder of a Slovak certificate living abroad.
The application for permanent residence is submitted by the third-country national in person abroad at the at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic accredited to the State which issued him or her travel document or the State in which he resides. An application for permanent residence may be lodged in person by a third-country national with the Foreign police in Slovak republic, if
- is staying in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of a valid residence permit,
- resides in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of the granted tolerant residence (§ 58 par. 1 letters a) to c) or par. 2),
- resides in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of a granted national visa (§ 15);
- is staying in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of a Schengen visa issued by another Member State on the basis of an agreement on representation in issuing Schengen visas between the Slovak Republic and another Member State,
- is a third - country national for whom a visa is not required, or
- is a holder of a Slovak certificate living abroad.
Applying for residence in Slovak republic with national visa
If applicant decides to apply for residence in Foreign Police in Slovak republic in person and needs national visa to travel to Slovak republic the following procedure applies:
An application for a national visa (according to § 15), in connection with the application for a residence permit at the Foreign Police Department in SR, may be submitted by a third-country national at the territorially accredited Embassy of the Slovak Republic, depending on the country of issue of the travel document or residence. The applicant for a national visa submits complete documentation for residence to justify the application for national visa, according to the individual purposes of stay, which he intends to submit when applying for residence at the territorially competent department of the Foreign Police in SR. The national visa is issued usually within 7 calendar days, however the legal period of issuance is up to 30 calendar days.
Please find the:
And
Applying for residence at the embassy
The application for residence is submitted by the third-country national on an official form (
Application for residence (pdf; 388.05 KB)). When submitting an application for a residence permit, the third-country national is obliged to submit a valid passport and all the supporting documents listed in the next paragraph. If the embassy does not accept the application for temporary or permanent residence for five years, it shall provide the third-country national with written information on which documents he must provide in support of the application for residence in order for his application to be accepted. The embassy that received the application will conduct a personal interview with the applicant for residence in order to assess the application in advance. The embassy that received the application shall issue an acknowledgment of receipt to the applicant on the day the application is submitted.
List of documents required to apply for residence
It is necessary to prepare different types of supporting documents for individual types of residence. Lists of documents together with fees for the most requested types of residence can be found below:
