About Slovakia

Slovakia is a small and colorful country in Central Europe, full of lovely surprises. Let’s explore it together! Read our quick reference guide with basic information about Slovakia.

Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest.

Slovak is a western Slavic language, very closely related to Czech and relatively close to Polish and the languages of the former Yugoslavia.

The most typical Slovak national food is sheep cheese gnocchi with bacon. They are from potato dough mixed with a special kind of sheep cheese – „bryndza“ that tastes best in the so called cottages of the shepherds or mountain chalets.

Permanent residence

Permanent residence can be obtained from 5 years to an unlimited period. It is given especially to those who are family members of citizens of Slovakia (spouse, child, other relatives), but also in other cases (eg. if it is in the interest of the Slovak Republic). 

In accordance with the Law of the National Council of Slovakia No. 404/2011 Coll. on the stay of foreigners in Slovakia (effective Jan. 1, 2012), persons intending to stay in Slovakia longer than a total of 90 days during any 6-month period must submit an application for a Residence Permit either at a Diplomatic or Consular Mission of the Slovak Republic in the country of their residence (Embassy of the Slovak Republic, 3523 International Court, NW, Washington D.C. 20008 or at the aliens police department in the district of their residency in Slovakia.

PERMANENT RESIDENCE PERMIT

Permanent residence permit is granted for 5 years, for an unlimited period or as  a long-term residence permit. It enables you to perform activities almost in the same scope as for the Slovak citizens.  

Permanent residence for 5 years 

You can apply for a permanent residence if you are a spouse of Slovak citizen and reside in Slovakia, or are a dependent relative of a Slovak citizen and reside in Slovakia, or an unmarried child under the age of 18 in care of a foreigner who is the spouse of a Slovak citizen and resides in Slovakia or of a foreigner who has a permanent residency permit for 5 years. 

Documents that need to be submitted with your application in person:

• Official application in Slovak language
• Valid passport
• Two photos in color (3 × 3.5 cm)
• Document that proves the purpose of application: marriage certificate issued in Slovakia and proof of the spouse’s permanent residence in Slovakia 
• Criminal Registry Extract from the country of your origin and the countries where you resided in the last 3 years for more than 90 days during 6 consecutive months
• Document on financial coverage of your residence in Slovakia in the amount of 12-times the statutory life minimum
• Document about your accommodation in Slovakia
• Administrative fee in the form of a fee stamp – exemption for spouses of Slovak citizens and dependent relatives in direct line. 

A document certifying the reason for the stay in Slovakia, such as:

1. preliminary job agreement issued by the appropriate Labor Center, or
2. notification of acceptance for study, medical treatment, training, etc., or
3. document on discontinuation of the procedure for issuing a Trade License from Trade Licensing Office (document must indicate that the missing long term stay permit is the only reason for the interruption of the procedure), or
4. verified copy of a Trade License Certificate, or
5. notarized copy of the entry into Commercial Register, or
6. notarized agreement on establishment of a company (by a Notary Public in Slovakia)

A document showing method and source of income in Slovakia

with a specified monthly figure (e.g. a copy of the bank statement by which the money is transferred to Slovakia, copy of the agreement between the applicant and his employer concerning salary, etc.)

A document certifying an accommodation contract, such as:

1. agreement on obtaining an apartment, or
2. document about the purchase of an apartment, or
3. legalized copy of an agreement of lease of an apartment, or
4. legalized statement from the owner of an apartment from whom the apartment is to be rented or with whom the apartment is to be shared including an opinion of the local Municipal Office, or
5. notarized certification from lodging facility (hotel, hostel, etc.)

Medical Examination Results of the following tests:

• FW (sedimentation)
• HbsAg
• BWR
• anti HIV1
• anti HIV2
• Bi (bilirubin, ALT, Urine chemical)
• X-ray of lungs with description

Locally, the tests can be performed only at the Oddelenie cudzokrajnych chorob, Fakultna nemocnica in Bratislava, Martin or Kosice.

Again, the documents cannot be older than 90 days  and all documents from abroad must be officially authenticated (apostille or superlegalization) and if they are in a foreign language they must be officially translated to Slovak language.

EU CITIZENS

RESIDENCE REGISTRATION OF AN EU CITIZEN

Even if you’re staying shorter than 90 days, you still need to report your stay after the first 10 days from entering Slovakia. If you are staying more than 90 days, you are required to register as a resident within 30 days after the first 90 days of your stay elapse. You register at the Foreign Police competent in the area of your residence. 

When you submit your registration, you receive immediately a document of registration for a residence permit from the police. Once your application is processed within 30 days, the police issues a plastic card stating your residence in Slovakia, which you can then use as a valid ID in the country (Pobytový preukaz občana EÚ). You can speed up the process and get the card issued within two days for a higher fee.

Documents that need to be submitted with your application in person:

• A valid ID or passport
• Two photos in color (3 × 3.5 cm)
• Proof of address
• Proof of your purpose of staying in Slovakia.

PERMANENT RESIDENCE PERMIT OF AN EU CITIZEN

A permanent residence permit entails foreign nationals to long-term residence in Slovakia as well as journeys abroad and back. It is a more stable type of residence, which is granted to foreign nationals for a longer period than temporary residence.

After the first five years of your stay in the country without any break, you can register for permanent residence in Slovakia.  As a result you will get a permanent residency permit with a validity of 10 years. 

Valid passport

In accordance with the above-cited law, the permit may only be issued in a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond the prospective stay in Slovakia.

Criminal History Record from FBI

Slovak authorities require a criminal history check and only allow one form of criminal history record from the United States and will patently refuse any other format of record that is not the accepted form. The only accepted form of criminal history verification is the FBI “Identity History Summary Check”. The Slovak government has waived the requirement for an ‘apostille’ for this record.

The Slovak Alien Police do not accept affidavits or other sworn statements in lieu of a criminal history record from the applicant’s home country. They do not accept security checks from a state authority even if it explicitly says on that clearance that the receiver was also checked in FBI databases. The U.S. Embassy cannot issue any type of document accepted by the Slovak authorities for this purpose. Given that Americans only have 90 days in Slovakia on a tourist visa before they must leave and that the FBI process currently takes approximately 12 weeks, we strongly recommend to those American citizens intending to apply for a residency permit in Slovakia to apply for the FBI background check while still in the U.S.,prior to their arrival in Slovakia.. Please note that the format of the background check issued by the FBI approved agencies known as “channelers” is not accepted by the Slovak authorities.

Advantages of obtaining a residence permit in SLOVAKIA

Freedom of movement in the Schengen area.

                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                  Favorable conditions for doing business.

Relatively high rates of economic development of the country.

                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                             Affordable and quality European education.

Low mortgage rates.

                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                Loyalty to immigrants.

The loyal immigration policy

of the state (minimum requirements

for obtaining a residence permit

based on the availability of business).

 

WORK IN SLOVAKIA

In Slovakia, only natives and citizens can work for any employer without a work visa or work permit. Citizens of the EU or EEA countries also do not need a work visa to work in Slovakia. All non-EU/EEA nationals require a work permit to work in Slovakia

Immigration UA provides official Slovakia work permit which allows you the opportunity to get a Work Visa D visa for multiple entries valid for 1 year. To obtain a work visa D, you need to submit your application in the embassy of Slovakia in your home country.

Work Permit for Slovakia

The work permit is granted for a maximum period of 2 years. For seasonal work it is maximum of 6 months – there has to be a break between two jobs of at least 6 months.

The work permit is not transferable. This means that it can only be granted for a job with a particular employer and that is also binding as regards the type of work and place of work. If you want to change employers, you must submit a new application.

The work permit is granted by the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, with a local competence in the future place of work. The statutory deadline for consideration of application for employment is 30 days.

Work Permit

When conceding a work permit, the relevant local Office for Labour, Social Affairs and Family shall take into consideration the situation in the labour market. The competent office can grant a work permit when the job vacancy cannot be occupied by a registered job seeker. Conceding a work permit is not granted by law.

Regardless of the situation in the labour market the Office can grant a work permit to a foreigner:

• if this is stipulated in an international agreement that binds the Slovak Republic,
• who will be employed for a specified period for the purpose of improving his/her qualification in the performed job (work-study program) for a period not longer than one year,
• under 26 years of age, who is engaged in occasional and temporary attachments in the frame of exchange scholarships or programs for the youth the Slovak Republic participates in,
• who carries out a systematic didactic or scientific activity as an educational employee, as an academic employee of a university, or as a scientific, research, or development employee in research activities in the Slovak Republic,
• who carries out spiritual activities by order of a registered church or religious society,
• who has been granted a permit for a tolerated stay and has been provided temporary refuge pursuant Act 48/2002 Coll. on the Stay of Foreigners, or cannot be deported pursuant § 2 letter e) of Act 480/2002 on Asylum.

Work permit is also required if the foreigner

• stands in working relationship with an employer seated or who has an organizational unit with labour-law personality seated outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, and who is sending him/her based on an agreement concluded with a legal or natural entity to carry out work in the territory of the Slovak Republic,
• will be employed in the cross-border area of the Slovak Republic and at least once a week will return to one of Slovakia’s bordering states, in which he/she has permanent residence.

Work permit obligation does not apply for foreigners:

• with permanent residence permit in the territory of the Slovak Republic,
• with Expatriate status,
• who have been granted asylum,
• who have been provided temporary refuge,
• whose employment activities in the territory of the Slovak Republic have not exceeded seven consecutive calendar days or a total of 30 calendar days within one calendar year, who are:
  
  • educational or academic employees of a university, or scientific, research or development
  • workers or participating in specialized scientific events,
  • performing artists taking part in an artistic event,
  • pupils or students under 26 years of age,
  • persons supplying goods or services in the Slovak Republic, or supplying or installing goods
  • based on a business agreement, or carrying out guarantee repairs and reparation works,
  • employed on the basis of an international agreement that binds the Slovak Republic, which
  • specifies that employing foreigners does not require work permit,
  • family members of a member of a diplomatic mission, of an employee of a consular office, or of
  • an employee of an international governmental organization seated in the territory of the Slovak
  • Republic if the international agreement concluded in the name of the government of the
  • Slovak Republic guarantees reciprocity,
  • members of a rescue unit providing aid on the basis of an international agreement on mutual
  • aid for the elimination of the effects of accidents and natural disasters, and in cases of
  • humanitarian aid,
  • members of the armed forces or of a civic unit of the armed forces of the sending state
  • (pursuant an Agreement among member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and
  • other states present in the Partnership for Peace concerning the status of armed forces),
  • conduct systematic professional preparation activities at schools and school premises included in
  • the network of schools, school premises or pre-school premises,
  • sent to the territory of the Slovak Republic by an employer seated in another Member State of
  • the European Union to carry out services provided by this employer,
  • associates or statutory bodies or members of a business society developing duties for the
  • business society by conducting activities in the territory of the Slovak Republic, or members of
  • a cooperative or statutory body or other bodies of a cooperative conducting activities for the
  • cooperative in the territory of the Slovak Republic,
  • employed in international public transport if sent to the territory of the Slovak Republic by their
  • foreign employer to carry out work,
  • accredited in the area of information media.

Slovakia Work Visas

The Slovak Republic, otherwise known as Slovakia, is an increasingly popular place to do business. If your business is planning an expansion into Slovakia, you will probably be aiming to build part of your workforce with foreign employees. To bring foreign workers to Slovakia, each employee will need a valid Slovakia work visa.

The Slovakian immigration and visa process can be difficult to navigate, with various kinds of visas available, a different language, complex requirements, and many other factors all causing possible delays for any employer that does not prepare appropriately.

Basic requirements for Slovakia work visas

Slovakia is a member of the European Union (EU), so anyone from EU or European Economic Area (EEA) countries does not need a visa to live and work there. However, any foreigners from outside the EU/EEA will need both a work visa and a work permit.

The requirements for Slovakian work permits and visas vary depending on the type of document and the person applying, but some of the basic requirements include:

• A valid passport and passport-sized photos
• Application forms
• Application fees
• Proof of funds
• Health insurance
• Contract of employment from a Slovakia-based employer
• Proof of work experience/qualifications

Types of Slovakia work visas

As a member of the EU, Slovakia has standard Schengen visas. Of the various options available, the short-stay (C) and long-stay (D) visas are the most suitable for foreign employees.

In addition to a visa, foreign workers will also need a work permit and to apply for temporary residence for the purpose of employment.

How can Royal HR Solution help?

Royal HR Solution specializes in assisting employers to build and grow a presence in Slovakia, and we are experts in obtaining work visas for Slovakia. Our Slovakia work visa team will provide reliable advice and bespoke outsourcing services to guide you through the country’s complicated immigration process effectively. We will ensure that you and your foreign workforce are in total compliance with Slovakia’s immigration and employment regulations, save you time, and provide answers to any questions you have along the way.

Additionally, we offer a wide selection of outsourcing options covering recruitment, payroll, HR, administration, and much more, even if you have not set up an official Slovakian entity.