The 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”) is the most important law regulating the residence of foreign nationals in the Slovak Republic.
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 Union nationals, who are considered to be foreigners as well, is regulated by special provisions (more information in the article Residence of Union citizens and their family members in Slovakia). A third-country national is anyone who is neither a citizen of the Slovak Republic nor of the Union, as well as a person without citizenship.
The following information will, therefore, relate only to the so-called third-country nationals.
A foreign national in Slovakia may apply for one of the following types of residence:
A temporary residence can be granted for one of the purposes listed in the Act on Residence of Foreigners (e.g. employment, study, family reunion). For more information see the category Temporary Residence. You may apply for a permanent residence for the purpose of a family reunion with your Slovak family member or in case you have had several years of continuous legal residence in Slovakia. Please check If you meet the conditions for obtaining permanent residence. A 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. Please find further information about the conditions for granting one of these types of residence, as well as the list of documents required.
Lawyers advice:
It is very difficult to solve the situation of a foreign national who resides in Slovakia illegally and should, therefore, be avoided.
Documents for download:
Fact Sheets on Temporary Residence
Fact Sheets on Permanent Residence
Welcome to Slovakia 2019: The booklet contains the basic information regarding the residence and the employment of third-country nationals, the information about the education system, health care, social security and other important domains of life in Slovakia.