EU Blue Card

Blue Card is a type of temporary residence, which is issued to third country nationals for the purpose of highly qualified employment in Slovakia. The basic requirement for acquiring the Blue Card is a higher professional qualification in the form of a university education. Blue Card entitles you to enter, reside and work in Slovakia, to travel abroad and back.

The application for the Blue Card must be submitted at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic accredited to the country of origin or the country of residence of the foreign national. If the foreigner resides in Slovakia legally, they may submit the application at the competent Foreign Police Department according to the place of residence. 

The employer must report a job vacancy to the Central Labour Office at least 15 working days before applying for the Blue Card.

Documents to obtain a Blue Card:

1. Official application form for temporary residence printed, completed in Slovak language, and signed by the applicant;
2. Valid passport;
3. Two colour photographs (3 x 3.5 cm);
4. Employment contract (minimum duration must be 1 year, minimum agreed salary must be 1.5 times the wage in Slovak national economy in the relevant field), or a promise of employment (in this case, the employment contract must be submitted within 30 days of collecting the Blue Card).
5. Document on recognition of education (in the case of regulated professions the decision is issued by the Ministry of Education of the SR, the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas, and in the case of unregulated professions the decision is issued by the university which provides a course in the same or related field of study, as indicated in the document on education);
6. Criminal Registry Extract from the country of origin and the countries of residence of the foreigner during the last 3 years for more than 90 days during 6 consecutive months (not older than 90 days);
7. Document on accommodation in Slovakia (not older than 90 days);
8. Administrative fee EUR 250
9. Administrative fee of EUR 6 (for the residence card).

You can find the official application form of the promise of employment here or on the website of the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family or at every Labour Office. 

The Foreign Police will issue a decision within 30 days of the date of submitting your complete application.

Within 30 days of collecting the residence card (if submitted at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic abroad) or of applying (if submitted at the Foreign Police Department) the foreign national must submit a medical report confirming the absence of diseases which could endanger public health (not older than 30 days) at the competent Foreign Police department.

A Blue Card is issued for 4 years, or if the duration of the employment relationship is shorter than 4 years, the Foreign Police Department will issue a Blue Card for the duration of the employment relationship extended by 90 days.

Not eligible for a Blue Card:

• Asylum seekers and asylum holders;
• Foreign nationals who were given subsidiary protection;
• Applicants for temporary shelter and refugees;
• Holders of tolerated residence;
• Holders of temporary residence for the purpose of seasonal employment, special activity or research and development;
• Family members of the EU citizens with authorised residence in SR;
• Foreign nationals with long-term residence in another EU Member State, who are applying for temporary residence to pursue economic activity as employees or as self-employed persons;
• Foreign nationals entering the territory of Slovakia on the basis of commitments arising from an international treaty;
• Foreign nationals working for a major foreign investor in SR;
• Foreign nationals dispatched by an employer with a registered seat in an EU Member State to provide services offered by the employer;
• Foreign nationals employed in international public transportation, if they were assigned to perform work in Slovakia by their foreign employer;
• Foreign nationals in an employment relationship with an employer, who has a registered seat or organizational unit with labour subjectivity outside the territory of Slovakia and who were assigned to perform work on the basis of an agreement concluded with a legal or natural person, to perform work in the territory of SR;
• Foreign nationals who, based on a business contract, secure delivery of goods or services, and deliver such goods or carry out installation works, warranty services and repairs, work related to system setup of production facilities, programming work or professional training, if the employment relationship or secondment does not exceed a total of 90 days per calendar year;
• Foreign nationals who work for a company which was provided investment aid, based on a business contract, and secure delivery of goods or services, or deliver such goods or carry out installation works, warranty services and repairs, work related to system setup of production facilities, programming work or professional training, during a period for which the decision on the approval of the investment aid was issued for;
• Foreigners doing seasonal work;
• Foreigners who provide professional training for the business services centre if the duration of the employment relationship with the business services centre does not exceed a total of 90 days per calendar year.

Holders of a Blue Card issued by another EU Member State for longer than 18 months may apply for a Blue Card in Slovakia at the Foreign Police Department within 30 days of entering the territory of Slovakia. If the existent Blue Card expires during the procedure for granting the Blue Card in Slovakia, the residence of a foreigner in Slovakia is considered legal until an effective decision on the Blue Card application.