Childbirth allowance

Childbirth allowance is a one-time state social benefit whose purpose is to cover the expenditures related to the security needs of a newborn.

Conditions for claiming the childbirth allowance are:

• the birth of a child and
• a permanent residence as well as the actual domicile of the entitled person in the Slovak Republic.  

A person entitled to claim this allowance is:

• mother of the child,
• father of the child, if the mother has died, if she is searched for or if the child was entrusted into his care. 

Entitlement to childbirth allowance does not arise if:

• the entitled person did not ensure a doctor for the child,
• the entitled person has agreed to the adoption of the child before claiming the allowance,
• the entitled person is a minor and is not granted parental rights and responsibilities. 
• the child has been entrusted to foster parental care,
• at least one of the children of the entitled person born before the child for which the benefit is claimed is entrusted to foster care,
• the child was born outside the Slovak Republic and the claimant had a similar benefit paid by a competent authority of that state.

The child's mother is also not entitled to the childbirth allowance if she:

• did not attend a preventive check-up once a month with a doctor specializing specialization in obstetrics and gynaecology from the fourth month of pregnancy to childbirth, or
• has left the medical facility after childbirth without a proper release from the attending doctor. 

The contribution amounts to EUR 829.86, for children born from the first to the fourth birth or EUR 151.37 for children born from the fifth and subsequent births. If more children are born simultaneously, the amount of the allowance is increased by EUR 75.69 for each child.

Entitlement may be applied for at the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, the Department of State Social Benefits, competent for the place of permanent or temporary residence in Slovakia. The Office shall pay the benefits retroactively from the time in which the conditions for the declaration were met, up to 6 months.

The application form must be accompanied by: 

• residence card of the applicant
• birth certificate of the child (if the child was born abroad, an official translation of the foreign birth certificate must be provided)
• confirmation from the attending paediatrician that the child has survived 28 days and on the conclusion of a contract on the provision of general outpatient care for a child
• declaration of domicile
• confirmation from the foreign institution of allowance or other benefits paid out of the same type (only if the child  was born outside the territory of the Slovak Republic)
• documents confirming the entitlement of a father to claim the allowance.