Advice and information for foreigners in Slovakia

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Residence General information An introduction to residence of foreigners in Slovakia
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An introduction to residence of foreigners in Slovakia Print
The Act No. 48/2002 Coll. on Residence of Foreign Nationals is the most important law regulating the residence of foreign nationals in the Slovak Republic. According to the Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals everyone, who is not a citizen of the Slovak Republic is considered to be a foreign national. However, the residence of EU/EEA nationals, who are considered to be foreigners as well, is regulated by the special provisions (more information in the article called Residence of EU/EEA citizens and Swiss citizens and their family relatives in Slovakia).
The following information will therefore relate only to the so-called third-country nationals (that is, non-EU nationals).

A foreign national in Slovakia may apply for one of the following types of the residence permit:
  • temporary residence permit
  • permanent residence permit
  • tolerated stay
A temporary residence permit can be granted for one of the purposes listed in the Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals (e.g. employment, study, family reunion). For more information see the category Temporary residence. Permanent residence can be granted for the purpose of family reunion or to a foreigner who has had several years of continuous legal residence in Slovakia. If you want to see whether you fulfill the conditions for obtaining a permanent residence permit, click here. Tolerated residence is a special type of residence permit, which can be granted to a foreign national exceptionally for a short time period in order to remedy a specific situation of the foreign national. Detailed information about the conditions for granting one of these types of residence permit as well as the list of the documents required, can be found in the relevant articles.
It is very difficult to solve the situation of a foreigner who resides in Slovakia illegaly, therefore you should avoid staying in Slovakia illegally.
Note
Documents for download:

IOM brochure on residence of foreign nationals in Slovakia I. - Slovak, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese
"Residence of Foreigners in Slovakia" - SK,AR,ESP,POR,CHINA

IOM brochure on residence of foreign nationals in Slovakia II. - Slovak, English, Russian, French, Vietnamese
Booklet "Residence of Foreigners in Slovakia" - EN,RU,FR,VIE

Full version of the Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals in Slovak
Zákon o pobyte cudzincov - neoficiálna verzia/novela 2008
 

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The European Fund for the Integration
of Third-Country Nationals. Solidarity
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