AKMV 
General conditions
According to the provision of Section 7, paragraph 2, letter j) of the Act on State Citizenship, it holds that: “an applicant who has a permitted stay on the territory of the Slovak Republic may be granted state citizenship of the Slovak Republic without fulfilling the condition specified in paragraph 1, letter a), unless this Act provides otherwise, if they were not a state citizen of the Slovak Republic and at least one of their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents was a Czechoslovak state citizen born on the territory of the Slovak Republic.”
From the above, 3 main conditions can be derived under which it is possible to grant state citizenship of the SR by descent. They are:
- Birth of the ancestor on the territory of the Slovak Republic – it is necessary that your ancestor was born in a town that today belongs to the territory of the Slovak Republic. This is proven by a current duplicate of the Slovak birth certificate.
- Czechoslovak citizenship of the ancestor – the ancestor must have been a Czechoslovak citizen (note, not a Czech or Slovak citizen).
- The fact that the applicant has never before been a Slovak citizen.
Do you not know if you are entitled to state citizenship, or do you need help with searching for the documents of your ancestors?
We would be happy to help you with the assessment of your claim during our video consultation, where we will go through all the relevant circumstances of your case, clarify the entire procedure for you, and explain which documents are required from you. Likewise, we would be happy to help you with searching for the necessary documents of your ancestors, especially birth certificates, census sheets, marriage certificates, and the like.
Emigration of an ancestor before the year 1918
Czechoslovakia as an independent state was established only in 1918 as a successor state of Austria-Hungary.
If a person emigrated abroad even before the actual establishment of Czechoslovakia, the assessment of the claim to state citizenship of the SR by the Ministry of Interior was complicated. A decision-making practice was adopted with reference to a constitutional law which, at the time of the establishment of Czechoslovakia, classified Czechoslovak citizens as persons who “no later than by the day of 01.01.1910 acquired and since that time continuously have the right of domicile on the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, which now belongs to the Czechoslovak Republic.” From the above, it follows that persons who emigrated before 1918 did not fulfill the condition of the right of domicile, i.e., continuous residence on the territory of Austria-Hungary and subsequently Czechoslovakia, so they are not citizens of the Czechoslovak Republic.
This legal opinion was superseded and state citizenship of the SR was granted also to applicants whose ancestors emigrated exactly in this period, even under the assumption that they acquired another state citizenship through naturalization.
Obligation of residence
An applicant for state citizenship by descent must also fulfill the legal residence condition. In the case of a foreign national of Slovak origin, the simplest way is to apply for the granting of permanent residence for 5 years for reasons worthy of special consideration. However, it is also possible to obtain temporary residence, for example, for the purpose of study, employment, business, etc., or such residence can be granted to a person who has the granted status of a Slovak living abroad. According to the information we received, it is sufficient that the applicant is granted residence, and it is not necessary for them to actually reside on the territory of the Slovak Republic.
To the application for the granting of permanent residence for five years, it will only be necessary to submit:
- a valid travel document
- documents proving your entitlement to state citizenship – meaning proof of the birth of an ancestor on the territory of the SR and their Czechoslovak citizenship.
Compliance with residence conditions on the territory of the SR
According to the statement of the Bureau of Border and Foreign Police, as long as a foreigner is not yet a citizen of the Slovak Republic, the Act on the Residence of Foreigners applies to the foreigner. Conditions regarding arrival and the length of stay also apply to them.
More information can be read in our posts: Obtaining Slovak citizenship by descent / ancestry, Slovak citizenship by descent (CBD)
In case of interest, do not hesitate to contact us at our e-mail address recepcia@akmv.sk
