Acknowledgment of paternity at the registry office

To determine paternity by a concurrent declaration of the parents, it will be necessary for both parents to appear in person at the registry office (matričný úrad) in Holíč (the registry office in Skalica, where the child will be born, also comes into consideration, but the registry office according to the mother’s permanent residence was recommended to us by phone) and submit:

• a document proving the identity of both parents (identity card, passport in the case of a foreigner)

• in the event that one of the parents is divorced, a divorce decree with a marked effective date (právoplatnosť); according to telephone information, the registry office also accepts a confirmation of divorce from the court for the USA

It will also be necessary to arrange interpretation. The registry office recommends securing a professional interpreter, as they frequently encounter problems when interpretation is performed by other persons.

In the event of an interest in concluding a marriage in Slovakia, a foreigner concluding a marriage in the Slovak Republic is obliged to submit to the registry office at least 14 days before the conclusion of the marriage:

• a document proving identity

• a birth certificate

• a document proving marital status (not older than 6 months from the date of issue, as of the day of the conclusion of the marriage)

• a document proving residence

• a document proving citizenship

• a death certificate of the deceased spouse or another public document confirming that the marriage terminated, if it concerns a widowed foreigner

• a final and effective divorce decree or another public document confirming that the marriage is validly dissolved by divorce, if it concerns a divorced foreigner

At the same time, we point out that all foreign documents must be apostilled and officially translated into the Slovak language.

We recommend sending all documents from the USA in advance via scan for assessment by the registry office to prevent a situation where the submitted document will not be accepted by the registry office and it will be necessary to secure additional documents from the USA.