AKMV COVID-Submission of a residence permit application upon the expiration of the visa-free entry period
QUESTION
Can a citizen of the Republic of Serbia, who legally entered the Slovak Republic under the visa-free entry regime and whose authorized period of stay expired on October 5, 2020, submit an application for a residence permit (a 5-year permanent residence permit based on marriage to a Slovak citizen) in the upcoming period? He visited the Foreign Police Department in Trenčín on multiple occasions, yet failed to successfully lodge the application (on the first occasion, a COVID-19 test was required; on the second occasion, he was not attended to due to capacity limits). It is currently mandatory to book an appointment for the submission via the online scheduling system, and the earliest available slot is in November (i.e., at a time when his 90-day authorized period of stay under the visa-free regime will have already expired).
ANSWER:
Pursuant to Section 131i, Paragraph 2 of the Act on the Residence of Aliens (“A third-country national who has legally entered the territory of the Slovak Republic and has not been granted a residence permit under this Act is authorized to reside within the territory of the Slovak Republic until the expiration of one month from the revocation of the crisis situation”), the individual’s presence remains legal, and therefore I presume that the submission is permissible.
Pursuant to Section 131i, Paragraph 2 of the Act on the Residence of Aliens (“A third-country national who has legally entered the territory of the Slovak Republic and has not been granted a residence permit under this Act is authorized to reside within the territory of the Slovak Republic until the expiration of one month from the revocation of the crisis situation”).
The submission of the application is permissible.
With effect from October 5, 2020, in connection with the Resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 587/2020, client service offices at the Foreign Police Departments will exclusively process individuals who have booked an appointment online via the electronic service. Individuals without an online reservation will be processed solely in duly justified cases (special consideration, humanitarian grounds) subject to the approval of the competent Director of the Bureau of Border and Foreign Police of the Police Force.
On October 2, 2020, the online booking availability was expanded at the Foreign Police Department of the Police Force in Trenčín.
(Source: Foreign Police Department Trenčín)
JUDr. Veronika Michalíková, MBA