How to arrange temporary residence for a foreigner

Yes, as the husband of a Slovak woman, you could apply for a permanent residence for a foreign spouse for 5 years.

However, if you do not want permanent residence in Slovakia, you can apply for temporary residence as a third-country national who has long-term residence in another EU country.

According to Section 21, Paragraph 1, Letter i) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, the police department may grant temporary residence to a third-country national who has been granted the status of a person with long-term residence in another Member State.

The more detailed conditions for the temporary residence of a third-country national who already has long-term residence in another EU Member State (has been granted the status of a person with long-term residence in another Member State) are regulated by Section 30 of the Act.

Temporary residence may be granted to a third-country national for these purposes, i.e., if they:

• conduct business in the territory of the Slovak Republic

• are employed in the territory of the Slovak Republic

• study at a school in the Slovak Republic

• perform an activity mentioned in Section 25 (special activity) or Section 26 (research and development), or

• are a family member according to Section 27, Paragraph 2 of a third-country national according to letters a) through d) and the family already existed in the other Member State that granted the third-country national the status of a person with long-term residence.

The following are considered family members of a third-country national:

• a spouse, if the spouses are at least 18 years old

• an unmarried child younger than 18 years of the third-country national and their spouse

• their unmarried child younger than 18 years

• an unmarried child of their spouse younger than 18 years

• their dependent unmarried child older than 18 years or a dependent unmarried child older than 18 years of their spouse who cannot take care of themselves due to a long-term unfavorable health condition

• their parent or the parent of their spouse who is dependent on their care and does not enjoy appropriate family support in the country they are coming from.

Temporary residence in this case may be granted for a maximum of 5 years.

The decision on granting residence is made within 90 days; however, in this case, the foreigner may stay here as they already have a residence document from the UK and, furthermore, temporary residence is not required within 90 days from the start of the stay in the territory of the Slovak Republic.

Necessary documents submitted to the foreign police:

• Application for temporary residence

• Document proving the provision of accommodation

• Document proving financial security

• Document proving long-term residence in the UK

A criminal record extract does not have to be submitted, as according to Section 32, Paragraph 2 of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners: “A third-country national according to Section 24, Para. 1, Letter a), Section 28, Section 30 and a third-country national younger than 14 years does not have to attach a document confirming integrity to the application; they do not have to attach this document even to an application for a change in the type or purpose of residence if they attached a document confirming their integrity to the application for the granting of the previous residence. A third-country national according to Section 29, who submits an application for the granting of temporary residence according to Section 29 within 60 days of the issuance of the certificate of a Slovak living abroad according to a special regulation, does not attach a document confirming integrity to the application.”

After the residence is granted, the foreigner must demonstrate foreigner’s insurance in Slovakia. A medical opinion confirming that they do not suffer from a disease that threatens public health no longer needs to be submitted to the foreign police. (“A third-country national who has been granted temporary residence is obliged to submit to the police department within 30 days of receiving the residence document a medical opinion confirming that they do not suffer from a disease that threatens public health; this does not apply if it is a third-country national according to Section 28, Section 29, or Section 30, a third-country national who has a granted residence in another Member State, or if it is a change in the type or purpose of residence. The medical opinion… must not be older than 30 days. The police department may, upon the request of the third-country national, extend the period for submitting the medical opinion… by 60 days.”)

If a third-country national who has been granted temporary residence according to Section 27 or Section 30, Para. 1, Letter e) and whose marriage has ended and whose continuous temporary residence has lasted at least three years, or they have reached the age of majority, submits an application for a change of the purpose of residence to the police department within 30 days of the issuance of the death certificate, the effective date of the divorce decree, or the attainment of the age of majority, their stay is considered authorized until the decision on this application.

In order for a foreigner to have a residence permit processed in Slovakia, it is necessary to fulfill one of the purposes regulated by the Act on the Residence of Foreigners. This purpose is, for example, employment, business, study, family reunification, special activity, etc.

If a foreigner wants to come to Slovakia and obtain residence, it is not possible without fulfilling a purpose, i.e., it is not possible to come long-term just for tourism, for a girlfriend/boyfriend, or to spend retirement here and the like.

Therefore, it is necessary to inform us what the foreigner will be doing in Slovakia, and based on that, the list of necessary documents and the entire process will follow.

Hello,

According to Section 20, Paragraph 1 of Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the Residence of Foreigners and on amendments and supplements to certain acts (hereinafter as “ZPC”): “Temporary residence entitles a third-country national to reside, exit, and re-enter the territory of the Slovak Republic during the time for which it was granted by the police department.” Temporary residence is always tied to one purpose (Section 20, Para. 2 ZPC).

Business is one of the purposes for granting temporary residence to a third-country national (Section 21, Para. 1, Letter a) ZPC).

According to Section 22, Paragraph 1 of the ZPC, the police department shall grant temporary residence for the purpose of business to a third-country national who:

• conducts business or will conduct business in the territory of the Slovak Republic as a natural person, or

• acts or will act on behalf of a commercial company or cooperative and is not in an employment relationship,

and specifically for the expected duration of the business, but for a maximum of 3 years (Section 22, Para. 2 ZPC).

Simultaneously with the submission of the application for temporary residence, the applicant is obliged to submit documents not older than 90 days which confirm the purpose of their temporary residence; however, this does not apply if it concerns a third-country national applying for temporary residence for the purpose of business and who is “registered in the Commercial Register, the Trade Register, the Register of Legal Entities, Entrepreneurs and Public Authorities, or in another similar register, or is registered in the Commercial Register as a person authorized to act on behalf of a commercial company or cooperative, or if it concerns a third-country national according to Section 23, Para. 1, 4, or Para. 5 (Section 32, Para. 2, Letter a) ZPC).” In these cases, therefore, the foreigner does not submit a document regarding the purpose of residence (i.e., they have no obligation to document the purpose of residence).

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – Office in the SR, business as such can be documented in several ways:

• a business plan along with expected costs for starting the business (detailed information including forms can be found directly on the Ministry of Economy of the SR website)

• a business plan for the implementation of an innovative project, a so-called start-up

• a document confirming the authorization to do business (e.g., a memorandum of association for the establishment of a company signed by all founders, where the foreigner is listed as an executive, minutes from a general meeting at which the foreigner was appointed as an executive) of the company;

• another document confirming business (e.g., a certificate of registration in the records of a self-employed farmer or a license to perform a private medical or legal practice).

What all needs to be known when granting temporary residence for the purpose of business, if it concerns a third-country national who has been appointed as an executive of a Slovak commercial company? In connection with the raised question, we present several more detailed questions for which we managed to obtain a statement directly from the Bureau of Border and Foreign Police of the Presidium of the Police Force:

Demonstration of financial security for the stay

How can they demonstrate financial security if they have a foreign bank account? A third-country national applying for temporary residence shall demonstrate financial security for the stay with a bank statement for the last three months held in a bank in the name of the third-country national, and if it is a personal account held in a foreign bank, with a personal account statement for the last three months. (The document must not be older than 90 days.)

What form must the account statement have? The form is not prescribed. However, the statement must be confirmed.

Must the account statement for the last three months be officially confirmed/stamped by the foreign bank? Yes.

Is a statement downloaded from an application, possibly without bank verification, sufficient? The statement is sufficient, but it must be provided with the official stamp of the bank.

Is an apostille or an official translation of the statement required (I don’t know if it’s even possible to apostille an account statement)? According to Section 126, Para. 4 of Act No. 404/2011 Coll., the statement must always be officially translated by a Slovak translator.

In the event that a new account was established only a month before the application, is it sufficient to attach only a statement for this 1 month? The task of demonstrating financial security for the stay is the ability of the third-country national to prove the fact that they will not become dependent on the social assistance system of the SR. Therefore, the law requires a statement for the last 3 months. This period cannot be shortened.

Is it possible to demonstrate financial security in a way other than an account statement? In the case of temporary residence for the purpose of business, it is not possible to demonstrate financial security in any other way.

Financial security for the business activity

In what way is it possible to demonstrate financial security? A third-country national shall demonstrate financial security for the business activity according to Section 32, Para. 7 of Act No. 404/2011 Coll. with a bank statement for the last three months held in a bank established for the purposes of business, which must not be identical to the account used to demonstrate financial security for the stay, and if it is an account in a foreign bank, the third-country national shall demonstrate financial security for the business with an account statement for the last three months. The third-country national shall demonstrate financial security for the business activity according to the first sentence in the amount of one hundred times the subsistence minimum, if it concerns a third-country national according to Section 22, Para. 1, Letter b).

Is it possible to do so otherwise than with a company account statement for the last 3 months? In the case of financial security for the business activity, it is not possible to demonstrate financial security in any other way.

Provision of accommodation

Is it possible to have accommodation secured in a hotel? According to Section 122, Para. 1, Letter c) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll., a document confirming the provision of accommodation is understood to be a confirmation from an accommodation facility regarding the provision of accommodation.

If so, what particulars must the stated confirmation of the provision of accommodation contain? Is a verified signature required? A confirmation from the accommodation facility regarding the accommodation, confirmed by a stamp and the signature of an authorized person, is required. A verified signature is not required.