I don’t live in Slovakia — can I apply for citizenship?

According to Section 7 of the Citizenship Act, Slovak citizenship may be granted to an applicant who is not a citizen of the Slovak Republic and:

• has had continuous permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic for at least eight years immediately prior to submitting the application for Slovak citizenship; for holders of a certificate of a Slovak living abroad, continuous residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic for at least three years immediately prior to submitting the application for Slovak citizenship is required
• is of good character (a person is not of good character if they have been lawfully convicted of an intentional criminal offense and five years have not passed since the conviction was expunged / if their prosecution for an intentional criminal offense was lawfully conditionally suspended and five years have not passed since the end of the probation period / if their prosecution for an intentional criminal offense was terminated by a court decision approving a settlement or by a prosecutor’s decision approving a settlement and five years have not passed since the finality of that decision)
• has not been sentenced to deportation by a court, is not the subject of criminal prosecution, extradition proceedings, European arrest warrant execution proceedings, administrative expulsion proceedings, or proceedings on the revocation of asylum
• has demonstrated knowledge of the Slovak language in both spoken and written form and general knowledge about the Slovak Republic
• fulfills obligations under the provisions of legal regulations governing the residence of foreigners in the territory of the Slovak Republic, public health insurance, social insurance, old-age pension savings, taxes, contributions, fees, employment of foreigners, and other obligations arising from the legal system of the Slovak Republic for foreigners

As follows from the above conditions, an important requirement for the granting of citizenship is that an applicant with the status of a Slovak living abroad must have been granted temporary residence of a Slovak living abroad for at least three (3) years immediately prior to submitting the application. It is not sufficient if the residence is granted, but the applicant does not reside in the territory of the Slovak Republic. According to case law, it is necessary to reside in the territory of the Slovak Republic also during the period from submitting the application for citizenship until the decision on the application. This follows, for example, from the Judgment of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, file no. 2Sžo/107/2014: “It would be absolutely contrary to the purpose and meaning of the law for the applicant to meet the conditions necessary for the granting of citizenship only at the time of submission of the application, and at the time of the actual decision on the granting of citizenship, these conditions would no longer have to be fulfilled.” Furthermore, if you stay outside the territory of the Slovak Republic abroad, this may also be a reason for the cancellation or non-renewal of residence in the Slovak Republic.

Another condition that is examined is whether the person represents an economic and social benefit for the Slovak Republic (for example, whether they pay taxes, contributions, etc.). If you intend to conceal your work abroad, keep in mind that you will also need to prove how you supported yourself while living in Slovakia.

Procedure for Submitting a Citizenship Application

You can, of course, apply for Slovak citizenship, and during the procedure, it will be examined whether all conditions are met.

The application for Slovak citizenship must be submitted in person at the District Office in the seat of the region according to the applicant’s place of residence, using the prescribed form together with a questionnaire and attachments proving that the above-mentioned conditions are met. It is recommended that the applicant arrange an appointment in advance to submit the application.

The attachments to the application are:

• brief CV

• identity document (original for inspection)

• birth certificate

• document on personal status (marriage certificate, final court decision or confirmation of divorce, death certificate of spouse)

• document proving residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic

• certificate of good character not older than six months (extract from the criminal register of every country of which the applicant is or was a citizen, and extract from the criminal register of every country where the applicant had residence in the last 15 years before submitting the application for Slovak citizenship, or another certificate of good character issued by the competent authorities of those countries)

• certificate proving the status of Slovak living abroad

• confirmation from the tax office, customs office, and municipality on payment of taxes and fees

• employer confirmation of employment, copy of employment contract, confirmation from the employer on income tax payment and on payment of contributions for public health insurance, social insurance, and old-age pension savings (if the applicant is employed)

• confirmation from the health insurance company on payment of public health insurance contributions and the duration of the insurance relationship

• others – depending on the applicant’s specific situation (confirmation of study, confirmation of pension receipt, confirmation of registration as a job seeker, confirmation of sufficient income sources to finance the stay of the applicant and close persons in the territory of the Slovak Republic if voluntarily unemployed)

• sworn declarations replacing documents that do not apply to the applicant with justification of non-submission

The District Office will schedule a date for testing the applicant’s knowledge of the Slovak language and general knowledge about the Slovak Republic. The application for Slovak citizenship is then assessed by the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic and submitted to the Minister of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, who evaluates the application according to the conditions in the Act on the Residence of Foreigners. If necessary, the Ministry of the Interior may request the applicant to provide additional documents. The decision period for the application for Slovak citizenship is 24 months.

We also point out that even if the conditions set out in the Citizenship Act are met, there is no legal entitlement to the granting of Slovak citizenship.