Slovak citizenship for a child born abroad

If the child is born abroad, he / she automatically acquires citizenship from his / her parents. It is sufficient if only one of the parents is a citizen of the Slovak Republic. In order for the Slovak Republic to legally recognize a child as its citizen, it is necessary for the parents to obtain a birth certificate for it in Slovakia. The birth number for a child born outside the territory of the Slovak Republic will be assigned by the Special Registry of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, based in Bratislava.

Pursuant to § 23 par. 2 of Act no. 154/1994 Coll. on registries, as amended, the application for registration in the registry is not submitted directly to the Special Registry, but through:

• embassy of the Slovak Republic in the respective state
• registry office in which the citizen has a permanent residence
• registry office in which the citizen had his last permanent residence
• any registry office, if the citizen did not have a permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic

The application must be accompanied by:

• birth certificate of a child born abroad, which must be translated by a certified translator into Slovak. Some embassies also require an apostille – verification of the signature and stamp of an authentic instrument for use abroad
• marriage certificate (if the parents are married)
• identity card or passport of parents
• birth certificates of parents

According to the law, the special registry office has a three-month period for issuing a birth certificate. Should this period be extended, the registry office is obliged to inform you about it. However, embassies do not have a legal deadline, which may delay your application procedure.

At the same time, we draw attention to the possibility of an electronic service of submitting an application for a birth certificate, via the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.