Wedding in Slovakia with a foreigner

If the person is a third-country national, it is important to assess whether they need a visa to enter Slovakia or not. If a visa is required, it must be arranged for the entry into Slovakia and the related marriage so that the foreigner can reside in Slovakia legally. The relevant registry office (matrika) informs the competent Foreign Police department of the intention to enter into a marriage with a foreigner; therefore, we recommend having all documents, including those regarding residence, in order.

In principle, the following will need to be submitted with the visa application:

• A valid passport

• A completed Schengen visa application form

• 2x passport-sized photographs

• An original invitation letter approved by the competent Foreign Police department of the Slovak Republic

• A flight reservation

• A reservation of accommodation in the Slovak Republic during the visit

• Travel insurance for EUR 30,000 covering the entire duration of the stay for the entire Schengen area

• A printed confirmation (email) of the appointment granted for submitting the Schengen visa application

• A fee of EUR 60 per person

• A current personal bank account statement from a bank in Iran with an official translation into Slovak

For the purpose of submitting a visa application, we recommend contacting the relevant diplomatic mission, which will provide you with all the necessary information regarding the documents that must be submitted.

In addition to fulfilling the requirement of legal residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic, a foreigner must submit the following documents to the registry office at least 14 days before the marriage ceremony:

• A birth certificate

• A document of personal status (must not be older than 6 months)

• A document of residence

• A document of citizenship

• A death certificate of a deceased spouse or another public document confirming that the marriage was terminated, in the case of a widowed foreigner

• A final divorce decree or another public document confirming that the marriage is legally dissolved, in the case of a divorced foreigner

• A document by which identity can be proven

We recommend contacting the registry office relevant to the place of the wedding well in advance.

Please note that a marriage between a Slovak citizen and a foreigner is not possible at a diplomatic mission of the Slovak Republic abroad. Only Slovak citizens may enter into a marriage at a diplomatic mission of the Slovak Republic abroad. After the wedding, it is possible to arrange a 5-year permanent residence for the husband.

By entering into a marriage with a Slovak citizen, your girlfriend will become eligible to apply for permanent residence. The initial application will be for a permanent residence for 5 years; subsequently, it will be possible to apply for permanent residence for an unlimited period.

According to the provisions of Section 42(1) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the Residence of Foreigners: “Permanent residence entitles a third-country national to reside, depart, and re-enter the territory of the Slovak Republic during the period for which it was granted by the police department, unless this Act provides otherwise.”

A condition for granting permanent residence to the spouse of a Slovak citizen is that the husband is a Slovak citizen with permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic.

The application for permanent residence must be submitted on an official form along with the legally prescribed attachments:

• Two current color photographs (3 x 3.5 cm)

• Marriage certificate

• The wife’s criminal record extract (not older than 90 days, provided with an Apostille and an official translation into Slovak)

• Financial coverage of the stay (confirmation of account balance and an affidavit from the husband stating he will financially support the wife during her stay in Slovakia; the amount of funds must be at least 12 times the subsistence minimum)

• Proof of accommodation (this can be a lease agreement or the consent of the property owner where accommodation is secured; please note that the address must match the husband’s permanent residence address)

• A copy of the husband’s ID card

As follows from the above, after being granted permanent residence, the spouse of a Slovak citizen will be able to repeatedly depart from and return to the territory of the Slovak Republic. The granting of permanent residence will entitle the spouse of a Slovak citizen to stay within the Schengen area; however, she will not be viewed as an EU citizen, but as a family member of an EU citizen with a granted permanent residence in an EU member state.

Under the Slovak legal order, several obligations binding third-country nationals in Slovakia will also apply to her, such as:

• Notifying the police department in writing if she intends to stay continuously outside the territory of the Slovak Republic for more than 180 days while holding a permanent residence.

• Notifying the police department if she will be staying within the territory of the Slovak Republic away from the place of granted residence for more than 30 consecutive days, and others.

In this context, please note that the relevant Foreign Police department is authorized to conduct inspections of the premises listed as the foreigner’s accommodation, although in practice such inspections are rare.

In practice, the Foreign Police department does not have sufficient means to monitor exactly when or for how long a foreigner has left the Slovak territory if they remain within the Schengen area. However, if the wife were to stay outside the Slovak Republic to a significant extent, it could cause problems in the future when renewing the permanent residence or applying for Slovak citizenship. The purpose of granting permanent residence is to allow spouses to live together in the territory of the Slovak Republic.