Citizenship based on contribution

Exceptional cases require exceptional solutions. Slovak legislation allows citizenship to be granted to individuals who have made a special contribution to the Slovak Republic through their activities and have created a bond worthy of recognition. This is a special path to citizenship, which is only applied in selected situations and represents a gesture of recognition on the part of the state.

According to § 7(2)(b), an applicant who has a residence permit in the Slovak Republic may be granted Slovak citizenship without fulfilling the condition specified in paragraph 1(a), unless this Act provides otherwise, if the person has made a significant contribution to the Slovak Republic in the economic, scientific, technical, cultural, social, or sporting fields, or if it is in the interest of the Slovak Republic for other reasons.

Our office is unable to assess with complete certainty your eligibility for citizenship on the basis of your contribution to the Slovak Republic. The law does not specify specific values, achievements, or other measurable criteria that would precisely determine what is considered a “significant contribution” in each area. The assessment is therefore left to the discretion of the relevant authorities.

The Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, as the competent authority for deciding on matters of citizenship, assesses each application individually. As part of this process, it also takes into account the opinions of the relevant state authorities pursuant to Section 8a(3) of the Citizenship Act, depending on the nature of the contribution to the Slovak Republic (e.g., the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Slovak Republic, and others).

The above is also governed by the Regulation of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic of January 9, 2015, on the granting of Slovak citizenship for special reasons (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulation”).

According to Article 3 of the Regulation, applications for the granting of Slovak citizenship on special grounds are assessed by the public administration section of the ministry (hereinafter referred to as the “section”), which may request additional documents from the applicant if necessary for a decision on the matter. The Section shall request, by letter from the Minister of the Interior of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the “Minister”), a statement from the relevant state authority, which must state the reasons justifying the granting of Slovak citizenship on special grounds.

There is no legal entitlement to the granting of Slovak citizenship on special grounds. An application for the granting of Slovak citizenship on special grounds may be rejected on the basis of findings made during the proceedings on the application, in particular in connection with the facts arising from Section 8a(1) or Section 14(1) of the Act, in the event of insufficient integration of the applicant into society, insufficient contribution of the applicant to the Slovak Republic, if the applicant is a burden on the social system of the Slovak Republic, or if the granting of Slovak citizenship is not in the public interest or would be contrary to public order.

The Nitra District Office, Department of Citizenship, stated by telephone: “It is necessary to document the importance of the athlete for the national team, e.g., with proof of eligibility to represent Slovakia and a statement from the sports association – the president will issue a confirmation of the athlete’s importance to the national team.” (Nitra District Office, Citizenship Department)

According to a telephone statement from the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic: “The applicant shall submit documents on the basis of which he or she is applying for an exemption, which do not have a prescribed form, e.g., documents proving achievements, diplomas, opinions of associations, statements from clubs… At the same time, it is recommended that the applicant be a member of a Slovak sports club.” (Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, Department of Citizenship)

For more information on granting citizenship to athletes, including appendices and other details, please refer to our article: Granting of Slovak Citizenship for Athletes