Temporary stay of a foreigner for the purpose of doing business

To a foreigner who does or will do business in the territory of the Slovak Republic as a natural person (entrepreneur), or acts or will act on behalf of a business company or cooperative and is not in an employment relationship. The second case applies to a person who was appointed, for example, as a company manager by the decision of the general assembly of a Slovak trading company.

1. valid travel document
2. two color photographs with dimensions of 3 x 3.5 cm showing the current form
3. stamp worth EUR 232 EUR 24.50 for the proof of residence EUR 3 stamp for delivery of the proof of residence to the specified address (if the application is submitted at the embassy, the fee for submitting the application for residence is EUR 240)

The following documents not older than 90 days:

• if a foreigner will act as a statutory officer of a commercial company: if it is a functioning company, it is necessary to provide (i) an extract from the commercial register, it is sufficient from the Internet, it does not need to be translated, the original can be used for legal acts and (ii) the minutes of the general meeting with verified signatures of the partners on the appointment of the applicant as a statutory officer (e.g. manager of an s.r.o., chairman / member of the board of directors of a.s.) as soon as he is granted residence on the territory of the Slovak Republic, otherwise a business plan is submitted. If it is a foreigner from the OECD countries, he can be registered in the commercial register as a statutory shareholder even without residence in the Slovak Republic, and therefore it is necessary to provide an extract from the commercial register, in which he will already appear, and the appointment minutes are not attached.
• if the foreigner will work as a self-employed person: a certificate from the trade register is provided
• if the applicant is the owner of the apartment in the territory of the Slovak Republic, he must provide an extract from the title deed (it is enough from the Internet), it does not have to be used for legal acts. If the applicant is renting, he must provide either a rental agreement with verified signatures of all owners and a foreigner, or an affidavit from the owners about the provision of accommodation.
• extract from the criminal record of the mother country as well as from the country where he stayed for more than 90 days during the last 6 months three years back. Extracts must be apostilled / superlegalized and officially translated into Slovak by a Slovak translator.
• confirmation of the balance in the bank account in the name of the applicant confirming financial security in the amount of at least 12 times the subsistence minimum (from 01.07.2020 to 30.06.2021 the subsistence minimum is EUR 214.83), i.e. less than 2,600 EUR
• confirmation of the balance in the business account kept in the bank under the business name s.r.o., confirming financial security in the amount of at least 100 times the subsistence minimum, if he will do business as a registered member of a trading company (EUR 21,500), if the foreigner will operate as a self-employed person in the amount of 20 times the subsistence minimum (approx. EUR 4,300)

All documents in languages ​​other than Slovak and Czech must be officially translated by a Slovak translator. If the official translation was made abroad, it will be verified by the relevant Slovak embassy in that country.

The police department will grant temporary residence for the purpose of doing business for the expected time of doing business, but for a maximum of three years. Please note that temporary residence is tied to one purpose.

If a national of a third country wants to perform a different activity than the one for which he was granted temporary residence, he must submit a new application for granting temporary residence. A third-country national who has been granted a temporary residence permit may study during the temporary stay. On the basis of the granted temporary residence, a foreigner can stay, travel and re-enter the territory of the Slovak Republic during the time for which it was granted to him by the police department.

In addition to the aforementioned financial security of a foreigner, we also state that a foreigner must, among other things, prove the financial security of his stay with a statement from his bank account established in the territory of the Slovak Republic or abroad. The law requires a balance on his account in the amount of the subsistence minimum (from 01.07.2020 to 30.06.2021 the subsistence minimum is EUR 214.83) for each month of stay; if the length of stay exceeds one year, he must prove financial security in the amount of twelve times the subsistence minimum. In the event that a foreigner applies for temporary residence for his child for the purpose of family reunification, he shall prove financial security for the residence in half the amount for this child.

In addition, the foreigner is obliged to prove the financial security of the business activity. For this purpose, he submits a confirmation of the balance in an account kept in a bank established for business purposes, which must not be identical to an account opened in the name of a natural person (foreigner), in the amount of:

• twenty times the subsistence minimum, if it is a national of a third country who will do business as a natural person,
• one hundred times the subsistence minimum, if it is a national of a third country who will do business as a statutory body of a legal entity (e.g. bank statement of the company).

If the confirmations are made in a foreign bank, turnover for the last 3 months is also documented.

The police department decides on the granting of a temporary residence with a later start date of the granted stay if it finds that, based on the document with which the national of a third country proves the purpose of the stay, the purpose of the stay will begin to be fulfilled later than the date of the decision on the application; this does not apply if the time between the police department’s decision to grant a temporary stay and the beginning of the purpose of the stay is less than 30 days. The beginning of the granted stay must always be 30 days before the day when the national of the third country will already fulfill the purpose of the stay.

Accommodation must meet the requirements according to § 62 letter f) Act no. 355/2007 Coll. on the protection, support and development of public health and on the amendment of certain laws and § 8 par. 1 of the decree of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic no. 259/2008 Coll. on the details of the requirements for the internal environment of buildings and on the minimum requirements for apartments of a lower standard and for accommodation facilities. In accordance with the aforementioned, the living area of ​​a lower standard apartment must be at least 12 m² per user and 6 m² for each other person who lives with him in the household. The useful area of ​​an apartment of a lower standard must be at least 15 m².

The document on securing accommodation must prove that the third-country national has secured accommodation for at least six months of temporary stay; if he applies for a temporary stay for a shorter period of time, he must provide proof of accommodation during the entire temporary stay. In the case of family reunification, a third-country national must prove that he has shared accommodation with the third-country national with whom he is applying for family reunification.

A national of a third country who has been granted a temporary residence permit must submit to the police department a medical certificate confirming that he does not suffer from an illness that threatens public health within 30 days of receiving the residence permit. Examination of foreigners for this purpose is provided by medicalcontrol.sk in 7 cities throughout Slovakia.

A foreigner does not have this obligation if:

1. this is the granting of temporary residence for the purpose of fulfilling official duties by the civilian components of the armed forces
2. it is a foreigner who has the status of a Slovak living abroad or
3. it is a foreigner who has been granted the status of a person with a long-term residence in another member state
4. and if it concerns a change in the type or purpose of stay.

A medical certificate confirming that he does not suffer from a disease that threatens public health must not be older than 30 days.

In the past, if a national of a third country was granted temporary residence for the purpose of doing business, he was obliged to submit, within 60 days of taking over the residence document, an extract from the commercial register of the natural person – entrepreneur, business company or cooperative that he stated in the application. Currently, a foreigner no longer has this obligation.

A citizen of a third country is obliged to submit a document confirming health insurance to the police department within 30 days of taking over the residence permit. If he does business as a self-employed person, he will be insured in the public health insurance system (that is, in one of these health insurance companies: VšZP, Union, Dôvera). If he is doing business as a charter member of a commercial company (executive, member of the board), he will be able to have commercial health insurance for a foreigner.

Foreigners can also get insurance directly on this link.

Temporary residence for the purpose of business can also be obtained after submitting a business plan for the implementation of an innovative project (startup). In the case of an innovative project, the foreign police will decide on the granting of a residence permit within a shortened period of 30 days.

A project proposal with an innovative nature should be approximately 5 to 10 pages long and should include the following particulars:

1. identification of the applicant
2. Professional requirements of the applicant, or project team
3. Description of the innovative product/ process/ service
4. Goals and schedule of the project
5. Description and analysis of the market
6. Customers and subscribers
7. Financing and budget
8. Strengths and weaknesses of the innovative intention

Other data (agreements on future contracts, information on intellectual property, certificates, certificates, etc.).