Slovak Citizenship by Descent – Expert Legal Assistance

According to § 7(2) of the Act (effective from April 1, 2022):
“Slovak citizenship may also be granted to an applicant who has a residence permit in the Slovak Republic without fulfilling the condition under paragraph 1 letter a) (i.e., permanent residence in Slovakia for at least eight years immediately before applying), if

j) the applicant has never been a Slovak citizen and at least one of their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents was a Czechoslovak citizen born in the territory of the Slovak Republic.

Summary of Requirements:

• The applicant must have a registered residence in Slovakia

• The applicant has never been a citizen of Slovakia

• The applicant is a descendant of a Slovak citizen – either a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent born in the territory of Slovakia

Yes, documents and family ties can be proven based on deceased ancestors if their connection to Slovakia meets legal requirements.

To prove Czechoslovak ancestry, you need to submit:

• Birth certificates of ancestors showing their place of birth in present-day Slovakia
• Birth certificates of direct ancestors proving the family lineage
• Evidence of Czechoslovak citizenship of ancestors (census records, passports, citizenship certificates, etc.)
• Other historical or official documents relevant to the case

You will need documents that prove:

• You were never a Slovak citizen

• You are a descendant of a Slovak (parent, grandparent, great-grandparent)

• The ancestor was born in the former Slovak Republic

Any documents showing your ancestor was born in Slovakia or held Czechoslovak citizenship can be sent as scans by email. These include:

• Birth certificates

• Naturalization papers

• Census records

• Marriage/death certificates

• Passports

• Registry extracts, etc.

The documents should preferably indicate “Czechoslovak citizenship.” We will go over the documents during a scheduled video consultation.

If you are missing documents, our office can assist in retrieving them from archives, registries, and other Slovak authorities. We will ensure all necessary evidence is provided, or we can recommend an experienced genealogist.

Our service: Request for Birth, Baptismal, Marriage, and Death Certificates (not only) for Ancestors

We generally assist with:

• Birth, marriage, and death certificates

• Census records from 1930 and 1940

Deposit for 3 hours of work is required in advance.
Price for retrieval of one document is €300 VAT

• €50 VAT one-time legal representation fee
  This includes requests preparation, authority communication, power of attorney, etc.

You don’t need to provide all info about the ancestor, but the more details you have, the higher the success rate.

Yes, a residence permit is a mandatory requirement. The easiest option is a 5-year permanent residence permit for exceptional reasons, which you may qualify for based on your Czechoslovak ancestry. However, Slovak residency is not required for a specific period before applying for citizenship. After obtaining residence status, you will have certain legal obligations, which we will explain in detail.

If applying for a 5-year permanent residence permit for exceptional reasons, you can submit the application together with your citizenship application in a single visit to a Slovak diplomatic mission abroad. You do not need to wait for residence approval before applying for citizenship.

Not necessarily. Our office can represent you in communication with authorities, minimizing the need for you to travel to Slovakia.

This depends on the specific embassy.
Some embassies accept both applications at once; others require the residence application to be filed first.

No, knowledge of the Slovak language is not required for citizenship based on ancestry.

If your documents were issued abroad, apostilles may be required. We will specify later in the process which documents need to be apostilled.

The application must be submitted in person at:

• The relevant district office in Slovakia if you are residing in Slovakia
• A Slovak embassy or consulate abroad if you live outside Slovakia
  Our office will help you determine the correct authority and guide you through the process.

Yes, in certain cases. It depends on:

• Degree of relation – Slovak law currently allows citizenship for descendants up to the third generation (e.g., grandchildren or great-grandchildren) if one ancestor held Slovak/Czechoslovak citizenship.

• According to the Ministry of Interior:
  “Children under 14 can be included in the parent’s application. For the 5th generation, the state fee is €140, compared to €30 for the 4th generation.”

Application Type:

• As part of a parent’s application (under 14 years)

• Or independently, if older than 14

Documents required include:

• Documents showing lineage to the Slovak ancestor

• Birth certificate, proof of studies, proof of citizenship

• Notarized consent of the other parent

Yes, in some cases. Minor children under 14 can be included in the parent’s application.
They don’t need a separate application—just include their documents.
Children over 14 must apply separately, but may refer to the same ancestor.

Spouse:
Marriage alone does not grant eligibility.
The spouse must meet separate legal requirements (e.g., duration of marriage, residence, integration).

Other relatives (e.g., cousins):
They must prove shared ancestry with a Slovak-born Czechoslovak citizen and meet all other legal criteria.

Slovak law allows dual citizenship under specific conditions. We will assess your case individually to provide an accurate answer.

The duration depends on the complexity of the case, document availability, and processing times at the authorities. Generally, obtaining Slovak citizenship takes 2 years (according the law), according to our experiesnces, it takes about 6 months. 

Slovakia was formerly part of Austria-Hungary. If the legal conditions are met:

• You have residence in Slovakia

• You’ve never been a Slovak citizen

• You are a descendant of someone born in Slovakia

Then you may likely apply for citizenship.

They are two different countries.
Our law office offers legal services only under Slovak law.
For Czech citizenship, you must consult a Czech lawyer.

We have successfully assisted many clients in obtaining Slovak citizenship by descent.
However, the law is new (effective 04/2022), and the ministry evaluates each case based on many historical and legal factors over up to 2 years.

Therefore, we cannot guarantee approval.

If the service is not completed, the law office is entitled to fees based on hours worked.

If you qualify for citizenship, our hourly rate is €200*. The deposit breakdown:

• Initial consultation: €250

• Legal representation onboarding: 0.5 hour (€100)

• Residence application process: €2,400*

• Citizenship application process: €2,400*

*Each amount covers 12 hours of work (every started 10 minutes is counted).
Document procurement, translations, and government fees are not included.

23% VAT applies where applicable.

What We Offer

• Case assessment and eligibility review

• Document verification

• Guidance on obtaining necessary documents (birth/citizenship records)

• Power of attorney preparation

• Drafting of citizenship and residence applications attachments

• Review of apostilles, translations, document validity

• Embassy or immigration police appointment booking

• Preparation of full submission package

• Representation before authorities (in Bratislava or elsewhere)

• Case-specific consulting and communication with authorities

• Assistance on obtaining Slovak passport and obligations

Additional Services

• Apostille processing – fees vary by document type

• Official translations – €30 per standard page

• Document retrieval – we assist with obtaining birth records or census entries (price confirmed individually)

To schedule a consultation, click here: BOOK A TERM HERE
Fee: €250