Slovak citizenship

If you are interested in obtaining Slovak citizenship, the basic conditions include continuous residence in the Slovak Republic or marriage with a citizen of Slovakia. Our law firm also provides services for obtaining a permanent and temporary residence permit in Slovakia.

from 1 500 € according to the scope of services
2 YEARS the process of acquiring citizenship
I am interested in obtaining Slovak citizenship

Granting Slovak citizenship is possible, for example in cases if the foreigner

  • has continuous permanent residence in the Slovak Republic at least eight years before submitting the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic, or
  • has continuous permanent residence in the Slovak Republic for at least ten years (eg. temporary residence) and at the time of submitting the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic had already been granted a permanent residence permit or
  • is married to a citizen of the Slovak Republic (Slovak citizenship by marriage), the marriage lasts and they both live in the marriage in the same household in Slovakia for at least 5 years immediately preceding the filing of applications for citizenship of the Slovak Republic
  • must demonstrate his integrity (must have a clear criminal record)
  • good command of the Slovak language in speaking and writing (must be demonstrated in the test)
  • has basic and general knowledge about Slovakia (eg. Slovak history, geography etc.)
  • must fulfil all obligations as a foreigner to the state (eg. timely pay taxes, pay proper health and social insurance, etc.)

When the condition of residence is not required

§ 7 of the Act no. 40/1993 Coll. on Citizenship of the Slovak Republic recognizes the specific exceptions to the obligation to prove residence in the Slovak Republic. The specific case, ie. if it is a person who:

  • is a person who has significantly contributed to the benefit for the Slovak Republic on economic, scientific, technical, cultural, social or sport sphere, or it is in other interest of Slovak Republic
  • has a continuous permanent residence for at least three years before reaching 18 years of age
  • is a minor child, whose legal representative or guardian is a citizen of the Slovak Republic or a legal person designated by the court of the Slovak Republic, and has a continuous residence in Slovakia for at least two years immediately preceding application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic
  • is a refugee for at least three years immediately preceding application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic
  • was born in Slovakia and has permanent residence for at least three years immediately preceding application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic
  • has a continuous stay of at least ten years in Slovakia and at the time of application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic it has been granted permanent residence permit, or is stateless and has a continuous residence in Slovakia for at least three years immediately preceding application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic
  • was released from the citizenship of the Slovak Republic and has a continuous residence in Slovakia for at least two years immediately preceding application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic
  • has parents who at the time of his/her birth one of them was Czechoslovak citizen and the other was foreigner and according to Law. 194/1949 Coll. on the acquisition and lose of Czechoslovak citizenship, parents – Czechoslovak citizen did not request the County National Committee for approval to the acquisition of the Czechoslovak citizenship and the applicant has a continuous residence for at least two years immediately preceding application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic

Read also this article: Acquisition of citizenship of the Slovak Republic by US citizens

Dual nationality in Slovakia

Effective since July 2010 a citizen of the Slovak republic loses the citizenship at the day when based of his expressed will in a form of request, declaration or other act which leads to alien citizenship acquirement he voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship. Effective from February 2015, former citizens of the Slovak republic who lost the citizenship can request due to an exception on granting the Slovak republic citizenship according to regulation of The Ministry of Interior of the Slovak republic on granting citizenship for special reasons.

  • preparation of necessary documents for obtaining Slovak citizenship
  • legal advice on securing the necessary documents and checking the fulfilment of conditions
  • representation in proceedings on granting Slovak citizenship
  • other services based on client requirements

Acquisition of Slovak Citizenship by Descendants

As from April 1st, 2022 person (national of another country) is able to apply for a Slovak citizenship by descendant, in case that her/his parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was Czechoslovak citizen born at the territory of today´s Slovak Republic.

The application must be submitted in person at the Consulate General of Slovakia and the appointment is made in advance.

In order to apply for Slovak citizenship the applicant must submit following documents:

Application for Residence Permit in the Slovak Republic:

  • 1. Fulfilled application for residence permit – attached;
  • 2. Proof of accommodation (in case that you do not have such document just state a village/town in the application);
  • 3. Valid passport;

Application for Slovak citizenship:

  • 1.       Fulfilled application for Slovak citizenship
  • 2.       Fulfilled questionnaire 
  • 3.       Detailed and structured CV/resume in Slovak language (unofficial translation);
  • 4.       Valid passport;
  • 5.       Birth certificate (verified by Apostille and translated by official translator to the Slovak language); Please bring 2 sets of copies.
  • 6.       Documents on applicant´s personal status (marriage certificate, divorce decision in force, death certificate of spouse) – verified by Apostille and translated by official translator to the Slovak language; Please bring 2 sets of copies.
  • 7.       Documents proving that your parent, great parent, great grandparent was Czechoslovak citizen born at the territory of the Slovak Republic; (The applicant applying for the granting of Slovak citizenship must submit proof by birth certificates a bloodline to the ancestor  – grandparent/great-grandparent who was a Czechoslovak citizen and must submit proof of Czechoslovak citizenship of this ancestor.) Please bring 2 sets of copies.
  • 8.       Identity History Summary Check and/or Criminal Registry Extract of each country of which you are or were a citizen and your Criminal Registry Extract of each country in which you have had residence for more than 180 consecutive days in the past 15 years prior to submitting the application (document may not be older than 6 months and must verified by Apostille and translated by official translator to the Slovak language);
  • 9.       Certificate proving the status of a Slovak Living Abroad (if applicable);
  • 10.   Other important documents (e.g. name change) – verified by Apostille and translated by official translator to the Slovak language; Please bring 2 sets of copies.
  • 11.   Confirmation of the tax office, customs office and the municipality on the payment of taxes and other fees – Transcript from IRS;
  • 12.   Confirmation of your employment issued by your employer and a copy of the employment contract;
  • 13.   Confirmation of the public health insurance payments and the period of public health insurance coverage, issued by the health insurance company abroad;
  • 14.   Confirmation of the income tax payments, public health insurance payments, social insurance payments, and retirement pension contributions, issued by your employer;
  • 15.   Confirmation of study – diploma (if applicable);
  • 16.   Confirmation of pension income (if applicable).

All official documents (except the last six Confirmation) must be verified by Apostille and translated by official translator to the Slovak language. Apostille is usually issued by the Department of State of the state in which the document was issued. Apostille is accepted when the state is a party of The Convention of Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Convention).

All documents (except the last six Confirmation) other than in Slovak or Czech language must be officially translated in Slovak language by the official translator registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic.

The last six Confirmation are submitted only in unofficial translation in Slovak language or can be submitted by filling out the enclosed Affidavit (please fill it in both languages and sign it).

Applicant may replace documents mentioned above by affidavit (formal written statement) in case that it is difficult to obtain these documents.

The Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic has 24 months to process the application (in reality it takes less then that).

In the application for citizenship you can also include your children younger then 14 years of age – please be informed that this is not available if the main applicant is applying through great-grandparents. In this case you also neeed to submit birth certificate of your child. Also you need to submit the consent of second parent/legal guardain of the child included in the application of first parent. Applicant older then 14 year of age apply for citizenship in separate application and has to be signed by both parents (must be present or follow the process above). (zdroj: ZÚ USA).

For more information read this: Slovak citizenship by descent

References from clients

I engaged AKMV Laf Firm for assistance with renewal of my temporary residency. As expected, the process was not entirely straightforward, and the expert knowledge and experience of AKMV was crucial to both a successful application and providing reassurance to me with what could have been a stressful time. As such, I arrived at the Foreign Police with all the correct documentation and the application was made quickly and without difficulty. Follow-up requirements from the Foreign Police were quickly and precisely addressed by AKMV. The successful application was advised once approved. I have not hesitated to recommend AKMV to other foreigners and will seek their assistance for my immigration needs in the future.

Ross Cable

I Just wanted to say a big thank you for helping me get my residency here in Slovakia, Barbora and I appreciated it so much and I’m glad that I can be here with her and without worry! Thank you again for your hard work.

Client
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