Temporary Residence of a Foreigner – Application, Purpose, Deadlines

Temporary residence entitles a foreigner to stay in, leave, and re-enter the territory of the Slovak Republic throughout the period for which it was granted by the police department. With a residence card, the foreigner can travel not only within Slovakia but throughout the entire Schengen Area. In this article, we will explain what a residence application looks like and what requirements it must meet under Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the Residence of Foreigners (hereinafter referred to as the “Act on the Residence of Foreigners”).

Temporary residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic is always tied to one specific purpose. The purposes of temporary residence are stipulated in § 21 of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners as follows:

Also read: Temporary Residence of a Foreigner

If a foreigner meets one of the above-mentioned purposes of temporary residence, temporary residence may be granted based on an application for granting temporary residence. The requirements for submission, as well as the exact procedure, are governed by the Act on the Residence of Foreigners.

Also Read:

Temporary Residence for the Purpose of Family Reunification
Temporary Residence of a Foreigner with Long-Term Residence in Another EU Member State
Temporary Residence for the Purpose of Special Activity – for Athletes, Coaches
Temporary Residence for a Foreigner – Accommodation Requirements, Change of Address, Passport Validity
Employment of Foreigners from the European Union
Employment of Foreigners from Third Countries

A foreigner must submit the application for temporary residence in person. The application may be submitted at a diplomatic mission of the Slovak Republic abroad accredited for the country where the foreigner has residence or which issued the foreigner’s travel document. For example, if a citizen of Iran also holds temporary residence in Dubai, they may submit the application for residence at the Slovak Embassy in the UAE.

A third-country national may also submit the application for temporary residence in person at the police department (unless otherwise stated below in point 6), if:

a) they are residing in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of:

b) they are a third-country national who is exempt from the visa requirement,
c) they are a third-country national who has been granted temporary refuge in the territory of the Slovak Republic, or
d) they are a holder of a Slovak Living Abroad certificate.

(6) A third-country national may not submit an application for temporary residence under paragraph 3 in person at the police department if:

a) they are applying for temporary residence under § 22 (for the purpose of business),
b) they are applying for temporary residence under § 23(5) (intra-corporate transfer), or
c) they have been granted a national visa under § 15(1)(b) and are applying for temporary residence for a purpose other than the one declared when the national visa was granted, unless the application is for temporary residence under §§ 24 to 26.

Due to ongoing issues with the unavailability of appointments in the online booking system of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, we recommend the following practical steps:

The application for granting temporary residence must be submitted on an official form. The application form is available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic.

When submitting the application, a valid travel document must be presented. Failure to submit the travel document or submitting an application that does not comply with the Act on the Residence of Foreigners will result in the application not being accepted.

An exception applies to the application for temporary residence for the purpose of employment, which does not need to be complete. In this case, part of the documentation may be submitted later. Such an application will be rejected by the diplomatic mission or the foreign police department only if the foreigner fails to present a valid travel document. For all other purposes, the application must be complete, including all required attachments. In the event the application is not accepted, the foreigner will be provided with written information about the missing documents that must be submitted in order for the application to be accepted.

The attachments to the application, pursuant to § 32(2) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, are as follows:

As outlined above, the specific range of required attachments depends on the specific purpose of residence and, in some cases, the particular circumstances of the applicant within each purpose category. Therefore, it is advisable to consult a legal expert before submitting the application to avoid rejection due to incompleteness. For more detailed information about attachments required for each type of residence, please refer to our articles covering specific purposes of residence.

Please also note that, with some exceptions (such as vital records), submitted documents must not be older than 90 days at the time of submission. If a foreign document is submitted, it must be apostilled or superlegalized and officially translated into the Slovak language.

If the application is submitted at a diplomatic mission of the Slovak Republic abroad, the first step should be to reserve an appointment for the application submission. Please note that, based on our experience, waiting times for an appointment at some diplomatic missions may be several months. Therefore, submitting the application must be carefully planned, also taking into account the 90-day validity period of the submitted documents.

The diplomatic mission will conduct a personal interview with the applicant at the time of submission for the purpose of preliminary assessment. The submitted application, together with its attachments and the mission’s recommendation or non-recommendation regarding the granting of temporary residence, is then forwarded to the competent foreign police department in Slovakia. A confirmation of application submission is issued to the foreigner.

The confirmation of application submission is also issued to the foreigner if the application is submitted at the foreign police department in Slovakia.

After submission, the police department assesses whether the application is complete and whether the submitted documents meet all legal requirements. According to § 33 of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, when assessing the application, consideration is given to:
“public interest, particularly security concerns, the economic interests of the Slovak Republic, especially the contribution of the third-country national’s business activity to the economy of the Slovak Republic, and the protection of public health, interests of the minor child of the third-country national, the personal and family circumstances of the third-country national, their financial situation, the length of their current and expected stay, and the diplomatic mission’s opinion on granting the temporary residence.”

Additional specific interests are considered depending on the specific purpose of residence.

Reasons for Rejection of the Application for Temporary Residence
The grounds for rejecting an application are strictly defined in § 33(6) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners. The application shall be rejected if the third-country national:

In this regard, we note that the applicant should be allowed to respond to the basis of the decision before the application is rejected. If the application is rejected regardless, the police department is obliged to properly justify the decision.

The police department shall decide on the application for granting temporary residence within 90 days.

For temporary residence for the purpose of employment based on a confirmation of the possibility to fill a vacant job position, the decision period is 30 days from the delivery of the confirmation from the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, provided the job position is in a sector with a labour shortage.

According to § 33(8) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, the 30-day decision period also applies to applications by foreigners who:

If the application is submitted at a Slovak diplomatic mission abroad, the decision period begins only upon delivery of the application to the competent foreign police department in Slovakia, which may take approximately one to two months. In some countries (e.g., the Russian Federation), it is possible to apply for national visas for entry into Slovakia, on the basis of which the foreigner is entitled to submit the residence application in Slovakia.

If temporary residence is granted, the police department will send the foreigner a written notification of the decision. The notification will include the date of granting the residence and the date of its expiration. If the application was submitted at a diplomatic mission abroad, the foreigner may then apply for a national type D visa and must appear in person at the foreign police department in Slovakia to obtain the residence card.

However, the foreigner’s obligations do not end there. In many cases, it is necessary to undergo a medical examination, arrange health insurance, and fulfil other additional requirements.

Medical examination of foreigners in Zlaté Moravce is available without prior appointment.

Medical examinations in Bratislava and 12 other cities are provided by Medical Control s.r.o.

Phone: +421 948 350 123