How can the Slovak Citizenship be obtained?

Every Slovak citizen has certain rights and freedoms. Citizenship of the Slovak Republic can be obtained in 3 ways:

  • by birth
  • by adoption
  • it can be granted

Requirements for obtaining the Slovak citizenship either way follow.

Birth

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic automatically obtains a child:

  • whose at least one of the parents is a citizen of the Slovak Republic, or
  • who was born in the territory of Slovakia and whose parents are stateless, or
  • who was born in the territory of Slovakia and whose parents are foreign nationals, but the child does not acquire citizenship of any of them.

If there is no other foreign citizenship proven, a child is considered as a citizen of the Slovak Republic, if:

  • it was born in the territory of Slovakia, or
  • it was found in Slovakia and the parents are not known, unless it is proved that it obtained citizenship of another country.

A child of a Slovak citizen and a foreign citizen is a citizen of the Slovak Republic, even if it is later proved that the Slovak citizen is actually not the parent.

Adoption

If a child, who is not a citizen of the Slovak Republic, is adopted by parent(s), of which at least one is a citizen of the Slovak Republic, then the child obtains the Slovak citizenship (note that the expression Slovakian citizenship is incorrect).

Grant

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic may be granted to an applicant who is not a citizen of the Slovak Republic and:

  • has a continuous permanent residence in the Slovakia for at least 8 years immediately preceding the application for citizenship,
  • has no criminal record, criminal record has a person:
    1. who has been convicted of committing a crime, and the erasure of conviction expired less than 5 years ago,
    2. whom prosecution for a crime has been conditionally suspended, and the end of the probationary period expired less than 5 years ago,
    3. whom prosecution for a crime was terminated by the court approving a settlement or by the prosecutor approving a settlement, and this decision was made less than 5 years ago;
  • wasn‘t a sentence of expulsion by a court,
  • is not conducted by the prosecution,
  • against him/her there is not conducted extradition proceeding or proceedings to execute the European arrest warrant,
  • is not held on the deportation proceedings,
  • there are not conducted proceedings on the removal of asylum,
  • demonstrates knowledge of the Slovak language (both written and oral) and general knowledge of the Slovak Republic, without prejudice to an applicant who has significantly contributed to the benefit for the Slovak Republic on economic, scientific, technical, cultural, social or sport sphere and to an applicant, who was released from a citizenship of the Slovak Republic and he/she has permanent residence for at least two years immediately preceding application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic, for further statutory range of applicants and for applicants who at the time of application have not reached 14 years of age,
  • perform its obligations under the provisions of the laws governing the stay of foreigners in the Slovak Republic – public health insurance, social insurance, superannuation, taxes, levies, fees, employment of foreigners and other obligations to foreigners from the legal system of the Slovak Republic.

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic can be granted to an applicant, who is allowed to stay in Slovakia, without the condition of continuous permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia for at least 8 years, if he/she:

  • is married with 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,
  • 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 (length of stay does not apply to minor children under two years of age),
  • 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 where 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 didn‘t 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.

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic may be granted to an applicant who was issued a certificate – Slovak living abroad – without the condition of continuous permanent residence in Slovakia for at least 5 years, if he/she has a continuous residence in Slovakia for at least three years immediately preceding application for the state citizenship of the Slovak Republic.

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic may be granted to an applicant, to whom the former Czechoslovak citizenship expired or who lost the Czechoslovak citizenship – due to long absence under § 31 and 32 L of a legal article in 1879 on acquisition and loss of the Hungarian citizenship or due to a marriage under § 34 of the same article, or under § 2 of Law No. 102/1947 Coll. on acquisition and loss of the Czechoslovak citizenship by marriage, or under § 5 of Law. 194/1949 Coll. on acquisition and loss of the Czechoslovak citizenship, or under § 13 paragraph 1 of the Act of the Slovak National Council. 206/1968 Coll. on the acquisition and loss of citizenship of the Slovak Socialist Republic, or under international treaties, without the condition of continuous permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia for at least 5 years.

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic can be granted to an applicant, who was released from the citizenship of the Slovak Republic under § 14 paragraph 1 of the Act of the Slovak National Council. 206/1968 Coll. on acquisition and loss of citizenship of the Slovak Socialist Republic, or under § 6 of Law. 194/1949 Coll. on the acquisition and loss of the Czechoslovak citizenship, without the condition of continuous permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia for at least 5 years.

Without the condition of continuous permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia for at least 8 years, the citizenship of the Slovak Republic is granted to an applicant who is a former citizen of the Slovak Republic and who was released from the citizenship under this law, if requested, and if he/she provides evidence that he/she wasn‘t granted a citizenship of another country.

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic is equivalent irrespective of the way of acquisition!


Where to apply for Slovak citizenship?

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic is granted by the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic on a written application. If the 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, the application for citizenship is assessed by the Ministry and presented to the Minister of Interior of the Slovak Republic, who decides about it in accordance with the terms of the Slovak law.

Slovak citizenship application shall be made in person at:

Territorial jurisdiction is dependant on the person’s residence. If a person does not reside on the territory of the Slovak Republic, territorial jurisdiction is his/her last residence in the Slovak Republic.


What Information & Documents are needed?

An application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic should include:

  • Name, surname, maiden name, birth number (if there is any), date and place of birth,
  • Address of the applicant (unless this Act provides otherwise),
  • Reasons for requesting the grant of citizenship of the Slovak Republic,
  • Date and signature.

The applicant should submit these documents as well:

  • Brief CV,
  • Proof of identity,
  • Birth certificate,
  • Proof of marital status, which is: a marriage certificate, a final sentence or a certificate of the divorce, death certificate of spouse, if applicant is a married man or a married woman, divorced or widowed,
  • Proof of residence in the Slovak Republic, and if it is a former citizen – proof of last permanent residence in the Slovak Republic or a solemn declaration about this residence,
  • Evidence of no criminal record that is not older than 6 months = a copy of the criminal record of any country of which he/she is or has been a citizen and a copy of the criminal record of any country in which he had a residence in the last 15 years prior to the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic, or other evidence of no criminal record issued by the competent authorities of those countries,
  • Deed of release from the citizenship of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the Slovak Socialist Republic and the Slovak Republic or a Naturalization Certificate, or proof of acquisition of citizenship of another country, if the applicant is a former citizen,
  • A certificate showing the “Slovak living abroad” status
  • And the following additional documents:
    1. confirmation of payment of taxes and charges from the tax office, customs office and from the village/town/city,
    2. extract from the Commercial Register or an extract from the Business Register,
    3. employer’s confirmation of employment and copy of employment contract,
    4. confirmation of payment of health insurance and the duration of the insurance,
    5. employer’s confirmation of payment of income tax and the payment of public health insurance, social insurance and superannuation,
    6. confirmation of the study,
    7. confirmation of receiving pension,
    8. confirmation of applicant‘s registration as a job seeker,
    9. confirmation of the source of revenues sufficient to fund the stay of the applicant and his/her relatives in Slovakia, if he is voluntarily unemployed.

The applicant shall submit those documents listed above which are needed to prove the obligations under the laws governing the stay of foreigners in Slovakia, the public health insurance, social insurance, superannuation, taxes, levies, fees, employment of foreigners and other obligations to foreigners according to the law of the Slovak Republic, concerning the applicant, and the documents that do not concern him, shall be replaced by a solemn declaration and explanation of why those were not applied.

An applicant who has reached 14 years, when applying for the grant of citizenship of the Slovak Republic, should, as well, complete a questionnaire published by the Ministry. Questionnaire of an applicant who has not reached 18 years of age, should be signed by the applicant’s parents as well. If it is signed by only one parent, it has to be accompanied with the agreement of the other parent, whose signature must be officially certified.

When filling out the questionnaire, the applicant’s District Office, diplomatic mission or consular office of the Slovak Republic verifies the applicant‘s knowledge of the Slovak language. The knowledge of the Slovak language should be verified in a manner consistent with the applicant’s medical condition.

The knowledge of the Slovak language should be verified:

  • By interview, in which the applicant is asked questions about him/her and his/her relatives, and general issues, particularly history, geography and socio-political development of the Slovak Republic,
  • By reading aloud randomly selected article from the press in Slovak language containing at least 500 words, which is handed to the applicant immediately before, he/she reads it,
  • By writing about the contents of the article read by the applicant within the time limit of 30 minutes.

Knowledge of the Slovak language is verified by a three-member commission, appointed by the head of the District Office, ambassador or consul. For commission decision it is required the participation of all its members. Resolution of the commission is adopted, if for its adoption have voted at least two members of the Commission. Applicant receives a written memorandum about the course and outcome of the verification, right on the day of testing.

District Office shall obtain from the appropriate Police department a statement on application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic and then the application is sent to the Ministry.

If the applicant requests, the District Office, diplomatic mission or consular office shall issue him/her a certificate prooving the application for granting of citizenship of the Slovak Republic.

Parents and their children who have reached 14 years, apply for a citizenship in individual applications. Minor children under 14 years of age receive the citizenship together with the parents.

The applicant shall attach to an application for granting of citizenship of the Slovak Republic to a minor child under 14 years of age:

  • Child’s birth certificate,
  • Proof of residence of the child in the Slovak Republic, as example: a confirmation from the appropriate Police department or a confirmation of school visits,
  • Confirmation of payment of health insurance for the child and the duration of the insurance.


Decision Procedure of Granting Citizenship

The Ministry may require additional documents if necessary. The Ministry will ask the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Slovak Republic a copy of criminal records relating to the applicant.

Ministry can ask a statement of the special unit of the Police and, if necessary, Slovak Information Service and other concerned state authorities. It takes into account the public interest, particularly the safety aspects, as well as the opinions of the Police, Slovak Information Service and other concerned state authorities.

If the applicant has significantly contributed to the benefit of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry will require statement of the related state authority. The concerned state authority has to explain the reasons that justify the exemption from the conditions of continuous permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia for at least 8 years and knowledge of the Slovak language.

The Ministry will require a notification of the state authority whether the applicant is in a criminal prosecution, in extradition proceedings, proceedings to execute the European arrest warrant, in the procedure for deportation or in removal proceedings for asylum. If such proceedings against the applicant is conducted, the Ministry shall cancel the proceedings for citizenship granting, Ministry will continue in the proceedings as soon as it becomes aware of the decision to end the criminal prosecution, extradition procedure, procedure to execute the European arrest warrant, the proceedings of deportation or the procedure for asylum removal. The state authority is obliged to notify the Ministry about such a decision.

The Ministry will suspend the proceedings if:

  • The applicant has not satisfied the requirement of continuous permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia for at least 8 years, and also does not meet any of the conditions under § 7 para. 2 to 6 of the Law on Citizenship of the Slovak Republic.
  • The applicant’s residence permit expired.

The decision to discontinue the proceedings will be indicated in the file and the applicant will be notified.

The Ministry decides on application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic in 24 months after receiving the application. If a statement of state authority is necessary for decision (excluding the statement of the Police), the time when Ministry is waiting for the statement of this authority is not counted into the 24 month deadline.

Applicant becomes a Slovak citizen after receiving the certificate of citizenship. Certificate will be delivered to the applicant by the District Office, diplomatic mission or consular office of the Slovak Republic after swearing an oath of the citizen of Slovak Republic. Swearing an oath of citizen of the Slovak Republic is a must, except of children younger than 14 years, person whose health does not allow him/her to do so, and persons who are deprived of legal capacity. District Office, diplomatic mission or consular office of the Slovak Republic will make a record of the oath, which, together with proof of receipt of the citizenship certificate, will be sent to the Ministry. The record should indicate the date of applicant’s swearing and receiving the citizenship certificate.

If the applicant does not to accept the document granting citizenship of the Slovak Republic within six months after receiving the written notification without a serious reason, the Ministry will suspend the proceedings. The decision to discontinue the proceedings will be indicated in the file and the applicant will be notified

Oath of the citizen of the Slovak Republic shall be sweared in hands of the head of the District Office, Ambassador, Consul, or their authorized person, and it says:

Sľubujem na svoju česť a svedomie, že budem verný Slovenskej republike, budem dodržiavať Ústavu Slovenskej republiky, ústavné zákony, zákony a iné všeobecne záväzné právne predpisy a riadne plniť všetky povinnosti štátneho občana Slovenskej republiky.

Translation of the oath:

I swear on my honor and conscience that I will be faithful to the Slovak Republic, I will follow the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, constitutional laws, laws and other generally binding legal regulations and properly perform all the duties of a citizen of the Slovak Republic.

If the Ministry refused to grant citizenship of the Slovak Republic, the applicant may submit a new application two years after the previous rejection came into force.

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic does not arise even after receiving the citizenship certificate, if it is later proven that:

  • Documents, based on which the citizenship certificate was granted, are forged or altered.
  • The applicant is not the person whose documents were submitted.
  • Citizenship certificate was issued without the knowledge of facts which could have a significant influence on the decision and the applicant has not mentionned the fact, even though he was obliged to do so.
  • Issuing the certificate was achieved by a crime.

The Ministry will notify the applicant. Ministry also sends a notice to the municipality of applicant’s residence, the Police, the tax office, customs, social insurance and public health insurance institutions.

The applicant is required to return the certificate of citizenship of the Slovak Republic to the Ministry within 30 days of receiving the notification.


Administrative Fees

Fees for granting a Slovak citizenship:

  • To an applicant over 18 years of age – 663.50 EUR
  • To a child:
    • within 15 years – 99.50 EUR
    • from 15 to 18 years – 132.50 EUR
  • To former Slovak or Czechoslovak citizen and reoptant under international law – 16.50 EUR
  • To a Czech citizen born after 1st of January 1993 – 16.50 EUR
  • To a person, whose at least one parent was a Czechoslovak citizen at the time of his/her birth – 16.50 EUR

There are no fees for:

  • Foreigners who were granted asylum,
  • Resettled people from the Chernobyl area, Ukraine.

Fees will be charged after the granting.


Certification of the Citizenship

Citizenship of the Slovak Republic is prooved by:

  • Valid certification of the citizenship,
  • Valid ID card,
  • Valid passport, or
  • Confirmation of citizenship.

Certification of the citizenship is issued by the District Office at written request for a citizenship certification, which should be delivered personally to the District Office, diplomatic mission or consular office of the Slovak Republic.

An application for a citizenship certification should include these information:

  • Name, surname, maiden name, birth number (if there is any), date and place of birth,
  • The applicant’s residence address and address of the applicant’s last residence in the Slovak Republic,
  • Date and signature.

The applicant shall also attach:

  • Proof of identity,
  • Birth certificate,
  • Proof of personal status, which is a marriage certificate, a final sentence or a certificate of divorce, death certificate of spouse if applicant is a married man or a woman, divorced or widowed,
  • Other documents necessary to decide about the application, if asked by District Office.

Certification of the citizenship is issued on a form issued by the Ministry, usually within 30 days of the request. It is valid for 6 months from the date of issue and only in the original form. It expires on the day of receipt of the documents of release from the citizenship of the Slovak Republic, unless stated otherwise.

If the applicant requests a certification of the citizenship repeatedly, the District Office is obliged to issue it every time.

At a written request applied on District Office, diplomatic mission or consular office of the Slovak Republic, District Office issues a confirmation of citizenship of the Slovak Republic on the date of the person’s death or to another date preceding the date of application. The request may be applied by a state authority, company or a person, if it/he/she can show a legal reason for which the confirmation should be issued.

Finally, it should be noted that noone can be deprived of the Slovak citizenship against his will.