Most foreign nationals visiting the Slovak Republic apply for a uniform Schengen visa. This visa entitles its holder to enter the entire territory of the Schengen member states in order to visit relatives or friends, or for tourism. It may be granted for a single entry or for multiple entries. The foreign national’s stay in the Schengen Area must not exceed 90 days within any 6-month period. A Schengen visa is therefore not valid for doing business, nor does it serve as a work visa or permit similar commercial activity. To calculate the length of your permitted stay in the Schengen Area, you can use the Schengen visa calculator; its user guide can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.
Temporary residence
A C visa or a transit visa does not allow you to apply to the Foreign Police in Slovakia for temporary residence – for that you need a D visa (national visa). The most common types of temporary residence are:
- Temporary residence for business purposes as a sole trader
- Temporary residence for business purposes as the director of an s.r.o.
- Temporary residence for employment
- Temporary residence for family reunification (spouses, children)
| Pobyt | Cena |
|---|---|
| Živnostník | 100€ |
| s.r.o. | 100€ |
| Zamestnanec | 100€ |
| Manželka, dieta | 100€ |
| Súhlas s ubytovaním na 12 mesiacov (Bratislava) + súhlas obce | 300€ |
Visa application requirements
The visa application must be submitted in person at the relevant embassy or consulate (consular office or diplomatic mission) of the Slovak Republic in the country of which the applicant is a citizen or in which they reside. It should not be submitted earlier than 3 months before travelling to the Slovak Republic.
The visa application must be accompanied by:
- a completed application form, available in both Slovak and English
- a colour photograph of the face measuring 3.5 x 3 cm
- a travel document valid for at least 3 months beyond the validity of the visa requested
- documents demonstrating the conditions and purpose of the planned stay:
- individual or organised tourism – an invitation from the inviting person or a voucher issued by a travel agency, or another invitation verified by the Foreign Police,
- business trips – an invitation issued by a business partner; for repeated business trips, a cooperation agreement with a Slovak company or an invitation issued by the relevant Foreign Police department,
- international symposia, conferences, seminars, cultural and sporting events – an invitation issued by the event organiser, tickets to trade fairs, congresses and the like, or an official letter from the organisation requesting a visa for its employee,
- other purposes – further documents explaining the purpose of the trip and stay in Slovakia:
- a ticket or other proof of travel – a return ticket, plane ticket or bus/train ticket (not an open ticket); if travelling by car, a driving licence, vehicle registration document and motor insurance certificate (the so-called green card),
- documents confirming accommodation (the letter of invitation must state the address of the person with whom the applicant will be staying),
- proof of funds – solvency of up to €56 per day of the stay, in the form of traveller’s cheques, cash in the relevant currency, a bank statement showing regular income (pension, salary) for the last 6–12 months, or other documents showing funds in a convertible currency. Carry proof of your funds with you, as you may be asked at the Slovak border to demonstrate sufficient funds for the whole stay,
- international travel insurance – the insurance must be valid in all Schengen member states and cover all costs connected with the holder’s return to their home country (for health reasons, medical treatment or hospitalisation). The minimum cover is €30,000.
- other documents – to verify the intended purpose of the trip, the embassy or consulate may request further documents from the foreign national
- an administrative fee of €60.
The embassy or consulate must decide on a visa application within 15 calendar days. If the application requires further assessment, this period may be extended to a maximum of 30 calendar days. In very exceptional cases (where additional documents must be supplied), it may be extended to a maximum of 60 days.
A simplified visa procedure is available in selected countries, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. For citizens of these countries, the decision period is 10 calendar days and the administrative fee is €35.
The visa granted is affixed to the passport in the form of a sticker. Once in possession of the visa, the foreign national may stay in the Schengen Area only for the period stated on it. The embassy or consulate may enter in the Schengen visa a specific border crossing through which the foreign national is permitted to enter. There is no legal entitlement to a visa.
Within three working days of entering Slovakia, the foreign national must report the place, start date and length of their stay to the police department. If staying in a hotel or other accommodation establishment, the accommodation provider assumes this obligation.
Invitation for a stay
The foreign national must check with the Slovak embassy in the relevant Schengen country whether an invitation verified by the police department must also be submitted with the visa application.
Verification of the invitation must be requested by the inviting person at the Foreign Police department responsible for their place of residence. They must complete the prescribed application for verification of an invitation and state the purpose of the visit on it.
The application must include:
- evidence of the purpose of the visit
- demonstrable financial provision for the stay – confirmation of the balance on the inviting person’s bank account, which must amount to at least 12 times the statutory subsistence minimum (from 1 July 2019 the subsistence minimum is €210.20), plus €56 for each day of the stay (for a 90-day stay this comes to €7,433.76)
- proof of accommodation – confirmation from an accommodation establishment, a sworn declaration by the user of the property where the foreign national will stay, or a sworn declaration by the property owner that accommodation will be provided. All signatures must be officially certified.
None of the documents enclosed with the application may be older than 90 days. The Foreign Police must decide on the application for verification of an invitation within 15 days of receiving it. A verified invitation is valid for 90 days from the date of verification. An administrative fee of €33 is payable with the application. The inviting person sends the invitation verified by the Foreign Police to the visa applicant, who then encloses it with their Schengen visa application.
The inviting party may be:
- a natural person – a Slovak citizen with permanent residence in Slovakia, or a foreign national holding a temporary or permanent residence permit. The application must be accompanied by proof that the applicant is financially able to cover all costs associated with the foreign national’s travel and visit (a confirmation of account balance is required). If the foreign national is a relative, the original or a certified copy of a document proving the family relationship must be provided.
- a legal entity – a legal entity, or a natural person authorised to do business, may invite a person to Slovakia if that person works in a similar sector. The invitation application must be accompanied by an extract from the trade licence register or from the Slovak Commercial Register (either an officially certified copy or the original). Confirmation of financial provision for the foreign national’s stay and departure must also be enclosed (in the form of a confirmation of account balance).