Slovakia intra-corporate transfer (ICT) permit

An intra-corporate transfer is the temporary posting of a third-country national who is outside Slovakia and the EU when applying, by an employer based outside the EU with whom they have an employment contract before and during the transfer, to the same employer or a company of the same group based in Slovakia. It applies to managers and specialists with exceptional knowledge, skills and experience needed for operations or management, and to university graduates on a trainee placement for career development or business management training.

Before the transfer you must have worked for the non-EU group company for at least six months as a manager or specialist, or at least three months as a trainee. You must also be able to return to that company after the transfer, and meet the conditions for a regulated profession where relevant.

The Ministry of Interior lists the ICT file: the signed official form, a valid passport and two colour photographs, the employment contract, confirmation of the length of the transfer at the Slovak entity, confirmation of the position as manager, specialist or trainee, confirmation of pay and other conditions during the transfer, confirmation that you can return to the non-EU company, proof that the Slovak entity belongs to the group, proof of prior employment, qualification and, for trainees, the degree and training agreement, criminal record extracts and proof of accommodation in Slovakia.

Foreign documents must be officially translated into Slovak and legalised by apostille; the criminal record and accommodation proof must not be older than 90 days. Czech-language documents from Czech authorities are accepted without translation.

For an ICT the employer does not have to advertise the vacancy. A short transfer of up to 90 days uses a work permit granted without a labour-market test. A long transfer requires the host company to request, electronically, a confirmation of the possibility to fill the vacancy, which the labour office issues without examining the labour market; the request includes the employment contract and documents showing the link between the sending and receiving companies.

The ICT application can be filed only at the Slovak embassy accredited for the state of your nationality or residence; it cannot be filed in Slovakia, and the police cannot accept a change of purpose to ICT. The embassy refuses to accept the application if it finds that you will spend longer in another EU state than in Slovakia. The police refuse the permit if the host company was set up mainly to facilitate the entry of transferees, or if you have already used the maximum transfer period. A visa-required transferee then needs an entry visa from the same embassy.

Your family members can apply for temporary residence for family reunification, granted for the duration of your ICT, and may work in Slovakia without a work permit. If you are to work in another EU state for the same employer or group, you can use ICT mobility; the other state does not require a separate residence permit, but its own rules apply.

After collecting the card you must take out health insurance within three working days and hand in a medical report from an infectious disease specialist within 30 days.