Slovakia self-employment and company director residence permit

Section 22 covers a foreigner who does or will do business in Slovakia as a natural person, typically under a trade licence, and a foreigner who acts or will act on behalf of a commercial company or cooperative and is not employed by it, such as a managing director of a Slovak s.r.o. The permit is granted for three years. A third option for company representatives is an innovative project: a business plan for an innovative project lowers the capital requirement and shortens the decision to 30 days.

The purpose of stay is proven by a business plan in the form published by the Ministry of Economy, together with documents showing that the business is feasible and sustainable, or by a business plan for an innovative project. The police ask the Ministry of Economy whether the activity benefits Slovakia’s economic interests (and, where claimed, whether the project is innovative); the ministry answers within 60 days. You also submit criminal record extracts and proof of accommodation for at least six months.

You show two separate bank balances, each confirmed not more than 90 days before filing. Financial security of the stay: a personal account in your name with 12 times the subsistence minimum, which is EUR 3,542.64 at the rate of EUR 295.22 a month valid from 1 July 2026. Financial security of the business: a different account opened for the business, holding 20 times the subsistence minimum for sole traders (EUR 5,904.40), 100 times for people acting for a company (EUR 29,522) or 40 times for a company representative with an innovative project (EUR 11,808.80). Representatives of a significant foreign investor do not have to show the business funds.

The amendment of the Act effective 1 July 2025 requires applications for the grant of temporary residence for business to be filed only at Slovak embassies abroad, with no territorial exceptions: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot assign another embassy as it can for other purposes, and the foreign police in Slovakia do not accept first business applications. A holder of another temporary residence for less than two years cannot switch to business at the police either. The embassy holds a personal interview and forwards the file with its recommendation; the police decide within 90 days, or 30 days for an innovative project.

After the grant you collect the residence card in Slovakia and, within 30 days, hand in proof of health insurance and a medical report from an infectious disease specialist.

Renewal is filed at the foreign police by the last day of the permit, costs EUR 200 and requires the personal funds again. A sole trader must show taxable income from the business for the previous tax period above the amount set by the tax rules, and a person acting for a company must show that the company paid at least the prescribed amount of tax. A new business application can be refused for 12 months if a previous business permit ended and the company had not paid that tax.