Slovakia work visa: temporary residence for employment

You have 180 days from the issue of the confirmation to apply; after that the police no longer accept an application for that job. Because the confirmation reaches the authorities electronically, you do not attach it. You submit the official form, your passport, criminal record extracts and proof of accommodation for at least six months. The application can be refused only if the passport is missing or the confirmation has not been delivered or is older than 180 days; other missing items must be added within 15 days (extendable by 15), otherwise the procedure is stopped.

From abroad the application is lodged in person at the Slovak embassy accredited for the country that issued your passport or where you live, which interviews you and forwards the file. If you are already in Slovakia lawfully, for example visa-free or on a national visa, you can file at the foreign police after booking through the Ministry of Interior system.

The employer reports the vacancy to the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (ÚPSVR) for the place of work, marking that it wants to hire a third-country national. In the standard procedure it must wait at least 20 working days; if no registered jobseeker fills the post, it sends an electronic request for a confirmation of the possibility to fill the vacancy through slovensko.sk, signed with a qualified electronic signature, attaching the employment contract or written job promise, the recognition of your education for a regulated profession and a copy of your passport. The office decides within 15 working days and sends the confirmation electronically to the foreign police or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as named in the request, and to the employer.

No labour-market test applies, and the vacancy can be reported on the same day as the request, for occupations on the current list of shortage occupations in the region when third-country nationals make up no more than 45 % of the employer’s staff, and for teachers, university staff and researchers. Temporary work agencies may place third-country nationals only in shortage occupations.

The police decide within 60 days of a complete application, or within 30 days for a job in a regional shortage occupation when the employer meets the legal condition. Once a complete application has been accepted and this is marked on the receipt, the employer may employ you from the date stated in the confirmation, even before the permit is granted. The employer must tell the labour office within seven working days whether you started, ended or did not start the job.

After the permit is granted, a visa-required worker obtains a national visa to collect it (EUR 15) and picks up the residence card in Slovakia (EUR 10, or EUR 39 for delivery within two working days). Health insurance must be in place within three working days of collecting the card, and a medical report from an infectious disease specialist, no older than 30 days, must be handed to the police within 30 days.

Renewal is filed at the foreign police, in person or electronically, by the last day of the permit; it costs EUR 140 and needs a fresh confirmation for the same job, which the labour office issues without a labour-market test. To change employer, the new employer reports the change to the labour office, which issues a new confirmation if it agrees. A residence permit for employment cannot be used for self-employment.

The police refuse temporary residence if you are an undesirable person, pose a risk to security, public order or public health, do not meet the conditions, give false information or documents, entered into a marriage of convenience, the accommodation clearly does not meet minimum standards, or the grant is not in the public interest. A refusal is a written administrative decision that states how it can be challenged.