I have resided in Slovakia for less than 5 years, and I hold a valid Residence Card

If you have resided in Slovakia for less than five years and you hold a valid Residence Card (“Pobytový preukaz rodinného príslušníka občana EÚ”), please follow the steps below.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

You must obtain a new (non-EU) Residence Card.

You should go to the Foreign Police at the latest on the last day of validity of your Residence Card and apply for a new Residence Card.

For your own legal certainty, we encourage you to have a valid Residence Card at all times.

Applying before 31 December 2020

If your Residence Card expires in 2020 and you apply for the new Residence Card before 31 December 2020, you will be able to decide between two options:

a) Get the EU Residence Card (“Pobytový preukaz rodinného príslušníka občana EÚ”)

In this case, you will first get the same type of Residence Card as your previous one. Its validity will be until 30 June 2021. Then, if you want to stay in Slovakia beyond 30 June 2021, you will have to go to the Foreign Police again and apply for the Five-year Residence Card (see point b)) before 30 June 2021. The Five-year Residence Card is issued with a validity of five years.

or

b) Get the non-EU Residence Card: Five-year Residence Card (“Povolenie na pobyt – trvalý”)

In this case, you will get a new type of Residence Card. The Foreign Police will grant you the Five-year Residence Card with validity of five years. You will not need to apply for its replacement before 30 June 2021, as stated under point a).

Tip:

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for the new Residence Card, you must go to the Foreign Police Department competent according to your place of residence in Slovakia. You must do so in person. Applying electronically, by mail or by means of an authorised representative is not possible. 

You may use the online booking system of the Foreign Police to book an appointment for applying for the new Residence Card.

Find your competent Foreign Police Department and check the office hours here. Contact details of Foreign Police Departments are available here.

You must submit the following documents at the Foreign Police:

1. Valid passport
2. Your current Residence Card
3. One passport size colour photograph (3 x 3.5 cm)
4. Application form automatically generated by the online booking system
5. Application form completed in Slovak language (optional)
6. Optional fee(s)
7. Document on accommodation, applicable only in the following cases:

• if you haven’t submitted it when applying for your first residence card, or
• if you have changed your address of residence

The above conditions apply regardless of when you apply for the new Residence Card (i.e. before 31 December 2020 or before 30 June 2021).

The application form

If you use the online booking system to book an appointment with the Foreign Police, it will automatically generate your application form, which you should print out.

Even if you use the online booking system, you may consider bringing both completed forms to the Foreign Police, the automatically generated one and the one that you fill in manually, as a backup.

Document on accommodation

The document on accommodation may be one of the following:

• Affidavit about ownership of a property (if you own property)
• Tenancy agreement with the owner or the user of the property and documentation of eligibility to use the property if it is a tenancy agreement with the user of the property
• Affidavit of a natural person or a legal entity about the provision of accommodation and documentation of eligibility to use the property if it is an affidavit of the user of the property
• Confirmation from an accommodation facility (e.g. a hotel, hostel)

Signatures in affidavits and tenancy agreements must be notarized.

FEES AND TIMELINES

The new Residence Card will be issued free of charge, within 30 days from your application.

For your convenience, you may consider paying one or both of the following optional fees:

• Expedited issuance of the Residence Card within two working days (instead of the standard 30 days): 24.50 EUR
• Sending the Residence Card to your address in Slovakia (to avoid going to the Foreign Police again in order to collect it): 3.00 EUR

Fees at the Foreign Police are paid in form of electronic fee stamps (eKolok), which may be bought:

• Online by visiting and registering on this website. Once you select your fees, you need to print them out. The fees may be used within 30 days from the purchase. They may be paid with a card.
• Via the eKolok mobile app. You will get a QR code which you will show on your mobile phone at the Foreign Police Department. The fees may be used within 30 days from the purchase. They may be paid with a card.
• At the Foreign Police Department through a vending machine. The fees may be used within 30 days from the purchase. They may be paid in cash or with a card.
• At a post office. The fees may be used within two years from the purchase. They may be paid in cash or with a card.

Unused fees may be returned at a post office for reimbursement within two years from the purchase.