I want to come before 31 December 2020

Until 31 December 2020, you can enjoy the freedom of movement within the EU in the same way as before the UK´s departure from the EU. Until 31 December 2020, you will be treated as a Union citizen.

If you register your residence in Slovakia before 31 December 2020, or if you are at least lawfully residing in Slovakia before this date, your rights will be protected for as long as you remain resident.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

STEP 1: Notify the Foreign Police of your stay

You must notify the Foreign Police of the start and of your place of residence within 10 working days from the day of entering Slovakia. This obligation applies if you are renting, live with relatives or friends etc. If you are staying in a hotel, hostel, or similar accommodation facility, it is instead the responsibility of the accommodation provider.

To notify the Foreign Police of your stay, you must send the completed Notice of the Stay form by mail to the Foreign Police Department competent according to your place of residence in Slovakia. You may also submit the completed form in person.

Find your competent Foreign Police Department here. Contact details of Foreign Police Departments are available here.

STEP 2: Register your residence and apply for a Residence Card

If you hold a valid passport, you have the right of residence in Slovakia for a period not exceeding three months without any conditions.

You have the right of residence in Slovakia for a period longer than three months, if you satisfy certain conditions.

If you intend to stay in Slovakia for a period longer than three months, you must register your residence. You must do so within 30 days from the lapse of three months from entering Slovakia.

In case you do not register your residence by 31 December 2020 (e.g. due to moving short before the end of the year), you must at least be lawfully residing in Slovakia before this date and continue to reside here thereafter, in order for your rights to be protected after the end of the transition period (after 31 December 2020). Then, you must go to the Foreign Police to register your residence and apply for a Residence Card by 30 June 2021 at the latest.

If you register your residence in Slovakia before 31 December 2020, you are not required to also immediately apply for a Residence Card. Having a Residence Card before 31 December 2020 is not mandatory, but only a possibility you may opt for voluntarily.

However, it is recommended you apply for the Residence Card at the same time you register your residence, or by 31 December 2020. If you do not submit your application for a Residence Card by 31 December 2020, your residence status will be changed automatically from 1 January 2021. In this case, you will have to apply for the Residence Card before 30 June 2021.

Applying before 31 December 2020

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

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

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

Tip:

Applying after 1 January 2021

If you register your residence, but do not apply for one of the two above Residence Cards by 31 December 2020, your residence status will be changed automatically after 1 January 2021. In this case, you will have to apply for the Residence Card before 30 June 2021. You will only be able to get the non-EU Residence Card, i.e. opting for the EU Residence Card will no longer be possible.

If you are lawfully residing in Slovakia before 31 December 2020, but do not register your residence and apply for one of the two above Residence Cards by this date, your residence status will be changed automatically after 1 January 2021. In this case, you will have to register your residence and apply for the Residence Card before 30 June 2021. You will have to demonstrate that you have moved to Slovakia before 31 December 2020 and that you satisfy one of the conditions. You will only be able to get the non-EU Residence Card, i.e. opting for the EU Residence Card will no longer be possible.

HOW TO APPLY

To register your residence and apply for the 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 registering your residence.

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

To register your residence and apply for the Residence Card, you must submit the following documents at the Foreign Police:

1. Valid passport
2. Two passport size colour photographs (3 x 3.5 cm)
3. Application form automatically generated by the online booking system
4. Application form completed in Slovak language (optional)
5. Document confirming your right of residence in Slovakia
6. Document(s) confirming that you were lawfully residing in Slovakia before 31 December 2020
7. Document on accommodation
8. Optional fee(s)

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 confirming your right of residence in Slovakia

The document confirming your right of residence may be one of the following, depending on your situation:

• Written promise of employment or confirmation of employment
• Trade Licence
• Confirmation from school or university and a document confirming sufficient financial means
• Document confirming sufficient financial means and a document on health insurance
• Affidavit certifying that you are continuously looking for work
• Document proving the family relation or the duly attested, durable relationship and a Registration Certificate of the UK national or Union citizen whom you are accompanying or joining

Document confirming your lawful residence in Slovakia before 31 December 2020

These documents may include, but are not limited to, e.g.:

• Document(s) confirming your right of residence in Slovakia dated before 31 December 2020
• Lease contract for a house/flat concluded before 31 December 2020
• Contract with a private health insurance provider in Slovakia concluded before 31 December 2020
• Bills on your name from before 31 December 2020 (e.g. utilities, telecommunication)
• Flight/other travel ticket to Slovakia on your name from before 31 December 2020
• Invoice on your name from a relocation company from before 31 December 2020
• A bank account on your name opened in a Slovak bank before 31 December 2020

Please note that it is up to the Foreign Police to consider whether the documents you submit are a credible proof of your lawful residence in Slovakia before 31 December 2020.

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 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.