after arrival to Slovakia


FAMILY REUNION – FAMILY MEMBER – THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONAL


NOTICE OF THE STAY at the Foreign Police Department

  • if a family member has arranged his/her accommodation individually in private accommodation – he/she reports his/her stay individually within 3 working days from entering Slovakia
  • if a family member is accommodated in an accommodation facility (hotel, hostel, etc.) – the facility reports his/her stay
Form Notice of the stay


TEMPORARY RESIDENCE for the purpose of family reunion

General information:

  • application for a temporary residence for purpose of family reunion – is submitted in person at the competent Foreign Police Department, after booking of appointment at the Foreign Police Department via online system
  • in case of a minor child, the application is submitted by the legal guardian – PARENT
  • in case of a bed-bound applicant, the application is submitted by the person with whom the applicant is applying for family reunion – so called WARRANTOR of the stay
  • the application and the relevant documents must be complete otherwise the application will not be accepted
  • all necessary documents must be prepared already when applying for national visa i.e. before coming to Slovakia
  • the application must be submitted within the validity of national visa or within the 90-days period of visa-free regime (for third-country nationals of countries with visa-free regime) or within validity of residence permit in another EU member state (for third-country nationals with granted residence permit in another EU member state)
  • if the complete residence application is submitted and accepted at the Foreign Police Department, applicant can stay in Slovakia legally until the decision is made
  • the Department of the Foreign Police will decide within 90 days from receiving the complete application
  • the temporary residence for the purpose of family reunion is granted until the expiry of the temporary residence of the national with whom the third-country national applies for family reunion, but for a maximum period of 5 years.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

  • application form – completely filled in Slovak language, signed by applicant – you can find under the name „Application for temporary residence“ in Slovak “Žiadosť o udelenie prechodného pobytu”
  • valid passport
  • national visa – type D or entry into the Slovak Republic based on a visa-free regime (stamp in the passport upon entry into the Slovak Republic) or a document confirming valid residence permit in another EU member state
  • document proving the purpose of the stay = Registry document proving the relationship with the person with residence granted in Slovak Republic – the so-called warrantor of the stay:
    • Spouse:
      • marriage certificate* and
      • not mandatory but recommended: Affidavit on financial and material coverage for spouse (husband/wife)
    • Child:
      • birth certificate* and
      • affidavit of the legal guardian (parent) that the child is single (not married) and will be financially and materially supported
      • in case it is a child of his/her spouse – a copy of the decision of the competent authority to entrust the child to personal care
      • consent of the second parent of a child younger than 18 years of age to whom the child has not been entrusted to personal care and who is entitled to meet with the child.
    • Person dependent on care:
      • birth certificate* and
      • proof of dependency :
        • confirmation from the doctor that the medical condition requires the care of another person
        • a proof that there is no one to provide support in the country of origin
  • copy of the warrantor´s residence document (the person with the granted residence, or the person who applies for a residence permit and with whom the applicant applies for family reunion)
  • Criminal Record Extract – from the country of citizenship and from countries where the applicant has resided for more than 90 days during 6 consecutive months in the last 3 years (if any) (does not apply to a child under 14 years of age) – superlegalized/Apostilled and translated into Slovak by official translato
  • proof of accommodation (not applicable for a family member of a warrantor holding a temporary residence for the purpose of research and development)
    • document confirming accommodation with family member – warrantor at the same address (issued at his/her Slovak residence card), confirming the provision of accommodation for a minimum period of 6 months. In case the foreign national is applying for temporary residence for a shorter period, accommodation must be provided for the entire stay. Possible documents:
      • If the warrantor owns a property in the Slovak Republic, an affidavit of ownership of the property is not required
      • Otherwise one of the following documents proving accommodation is required, in Slovak or bilingual:
        • a confirmation of the accommodation facility (dormitory/hotel/hostel)
        • a tenancy agreement with the owner of the property (person/legal entity)
        • an affidavit of the property owner (person/legal entity) about the provision of accommodation
    • Signatures on affidavits and lease agreements must be officially verified (with the exception of affidavits, signed at the Foreign Police).
    • Accommodation can also be demonstrated by an electronic consent from a natural person or accommodation provider confirming the provision of accommodation, submitted via an electronic service established for this purpose.


*Apart from the registry documents (e.g. marriage certificate/birth certificate), all other documents must not be older than 90 days at the time of submitting the application. All documents issued abroad must be superlegalized/apostilled and translated into Slovak by official translator.

As of 15. July 2024 affidavits can be signed directly at the Foreign Police without the need for official (notary) verification, except the affidavit of the owner of property providing accommodation to a foreigner (owner will probably not come with the applicant to the Foreign Police to sign his/her affidavit)

Checklist of required documents for temporary residence – purpose family reunion

Important information :

  • the documents must not be older than 90 days at the time of submission at Foreign Police. In justified cases, the police department may accept an extract from the criminal record that is older than 90 days for the application for granting residence, if the period between the issuance of the extract from the criminal record of a third-country national and his arrival in the territory of the Slovak Republic is no longer than 90 days. In such a case, an affidavit may be submitted together with the extract from the criminal record that the third-country national has not left the territory of the Slovak Republic since his arrival in the Slovak Republic. If this affidavit is signed by the applicant in front of a police officer at the Foreign Police, the signature does not need to be notarized
  • all documents issued abroad must be superlegalized/Apostilled
  • documents issued in a language other than Slovak must be translated into Slovak by an official translator registered in the List of Experts, Interpreters and Translators at the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic or translated into Czech. For translations made abroad, it is necessary to submit a confirmation from the Slovak embassy that the translation was made by an authorized person (does not apply to translations made in the Czech Republic)
  • signatures on affidavits, powers of attorney and lease agreements must be officially verified (with the exception of powers of attorney and affidavits signed at the Foreign Police)
  • photocopies of documents must be officially certified by notary
  • we recommend not submitting originals of important documents (e.g. CRE), but rather having certified photocopies made, which can be handed over to the Foreign police and the originals kept

Fees:

The administrative fee is 200 € paid in stamps, if submitting the application at the Foreign Police Department, children under 18 years of age are exempted from the fee.

The issuance of the residence permit card may take

  • up to 30 days (€10 fee paid in stamps)
  • up to 2 days (€39 fee paid in stamps)

counted from the date the application was submitted at the Foreign Police in the case of an IN-PERSON application; or counted from the date of fulfilment of the obligation to report the start of residence to the Foreign Police within 3 working days of entry, if the application for temporary or permanent residence was submitted at a diplomatic mission abroad.

This means up to 30 days for the decision on the application + 30 days or 2 days for the issuance of the residence permit card.

The residence card is delivered by Slovak Post Office courier after receiving of SMS notice from the Foreign Police – the police informs the applicant that the residence was granted and until what date exactly it was granted.

Obligations after being granted temporary residence permit – after collecting the residence card:

  • within 30 days from collecting the card – submit a medical record to the Foreign Police Department. Medical record must not be older than 30 days and it confirms that the applicant does not suffer from a disease endangering public health. The list of specialized medical centres you can find here, medical record is issued for a fee
    • this obligation does not apply to researchers coming from European Union member states and neither to children born in Slovakia or in an European Union member state
  • within 3 working days from collecting the card – sign up for health insurance and submit a document proving health insurance at the Foreign Police Department within 30 days from collecting the card
  • a health insurance document (a notarized copy of the contract with the health insurance company or a notarized copy of the insurance card) must be sent by registered mail to the competent Foreign Police Department

Other obligations of a third-country national after obtaining temporary residence:

  • Stay in Slovakia for more than half of the time of the granted temporary residence in a calendar year
  • Notify the Foreign Police in writing that he/she will stay outside the territory of the Slovak Republic for more than 180 days continuously

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