Change of purpose of temporary residence from study to research and development:

  • the application for a change of purpose of residence permit must be submitted no later than on the last day of validity of the current temporary residence permit,
  • the current temporary residence permit is considered valid (only) in the territory of Slovakia until a decision on the new application is made,
  • it means submitting a new application for temporary residence permit,
  • the application for a change of purpose of residence permit must be submitted IN PERSON – at the Foreign Police Department after making a reservation via the online reservation system – after logging in to the reservation system, you can reserve an appointment for the life situation: “Temporary residence – change of purpose of residence,”
  • the application and documents must be complete, otherwise the application will not be accepted,
  • all documents required for the granting of residence must be submitted, except for the criminal record extract (if the applicant submitted it with his/her previous application for residence) and the medical report,
  • the Foreign Police Department will decide within 30 days of receiving the complete application.

Only persons who meet the following criteria may apply to the Foreign Police in the Slovak Republic for a change in the purpose of their residence permit:

  • has successfully passed the final exam or school-leaving exam as part of their secondary school studies in the Slovak Republic, or
  • has duly completed secondary school studies in the Slovak Republic, or
  • has obtained a first, second or third degree university education.

Required documents:

  • form – application – completed in Slovak and signed by the applicant – can be found under the title Application for temporary residence, Video tutorial on completing the application,
  • valid passport,
  • current residence card,
  • hosting agreement – in Slovak or bilingual, signed by the organization’s statutory representative and stamped with the organization’s seal,
  • confirmation of completion of university studies or diploma (in the case of doctoral students at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, confirmation of completion of PhD studies or PhD diploma or certified copy of diploma) – in Slovak language

It is not necessary to submit documents regarding accommodation.

Important information:

  • documents must not be older than 90 days at the time of application (does not apply to hosting agreements and diploma),
  • public documents issued abroad must be officially certified (apostille/superlegalization),
  • 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 done abroad, you need to submit confirmation from the Slovak embassy that the translation was done by an authorized person (this doesn’t apply to translations done in the Czech Republic),
  • photocopies of documents must be officially certified,
  • we recommend that you do not submit originals of important documents (e.g., diplomas), but rather have certified photocopies made, which can be submitted to the Foreign Police, and keep the originals for yourself.

Fees and delivery:

  • issuing a residence card can take up to 30 days (for a fee of €10 in stamps) or up to 2 days for expedited service (for a fee of €39 in stamps) = 30 days for a decision + 30 or 2 days for issuing the card,
  • administrative fees are paid at the Foreign Police using a so-called “eKolok,” which can be purchased directly at the Foreign Police department via a vending machine or at the post office.
  • the card is delivered by Slovak Post courier to the address specified in the application after the Foreign Police sends an SMS notification of the residence permit to the Slovak mobile number specified in the application.

Obligations after obtaining a temporary residence permit – after receiving the card:

  • within 3 days of receipt – take out health insurance and submit proof of health insurance to the Foreign Police Department within 30 days of receipt,
  • the health insurance document (a notarized copy of the contract with the health insurance company or a copy of the insurance card) must be sent by registered mail to the relevant Foreign Police Department.