Immigration Lawyer in Slovakia – JUDr. Veronika Michalikova, MBA

If you are interested in our legal services, don’t hesitate to contact us. 

During a coronavirus pandemic, conditions continue to change. The legal conditions for immigration have remained the same, but the whole process is a bit more complicated. The Aliens Police or embassies are often closed and it is necessary to adapt to the situation.

Slovakia is a modern and prosperous country. The reason why our clients are interested in Slovakia are different. There are students studying the Slovak language or clients married to Slovak citizens interested in residing in Slovakia and asking how to get the residence permit for the purpose of family reunification. The majority of our clients are interested to run a business in Slovakia. You can also read our article about how to get the residence permit in Slovakia by investment. 

Our clients are mostly third country nationals. For these Non – EU citizens the process is much more complicated. EU citizens automatically gets permanent residence for 5 years. Third country nationals first gets the temporary residence for the first 9 – 18 months (it depends on the foreign police officer) and then they have to ask for renewal. They can apply for a permanent residence permit after 5 years. You can read also our article about the process for permanent residence permit in Slovakia. 

We have clients from many countries, mostly they are from United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Serbia, Russia or Ukraine. 

Each client has a different case. The purpose of getting the residence permit can be mainly study, family reunification, employment or business. For each purpose different type of documents are needed. Our Law Firm firstly analyses each case separately and will prepare all necessary documents. In general, the client has to provide us with a clear criminal record, in case of residing with family also with the marriage certificate or the birth certificates of children are also needed. 

Yes, each client has to find accommodation first. They can rent or buy a flat or a house. In case there is only one person, one room flat is acceptable for the foreign police. If the client decides to rent a flat, the contract must be verified directly by the owner.

There are also some requirements according to the size of the rooms, it depends on the number of family members. If our clients need help with finding appropriate accommodation, we can provide them with a contact to the real estate agent we cooperate with.

Before the residence permit is granted, the foreign police officers  always personally check the accommodation, if the flat is ready and fulfills the requirements according the law. 

We have heard this question many times from our new clients. They found this information along with others but they are wrong. They can rent a flat first and of course if they are willing to do business, the business has to be real, otherwise the foreign police department will not prolong the stay. We suggest you read more about the process of the renewal of the temporary residence permit in Slovakia here. 

In general, our clients mostly rent a flat first and then if their business is successful and they decide to stay in Slovakia, they mostly buy a flat or a house. If they need any further legal services, we are always here for them to help. 

The only way is to ask for an appointment at the Slovak Embassy and submit the documents in your home country if they do not have a possibility to travel to Slovakia without VISA. If the client is, for example, from Iran, then he/she will have to submit the documents in Tehran. If the foreigner has also an official residence permit in another country (e.g. UAE), he can also submit the application in this country. Our law firm will arrange the appointment at the Slovak Embassy. The client should get the residence permit mostly in 4 months from the submission of the documents at the Slovak Embassy.

All necessary documents have to be prepared before the appointment at the Slovak Embassy. If there are some documents missing, the Embassy will reject your application. 

If someone gets for example the residence permit for the purpose of business but the client is interested to reside in Slovakia also with the whole family, this is possible. We can also prepare the documents for your family members. The purpose will be family reunification. 

EU citizens can. Unfortunately according to the Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on Residence of Aliens and Amendment and Supplementation of Certain Acts, the only way how to submit the application is at the Slovak Embassy in the country of the foreigner from the third countries (if he has the VISA obligation). The foreigner who does not need VISA to travel to Slovakia, can also submit the application in Slovakia. 

This is very important point. When submitting the application, you will be asked to have a personal interview with a foreign police clerk. The first thing they will do is that they will check your visa. If you are visiting Slovakia for example using tourist visa and you have submitted the application for the residence permit, this could be a case of a visa violation. The person can be deported from Slovakia with a ban not to come back for 10 years. 

Then the Slovak Embassy will send within 1 month the documents to the foreign police in Slovakia and they have another 3 months (90 days) to decide if they grant the residence permit. If the residence permit is granted, they will notify our Law Office and our client will receive a special national visa for the purpose of visiting Slovakia and take the residence permit card. 

Each client has to be personally here at the Slovak Foreign police when taking the residence permit card. They will definitely need our help. We always go personally with the client to the foreign police for number of reasons, one is the language barrier. 

For example, if a client is interested to apply for getting the residence permit in Slovakia for example for the purpose of doing business, the business has to be active and real. At the beginning we ask him for his business plan. If we see that the client is trying to „abuse the system“, we  immediately refuse to offer our legal services. Also we do not provide a client with our services in case he informed us that he just wants the residence permit in Slovakia because it is not so complicated like in other EU countries and after granting, he will live in other EU country.

After the residence permit is expired, you have to declare to the foreign police officers your previous business activities. Please read more about the process of the renewal of the temporary residence permit in Slovakia here. 

The conditions and the law can change over time. Our Law Firm is always up-to-date and if anything changes in the law, we will know about it. We can adapt to the changes and do everything necessary to get the residence permit for our clients. People have to realize that this process is really not easy.

We provide comprehensive services in the area of Immigration Law, especially for obtaining a residence permit for foreigners in Slovakia. Obtaining residence for foreigners in Slovakia is quite a complex process and is linked to other necessary services. This includes services of  obtaining a trade license, setting up a company, etc. With residence permit in the Slovak Republic, the relationship of our clients does not end. Our law office will also support you for other activities in Slovakia. 

From 1.5.2018 in most cases, the Slovak foreign police ask for a business plan. The business plan must meet the legal requirements. If the business plan is not approved by the Ministry of Economy, the residence permit will be rejected.

If you are interested in our legal services, don’t hesitate to contact us.