Cancellation of Foreigner’s Residence After Divorce

In the case where the wife of a Slovak citizen has a permanent residence for 5 years for the purpose of family reunification, as she married a Slovak citizen, the divorce will cause her to lose the purpose for which her permanent residence was granted. As a result, the foreign police will initiate proceedings to cancel her residence permit.

According to § 50 (1) letters e) and d) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the Residence of Foreigners (hereinafter referred to as the “Act on the Residence of Foreigners”): “The police department shall cancel permanent residence if:

• spouses do not live a joint family life, in the case of permanent residence according to § 43 (1) letter a),
• a third-country national was granted permanent residence under § 43 (1) letter a) or § 46 (1) letter a), and their marriage dissolved within five years from the granting of permanent residence for five years.”

According to § 111 (1) letter g) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners: “A third-country national is obliged to report to the police department any change in name, surname, marital status, nationality, data in the travel document within five working days from the date the change occurred, and the replacement of the travel document.”

Therefore, once the foreign police become aware that a divorce has taken place, they will initiate proceedings to cancel the residence permit. The finality of the divorce decree does not automatically result in the cancellation of the residence permit; it requires a formal cancellation process by the foreign police.

According to telephone information provided by IOM, if the police department learns that there are reasons for the cancellation of the residence permit, it will initiate proceedings for its cancellation. The police department will send a notice to the individual whose residence is under consideration for cancellation, requesting a response within 5 working days. If there are no special reasons preventing the cancellation, the police will issue a decision to cancel the 5-year permanent residence. This decision is not final, and it is possible to appeal. The residence permit is only cancelled once the decision becomes final. During this period, including the appeal process, it is possible to apply for long-term residence.

According to internal regulations – Annex to the Order of the Director of ÚHCP P PZ No. 13/2019: Methodology for ensuring the procedure in matters of the residence of foreigners in the Slovak Republic: PART III Permanent Residence (hereinafter referred to as “Methodology”), Article 13 Procedure for the cancellation of permanent residence:

“The OCP PZ cancels permanent residence for reasons stated in § 50 (1) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners. If the OCP PZ finds that there are grounds for cancelling permanent residence, it initiates ex officio proceedings on the cancellation of permanent residence with the first action according to § 18 (3) of the Administrative Procedure Code; this action may be a summons, a hearing, a record, a written request, etc. (see the commentary on Article 20 (2) letter a) of Part II of the Methodology), after conducting evidence, which precedes the issuance of the decision on the cancellation of permanent residence, it allows the third-country national to express their opinion on all the evidence prior to issuing the decision, as well as on the method of obtaining it and possibly suggest its supplementation; this action can be carried out by sending a written request to the third-country national, in which the police officer sets a reasonable deadline for expressing their opinion on the evidence of the decision, or by recording a transcript according to § 22 of the Administrative Procedure Code (usually a new transcript must be made, which immediately precedes the issuance of the decision in the matter; this does not apply if all the facts necessary for issuing the decision are already known during the preparation of the first transcript according to § 22 of the Administrative Procedure Code), after performing this action, if the reasons for cancelling the permanent residence persist, the police officer will prepare a written decision on its cancellation; the decision will be prepared even if the third-country national does not express their opinion on the evidence of the decision within the set deadline; the decision is submitted to the authorized person for approval; the decision must be based on a reliably established factual state, and the justification must contain the facts that served as the basis for the decision, that is, what considerations guided the OCP PZ when evaluating the evidence, how the OCP PZ applied the legal regulations based on which it decided, how the OCP PZ dealt with the proposals and objections of the party (third-country national) and with their opinion on the evidence of the decision.”

The solution is to apply for a residence permit for another purpose before the residence is cancelled, such as a temporary residence permit for employment or to apply for long-term residence according to § 52 (1) letter a) of the Act on the Residence of Foreigners: “The police department shall grant long-term residence if there are no reasons for refusing the application under § 54 (2) to a third-country national who has been lawfully and continuously residing in the Slovak Republic for a period of five years immediately preceding the application.” IOM has confirmed by phone that the residence permit must not be interrupted.

We note that if the Slovak citizen’s wife has unlimited residence (i.e., residence granted after five years of permanent residence), the unlimited residence will not be cancelled, and in this case, she can continue to stay in the Slovak Republic.

According to telephone information provided by IOM, in the case where the permanent residence of a foreigner has been cancelled, you, as a Ukrainian citizen, may stay in the Slovak Republic for up to 90 days under the visa-free regime or apply for temporary protection. During the temporary protection period, you can apply for a temporary residence permit.

According to the statement of RHCP Bratislava: “If a foreigner has been granted temporary residence for business purposes for 2 years and permanent residence for 5 years for 4 years, they may apply for long-term residence. They should have applied for it as soon as possible after the issuance of the divorce decree. During the proceedings for the cancellation of residence, they can apply for a change in the type of residence. If the residence is terminated, the foreigner is obliged to leave the country. Since the person in question is Ukrainian, they can apply for temporary protection. In the event of submitting an application for temporary residence, they must prove that they have fulfilled their obligation to leave the external border.”

We recommend using our legal services to arrange a residence permit in Slovakia. As a law firm, we can provide complete advice and representation in proceedings before the foreign police, assist you in preparing the necessary documents, and ensure that all formal requirements are met. This will save you time and minimize the risk of the application being rejected.