Slovak citizenship by marriage

Question:

Hello, I am Italian and my husband is Slovak. We have been living in Slovakia for 10 years. Can I obtain citizenship?

Answer:

In accordance with § 7 para. 2 letter a) of Act No. 40/1993 Coll. on Slovak Citizenship: “An applicant who has a residence permit in the territory of the Slovak Republic may be granted Slovak citizenship without fulfilling the condition specified in paragraph 1 letter a) (the condition of uninterrupted residence for 8 years), unless this Act provides otherwise, if he/she has entered into marriage with a citizen of the Slovak Republic, the marriage is ongoing, and they have lived in a shared household in the Slovak Republic for at least five years immediately preceding the submission of the application for Slovak citizenship.”

It is important that both spouses have their residence registered at the same address – living in a shared household – and that your husband was a Slovak citizen at the time of marriage.

For more information on the process and required documents, visit our website: Slovak Citizenship for Spouses.

Legal service: We are happy to assist you with your application for Slovak citizenship. Learn more about our services here: Granting of Citizenship.

Question:

I live in United Kingdom where i am resident as well for the past 3 and a half years . My wife is Slovak citizen and we have a daughter that is Slovak citizen as well. Do i have any possibility from them into obtaining Slovak citizenship through my daaughter or wife even we haven’t lived in Slovakia but our marriage is registered there as my wife changed her surname into mine through the embassy in London.

Answer:

Acquisition and loss of the citizenship of the Slovak Republic is regulated by the Act no. 40/1993 Coll. on the Citizenship of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the “Citizenship Act”). One of the conditions for the granting of the citizenship of the Slovak Republic is also permitted residency in the territory of the Slovak Republic immediately before the applying for the citizenship. 

Applicant who has permitted residency in the territory of the Slovak Republic may, in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 (2) letter a) of the Citizenship Act be granted the citizenship of the Slovak Republic: “if married to a Slovak citizen, this marriage lasts and lives in that marriage in the same household on the territory of the Slovak Republic for at least the five years immediately before submitting the application for the citizenship of the Slovak Republic“. Therefore, the condition is to have the official residency on the territory of the Slovak Republic and also real sharing of the household with the spouse on the territory of the Slovak Republic.

Otázka

I have inquiry regarding Slovak citizenship by marriage. I’m holding Iranian nationality, and my wife is Slovak. We got married in Slovakia in 2018. I applied for the residency after the marriage and got it for five years. We stayed in Slovakia for one year then moved back to my country and currently we are living there.

My inquiry is, am I eligible to apply for it even I’m not living in Slovakia? Or do they still require to be living there for 5 years?

Odpoveď:

According to Section 7 (2) (a) of the Citizenship Act: „An applicant who is a legal resident of the Slovak Republic may be granted citizenship of the Slovak Republic without fulfilling the condition referred to in Section 7 (1) (a), unless otherwise provided for in this Act, if he/she has entered into a marriage with a citizen of the Slovak Republic, the marriage has been ongoing and he/she has been living in a common household in the territory of the Slovak Republic for at least five years immediately preceding the date of the application for the grant of Slovak citizenship.“ The exception according Section 7 (1) (a) is that 8 years residence in Slovakia is not required.

The following conditions must be met:

  • the spouse was a Slovak citizen at the time of the marriage
  • the marriage is ongoing at the time of the application for citizenship
  • both spouses live together physically in the same household at the same address in Slovakia
  • the spouses must have lived together in Slovakia for at least 5 years before applying for citizenship