Submitting an application for temporary residency permit in Slovakia for a third-country national is a complex process that requires precision and attention throughout its entire duration. This process can take several months. When preparing the documents, every detail matters, even a small thing can cause the application for residency permit not to be accepted or later rejected.
We have summarised 5 apparent details to be considered when applying for residence.
1. Place of application
Even before starting to prepare the documents for the application for residency permit, it is important to clarify where this application will be submitted. Third country nationals who wish to apply for temporary residence in Slovakia can do so at an embassy or consulate of the Slovak Republic in their home country or in the country of their residence. If they are authorized to do so, they can also apply directly at the Foreign Police department in Slovakia. This applies mainly to citizens of countries that do not require a visa to enter the territory of Slovakia.
Tip: Schengen visas are not sufficient for citizens of countries with visa requirements to apply for residency permit in Slovakia. It is necessary to first apply for national visa for the purpose of submitting an application for a residency permit in Slovakia.
Author
Mária Hrdličková
Senior Immigration Consultant
Tax & Legal
2. Typos and inaccuracies in names and titles
The name, surname, or address of permanent residency of the applicant for residency permit can be tricky, especially when transcribing these details into Latin alphabet from a different script. In most cases, the transcription of the name in the applicant's travel document is binding and must be followed when copying data into all documents.
Tip: It is important to always check official translations of documents properly, to make sure that all transcriptions of names and data match.
3. Expired documents
According to the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, the documents for the residency permit application can not be older than 90 days on the day of submission of this application. This mainly concerns extracts from criminal records, employer documents, or confirmation of accommodation provision.
Tip: Issuing an extract from the criminal record and its subsequent legalization may take up to several weeks, depending on the applicant's country of origin. Therefore, it is important to correctly time the issuance of these documents and the actual submission of the residency permit application.
4. Legalization of documents
Documents issued in the home country of the applicant for temporary residency permit in Slovakia must usually be legalized in order to guarantee their originality and validity. For the parties to the Hague Convention the apostille is applicable, documents from other countries must be superlegalised. This condition usually applies to extracts from criminal records, education documents, birth certificates or marriage certificates.
Tip: Apostilled or superlegalised documents must then be officially translated into Slovak (or Czech) so that they can be accepted together with the application for residency permit.
5. Employer documents
Third country nationals who apply for temporary residency permit for the purpose of employment must also attach documents signed by the future employer to their application. It is usually a Promise of employment or a Confirmation of the agreed salary amount. The signatures on these documents do not have to be verified. However, it must be signed by the person authorized to act on behalf of the employer and contain an imprint of the stamp of this company.
Tip: If the person authorized to act on behalf of the company assigns a representative for these actions, a copy of the Power of Attorney must also be attached to the employer documents signed by this representative.
Do you employ third country nationals? Do you receive employers assigned from abroad? We will be happy to help you and your employees in the immigration process, obtaining visas, work permits or residency permits.
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If you are interested in a more detailed explanation of these amendments or additional information about them, our experts from KPMG will be happy to answer your questions.
