EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – INVESTORS’ RESIDENCE SCHEMES IN SLOVAKIA

General background

There are two main migration tools in the Slovak legislation through which foreign investors can
access residence in Slovakia. Third-country nationals may apply for temporary residence for
business purposes or for permanent residence granted in the (economic) interest of the Slovak
Republic if the general conditions of the Act on Residence of Foreigners,1 mainly Articles 22, 32,
33, 43 par. 1 letter e) and 45, are met.

The Act on the Residence of Foreigners was adopted to address the new migration trends and to
enhance the development of economy and the employment of high-skilled professionals.

The general national competent authority in the area of migration, mainly residence and citizenship,
is the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic (Ministerstvo vnútra Slovenskej republiky). The
competent authority to receive and assess residence applications (whether for temporary or permanent
residence) are the Departments of Foreign Police (Oddelenia cudzineckej polície, OCP) of the future
place of stay. The OCPs are attached to the Bureau of Border and Alien Police of the Presidium of
the Police Force (Úrad hraničnej a cudzineckej polície Prezídia Policajného Zboru, UHCP) which,
within the Ministry of Interior, is the national competent authority in the field of ensuring controls
on the borders of the Slovak Republic. In the assessment of the applications, the opinion of Slovak
Agency for the Development of Investment and Trade (Slovenská agentúra pre rozvoj investícií a
obchodu, hereinafter “SARIO”), is necessary. 2 The Agency is a contributory organization of the
Ministry of Economy funded by the State budget. 3 Furthermore, the Slovak Intelligence Service
carries out the necessary security checks for every application submitted. All relevant authorities
cooperate in line with the law where necessary, not only during the procedure but also afterwards, and
any requests between them are exchanged in writing.

Conditions and procedure

Third country nationals can apply for a temporary residence for business purposes (0-2 years) or
permanent residence in the interest of the Slovak Republic (for 5 years).

Conditions for temporary residence

No investment requirement is applicable to temporary residence (only that the foreigner carries out
business in the Slovak Republic as a natural person, or acts or will act on behalf of a business or
cooperative and is not in an employment relationship). 4 With the application for a temporary
residence for purpose of business either a business plan has to be submitted or a business license. 5 The
general requirements of the Commercial Code to set up a company apply. 6 It is possible that the
foreigner works for a major investor (definition provided below). 7

1
Act No. 404/2011 Coll. of 21 October 2011 on Residence of Foreigners and Amendment and Supplementation of Certain
Acts (Zákon č. 404/2011 Z.z. o pobyte cudzincov a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov v znení neskorších predpisov),
published in the Collection of Laws no. 126/2011 on 22 November 2011, available at www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-
predpisy/SK/ZZ/2011/404/20170901 (Act No. 404/2011 Coll.).
2
Information gathered through consultation with national stakeholder (SARIO, competent authority, 21 March 2018).
3
Information gathered through consultation with national stakeholder (Ministry of Economy, competent authority, 27 March
2018).
4
Article 22(1)(a) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll.
5
Article 32(5)(a) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll.
6
Act No. 513/1991 Coll. on the Commercial Code (Zákon č. 513/1991 Zb. Obchodný zákonník) available at www.slov-
lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/1991/513/20150728.html. The general requirements for setting up a company differ slightly
based on company type. In case of the most common type of company – limited liability company – founders must pay
minimum share capital of EUR 5,000; the company must obtain the business license and appoint managing directors.
7
Article 33(8)(d) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll.

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Conditions for permanent residence
When the third-country national applies for permanent residence (in the economic interest of the
Slovak Republic), the investor must qualify as “major investor”. A status of “major investor” is
defined as follows:
1. This notion is defined in Act No. 175/1999 Coll. on Measures Concerning Preparation of
Major Investments Act (as amended)8 as “a company which is a holder of a major investment
certificate issued by a competent ministry”.
2. Pursuant to the information provided by the Ministry of Economy, an individual foreign
investor may also obtain such certificate if s/he is a member of the statutory body of such
undertaking or a company, or a person in direct management of the statutory body of this
undertaking or a company.9
3. A major investor is also a residence applicant approved to receive regional investment aid 10
under Act No. 57/2018 Coll. on Regional Investment Aid. 11 Investment incentives were until
30 April 2018 only provided according to Act No. 561/2007 Coll. of 29 October 2007 on
Investment Aid and Amendments to certain acts as amended (hereinafter also as “Act on
Investment Aid”). This Act was repealed and replaced, by the new Act No. 57/2018 Coll. on
Regional Investment Aid with effect from 1 April 2018 12. This new Act sets out the general
conditions for granting the investment aid for regional development. However, this Act is
not yet enforceable as the necessary implementing legislation has not still entered into force.
Decree No. 187/2018 Coll. of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic 13 regulates the
content and details of the application for an investment aid and the content of the acceptance
of the investment aid offer. The Annexes to this Decree establish the content of the various
reports that must be submitted under this Act and the composition of the Information Board –
a physical board at the premises of the competent authority which informs about the
investment aid provided pursuant to this Act. In addition, the Regulation to implement Act
57/2018 (LP/2018/181) is still being debated by the Ministry of Economy. 14 Such Regulation
will establish the conditions for the granting of investment aid and the maximum amount of
investment aid that can be granted.

Regarding the rules for issuing the “Certificate of a Major Investment”, Act No. 175/1999 Coll.
Provides that the Certificate is issued by the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with SARIO agency
upon request of the concerned business. The requirements to issue the Certificate are the following:
a) a capital investment for the development of the enterprise of at least EUR 100 million,
b) the investment is economically significant or at least 300 new jobs will be created by the
company,
8
Act No. 175/1999 Coll. on Measures Concerning Preparation of Major Investments Act as amended (Zákon č. 175/1999
Z.z. z 29. júna 1999 o niektorých opatreniach týkajúcich sa prípravy významných investícií a  o doplnení niektorých
zákonov), published in the Collection of laws no. 76/1999 on 16. July 1999, available at: www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-
predpisy/SK/ZZ/1999/175
9
Information gathered through consultation with national stakeholder (Ministry of Economy, competent authority, 27 March
2018).
10
Information gathered through consultation with the national stakeholder (Ministry of Economy, competent authority, 27
March 2018).
11
Criteria for granting regional investment aid differ according to sectors of economy or areas where they are located. All
criteria are stipulated in a new Act No. 57/2018 Coll.
12
Act No. 57/2018 Coll. of 7 March 2018, on Regional Investment Aid and on amendments to certain laws (Zákon č.
57/2018 Z.z. o regionálnej investičnej pomoci a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov), published in the Collection of
Laws No. 27/2018 on 7 March 2018, available at: www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/2018/57/20180401.
13
Decree No. 187/2018 Coll, of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic of 11 June (Ministerstva hospodárstva
Slovenskej republiky z 11. júna 2018,ktorou sa ustanovujú náležitosti žiadosti o investičnú pomoc, akceptácie ponuky
investičnej pomoci, ročnej správy o priebehu realizácie investičného zámeru, správy o ukončení investičného zámeru, ročnej
správy o využívaní investície, záverečnej hodnotiacej správy a informačnej tabule), published in the Collection of Laws No.
187/2018 on 27 June 2018, available at www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/2018/187/vyhlasene_znenie.html. The
Decree was adopted on 11 June 2018 and published on 27 June 2018 and will enter into force as of 1 July 2018.
14
The stage of the procedure to approve the Regulation can be consulted at www.slov-lex.sk/legislativne-
procesy/SK/LP/2018/181.

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 c) the investment is in the public interest of Slovakia as per decision of the Government of the
Slovak Republic.15

Procedure
The residence (temporary or permanent) application must be filed in person either from abroad at the
Representative office of the Slovak Republic (embassy or a consulate) or in Slovakia in the
Departments of Foreign Police (Oddelenia cudzineckej polície, OCP) of the future place of stay.
Family members may apply for residence for purpose of family reunification together with the
“sponsor” of their stay, in a separate procedure. The procedure takes 90 days from the day of a receipt
of the application by the OCP.16

Accompanying the application (whether for temporary or for permanent residence), a set of
documents must be provided. All the documents submitted to the OCPs must be up to date (i.e. issued
within the previous 90 days), duly verified by attaching an Apostille clause or super-legalized and
translated to Slovak by a court appointed translator (if they were issued abroad). These documents
are: a valid passport; proof of payment of the non-refundable fees (EUR 232 for temporary residence
and EUR 165,50 for permanent residence) two pictures; proof that the applicant has sufficient means
of subsistence for the duration of the stay and proof of sufficient financial means to carry out the
business activity; proof of accommodation; and document proving applicant’s integrity, while
evaluating also data and intelligence information about the applicant.

In addition, when applying for temporary residence for business purposes, the business plan (or
any relevant document related to this purpose of stay) must also be provided. In the case of
permanent residence in the interest of the Slovak Republic the document confirming the purpose
of stay is a certificate issued by the Ministry of Economy. After they are granted residence, applicants
must also submit a document proving their state of health.

Under temporary residence, physical presence in Slovakia is required for more than half the period
for which the residence has been granted. Physical presence is not required for permanent
residence but any absence exceeding 180 days must be notified to the OCP in writing.

General grounds for the refusal of both types of residence relate mainly to breach of immigration
rules and public order, security or health considerations. All the legal conditions, such as meeting the
minimum subsistence means threshold, securing an accommodation or having a clean criminal record,
must be met otherwise OCP rejects the application. 17 The procedures before the OCPs have an
administrative character, therefore the Administrative Procedure Code 18 applies. A negative decision
of the OCPs may be appealed within 15 days from the date of notification of the decision to the
applicant.

Temporary residence for business purposes can be renewed up to three years. For this, applicants
must prove the purpose of stay (if it has changed), provide documents proving health insurance and
accommodation in Slovakia and submit proof of sufficient means of subsistence for the duration of
the stay. After holding permanent residence for four years, the foreign investor may apply for renewal
which, if granted, is for an unlimited period. For such purpose, applicants must prove a clean criminal
record, provide proof of accommodation and proof of sufficient means of subsistence for the duration
of the stay. Another option for foreign investors benefiting from permanent residence is to, after five
years of holding such status, to apply for a long-term residence permit. To this end, they must provide
documents proving accommodation, fixed and regular income and health insurance in Slovakia. The

15
Article 1 par. 2 of Act No. 175/1999 Coll. sets the criteria to issue a Certificate of Major Investment.
16
Article 111(1)a) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll.
17
Articles 33(6) and 48(2) of Act on Residence of Foreigners.
18
Act No. 71/1967 Coll. of 29 June 1967, Administrative Procedure Code, ( Zákon č. 71/1967 Z.z. Správny poriadok),
published in Collection of laws on 13 July 1967, available at: www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/1967/71. Mainly
Articles 47, 53 and 54.

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renewal procedure is the same as the one described above to grant the initial temporary or permanent
residence.

Security and ex-post checks

For all relevant types of residence, Slovak law foresees prior checks for a clean criminal record in the
country of origin, countries of previous residence and in Slovakia. Every OCP also always requests a
security check of the Slovak Intelligence Service which must send its statement within ten days
from the date of receipt of the request.

All applicants who open a bank account in Slovakia are subject to due diligence procedures under
the Slovak Anti-Money Laundering legislation (Act No. 297/2008 Coll.) 19. Therefore, checks on the
origin of money are performed by banks, other similar financial institutions, attorneys, notaries and
other obliged persons specified in Act No. 297/2008 Coll. If a bank or other obliged person identifies
a suspicious transaction, it must report it to the Financial Intelligence Unit (within the UHCP), as
main competent authority in the prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing.
However, OCPs do not independently perform any checks on origin of money as part of the migration
procedure. OCPs use the information from the Financial Intelligence Unit. Checks on the origin of
funds only apply to applicants for permanent residence as no investment requirement applies to
temporary residence applicants.

Family members
Depending on a legal status of the “sponsor” (investor) (i.e. temporary or permanent residence), a
family member may apply either for a temporary residence for a purpose of a family reunification or
for permanent residence. Usually the spouse may first apply only for a temporary residence for a
purpose of family reunification20 while children in some cases may be granted permanent residence
directly21. The procedure to issue the corresponding permit is the same as the one followed for the
main sponsor (see above).

Permanent residence may only be granted directly to a third-country nationals who is:
 a single child younger than 18 years under the custody of a foreigner, who is a spouse of a
Slovak citizen with permanent residence in the SR;
 a single child younger than 18 years of age, whose parent is a foreigner with permanent
residence for five years or a single child younger than 18 years of age under the custody of a
foreigner with permanent residence for five years;
 a dependent child older than 18 years of age, not able to take care of himself/herself due
to a long-term unfavourable health condition, whose parent is a foreigner with permanent
residence
 a single child younger than 18 years of age, under the custody of one of his/her parents
and who is an applicant for the permanent residence for the purpose of family reunion, can be
granted permanent residence only if a written consent has been given also by the other parent who
has not been granted the custody of this child but is entitled to meet the child.
 a spouse of a third-country national who was granted a temporary residence in Slovakia
for 5 years before the application for permanent residence was submitted.

Monitoring of the proceedings and the authorities involved

There is no cap/limit for number of residence permits granted to investors in Slovakia.

The law does not establish a special system of scrutiny by the National Council of the Slovak
19
Act No 297/2008 Coll. of 2 July 2008, on the Prevention of Legalization of Proceeds of Criminal Activity and Terrorist
Financing and on Amendments and supplements to Certain Acts as amended (Zákon č. 297/2008 Z.z. o ochrane pred
legalizáciou príjmov z trestnej činnosti a o ochrane pred financovaním terorizmu a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov)
published in Collection of laws on 1 August 2008, available at: www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-
predpisy/SK/ZZ/2008/297/20180315.
20
Articles 27(1)(a) and 27(2)(a) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll.
21
Article 43(1) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll.

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Republic or other bodies. Annual reports of the UHCP are publicly available but they do not provide
detailed information on successful applications for residence by investors. The Police Force is
however generally controlled by the National Council of the Slovak Republic and the Government.

Rights
Permanent residence holders enjoy the same legal status as citizens of Slovakia in employment
relations and in the area of social security, including the right to study, to associate with others and to
access the public health insurance and healthcare system and the right to judicial and other legal
protection. Temporary residence holders have the right to undertake certain activities permitted by
the Act on Residence of Foreigners, the right to study, to associate with others and to access the
public health insurance and healthcare system. They have the right to judicial and other legal
protection. Family members benefit from the same rights.

Other matters

Link to citizenship
There is no specific route for foreign investors to obtain the Slovak citizenship. Foreign investors
may access citizenship through the general naturalisation rules (eight years of continuous, legal
permanent residence; civic knowledge and language test; check of current and past criminal record in
Slovakia and other countries of residence in the last 15 years; sufficient financial means; oath of
allegiance). Major investors (permanent residence) may access citizenship through an accelerated
procedure:
 First, major investors will not have to wait five years to become eligible for permanent
residence (as they can apply directly for it), qualifying to naturalisation after only another
three years of holding permanent residence (ordinary naturalisation).
 Then, major investors can also directly apply for discretionary naturalisation as one of the
requirements to qualify as major investor is that the investment be in the interests of the
Slovak Republic. Under the discretionary naturalisation procedure of Article 7(2)(b) of the
Act on Slovak Citizenship22 the Ministry of Interior, on the proposal of the competent
Ministry (in this case of economy), may grant citizenship on grounds of general interest,
including economic interests, waiving most of the general ordinary naturalisation
requirements (safe for the security checks; sufficient financial means; oath of allegiance).

Statistics and economic impact

Information on exact numbers of successful applications for temporary or permanent residence by
investors is not available. Official data usually combine the various routes to residence. However,
according to data provided by the UHCP, most permanent residences in the interest of the Slovak
Republic (total of 174) were granted to Korean (82), Chinese (37) and Russian (17) nationals in
2017.23 While information on reasons for which applications for temporary or permanent residence
have been turned down is not available, according to the data provided by the UHCP only one
application for permanent residence in the interest of the Slovak Republic was rejected in 2017. 24

Data on third country nationals who obtained Slovak citizenship on the basis of the public interest
are also not processed, officially published, monitored or evaluated. The Ministry of Interior official
consulted mentioned that six foreign investors were granted citizenship on the basis of Article 7(2)(b)
of the Act on Slovak Citizenship between 2012 and 2017.25

22
Act No. 40/1993 Coll. on Slovak Citizenship of 19 January 1993 (Zákon Národnej Rady Slovenskej Republiky z 19.
januára 1993 o štátnom občianstve Slovenskej republiky) published in the Collection of Laws No. 40/1993 on 15 February
1993, available at www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/1993/40/ (last amended in July 2015) (Act on Slovak
Citizenship).
23
Information gathered through consultation with national stakeholder (UHCP - Ministry of Interior, competent Authority,
15 March 2018).
24
Information gathered through consultation with national stakeholder (UHCP - Ministry of Interior, competent Authority,
15 March 2018).

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Slovak law or internal rules of competent authorities do not establish a mechanism to monitor the
economic impact of investors who have been granted residence. There is no publicly available
information that would allow a determination as to whether residence granted to foreign investors has
met expectations (i.e. to boost the Slovak economy). There are no mechanisms of evaluation or
assessment nor statistics or studies on the impact of investors’ residence. The interviewed expert
mentioned that such evaluation mechanism can be a valuable tool to assess the economic impact of
investors’ schemes in the Slovak economy.26

Certain information gaps were identified in relation to the operation of residence granted to foreign
investors in Slovakia. Recommendations and advice provided to foreign investors on official websites
of the SARIO, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Interior are very general and/or seem to be
obsolete at the moment. In addition, since the Act on Regional Investment Aid entered into force very
recently (on 1 April 2018) and the rules to implement it have not yet entered into force, the
amendment is still unenforceable and, thus, the legal framework remains, to a certain extent,
incomplete.27

25
Information gathered through consultation with the national stakeholder (Ministry of Interior, Department of Citizenship,
competent authority, 15 March 2018)
26
Information gathered through consultation with the national stakeholder (Ministry of Economy, SARIO subordinate
authority, 21 March 2018).
27
See footnote 4.

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