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Instructions for Incoming students out of EU

If you do not need a visa to enter the Schengen Area, you can stay in Slovakia for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period (unless you are granted a temporary residence). If you plan to apply for a temporary residence in Slovakia, do not forget to bring all the documents necessary for the application procedure with you. In case you are not granted the temporary residence within these 90 days, you will have to leave Slovakia (Schengen Area). The decision-making process about your application may take up to 30 or 90 days, depending on the type of your temporary residence.

A national (long-stay) visa (type “D”) can be granted:

  • if it is necessary for granting a residence in Slovakia,
  • for language education in a language school (the applicant must be at least 15 years old and the tuition must take at least 25 hours weekly),
  • if it is necessary to fulfil Slovakia’s commitments under international treaties, or
  • if it is for the benefit of the Slovak Republic.

The visa is issued for stays longer than 90 days, for a maximum of one year. If it is issued for granting a residence in Slovakia, it is issued for 90 days. In case of the language education, its validity is limited to 31 July of the given academic year. If the foreigner is allowed to stay longer than for a year, the national visa will be replaced by a temporary residence before the day of its expiry. The long-term visa holders are allowed to travel to other Schengen member states (outside the border of the state which issued the visa); however, the number of days spent in those states cannot exceed 90 in any 180-days period.

When applying for a national visa, you need to submit the following documents:

  • completed form “Application for National visa”
  • valid travel document,
  • recent full-face colour photograph 3 x 3,5 cm,
  • document demonstrating the purpose of the planned stay (e.g. confirmation of acceptance for language education, in case of applying for a national visa in order to apply for a residence in Slovakia, all the documents necessary for the residence application must be submitted),
  • proof of medical insurance,
  • other documents may be requested by the embassy/consulate only in case the documents submitted are not sufficient for granting a national visa.

Students from third countries who are planning to stay in Slovakia for longer than 90 days shall apply for a temporary residence for the purpose of studies. A complete application consists of the following documents:

  • completed form “Application for the temporary residence” must be completed in Slovak),
  • two recent full-face photographs 3 x 3,5 cm,
  • valid passport (the police officer will make a copy of it),
  • document proving the purpose of your stay – a confirmation of studies letter from a state authority (competent ministry) or a university, or a confirmation from an organisation which is administering a scholarship/mobility programme approved by the Slovak government or an EU programme under a contract with the competent state authority (scholarship award letter),
  • document proving sufficient financial resources for your stay – your bank account balance statement, a letter of award stating the amount of your scholarship, a confirmation of financial coverage, or an affidavit issued by another person about the provision of financial resources together with that person's bank account balance statement,
  • criminal record extract (apostilled or superlegalised) from your country of origin and from every country where you have stayed for more than 90 days during six consecutive months within the last 3 years. High school students are exempted from this obligation.


Students do not have to enclose a confirmation of accommodation in Slovakia.

Each document issued in a language other than Slovak (except for documents issued in Czech) has to be translated to Slovak by an official translator. In case the translation is done abroad, the competence of the translator must be attested by the Slovak embassy/consulate.

None of the documents proving the purpose of your stay, financial resources or no criminal record can be older than 90 days on the day of submitting the application for a temporary residence.

The Slovak embassy/consulate that receives your application will interview you for the purpose of a preliminary assessment of your application. The interview will be conducted in Slovak or another language understandable to both parties. The embassy will prepare a written record of the interview and attach it to your application for a temporary residence. The record shall be written in the language in which the interview was held, and you will be asked to sign it. (If you do not speak Slovak and hire an interpreter, he/she must also sign the record.) The embassy will send its position on the granting of a temporary residence to the Foreign Police department along with the record and its translation.

In the case of applying for a renewal of a temporary residence, it is not necessary to submit a document proving no criminal record.

Fee: 4.50 EUR for the residence card

The police officer in charge will confirm a receipt of your application (last page of the application form). Within 30 days from the date of submitting a complete application, the Foreign Police shall issue either a negative decision or a notification of granting the temporary residence. If applying for a temporary residence directly at a Foreign Police in Slovakia, the officers will ask you to provide a mobile phone number (you can write the number on your application form). You will be notified by a text message in Slovak when your residence card is ready. You can collect the residence card at the Foreign Police in person or you can appoint somebody else with a power of attorney to do it for you. When applying for a temporary residence abroad at an embassy/consulate, it is advised to consult with them the way of notification on granting the residence.

If you apply for a temporary residence longer in advance and the Foreign Police decides on your application earlier than 30 days prior to starting your planned activity (the purpose of stay), the Foreign Police will set the starting date of your temporary residence exactly 30 days before the starting date of your planned activity (the purpose of stay). If the time between the decision of the Foreign Police on granting the temporary residence and the commencement of your planned activity (the purpose of stay) is shorter than 30 days, the day of commencement of the granted temporary residence will be the same as the date of the decision.

Once you are granted a temporary residence, you are obliged to submit a medical certificate confirming that you do not suffer from any disease threatening public health within 30 days from the collection of your residence card. The certificate cannot be older than 30 days. It can be obtained in specific medical centres only and you will be charged a fee.

The police department shall grant a temporary residence for the purpose of studies for the expected study duration, for a maximum of six years. The temporary residence for the purpose of studies remains valid for up to 30 days after the completion of university studies. The university diploma and the state examination certificate serve as a proof of the completed studies.

Students who completed their university education in Slovakia (full degree studies) can apply for the renewal of their temporary residence after the completion of their studies, for the purpose of job seeking or starting a business. In this case, it can be prolonged for nine months.