Contents

Do you need a visa to come and stay in Slovakia?

Where can I apply for a visa?

When can I apply for a visa?

What documents will you need?

How much is the visa fee?

 

The following information is for information purposes only, to help scholarship holders navigate the administrative obligations on arrival in Slovakia, and is not intended as binding legal advice. Binding information can be obtained from the relevant Representation Office Slovak embassy abroad or from the Immigration Police departments in Slovakia.

Notes:

  • If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland, this information does not apply to you; however, if you come to and stay in Slovakia, you have certain obligations - see: https://www.euraxess.sk/en/main/info/living/entry/eu/ 
  • If you are not a citizen of an EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland, but you have been granted temporary residence in another EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland, and your stay in Slovakia will not exceed 90 days in a 180-day period, you will not need a visa to stay in Slovakia.
  • If you are not a citizen of an EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland, but you have been granted a temporary residence permit in another EU Member State for the purpose of study or research and development, and your stay in Slovakia will be longer than 90 days, you may not need a national or other visa if you meet certain conditions - see: https://www.euraxess.sk/en/main/info/living/entry/third-countries/more-than-90/mobility-of-third-country-nationals-within-eu/ 

 

Scholarship holders of the National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic, who:

  • come from countries with a visa requirement, or
  • come from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland and their scholarship stay in Slovakia will last longer than 90 days,

can, in connection with the Resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic no. 731 of December 8th, 2021, apply for a national visa (type D visa), which will allow them not only to enter the territory of the Slovak Republic (if they need a visa to enter the Schengen area), but also to stay in the territory of the Slovak Republic for the duration of the scholarship stay without needing to apply for a temporary residence permit. National visas (type D visas) can be granted for a minimum of three months and a maximum of one year and cannot be extended beyond the one year.

 

Do you need a visa to come and stay in Slovakia?

You can check whether you need a visa to enter Slovakia on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic in the section "Do I need a visa to enter the Schengen area?" (https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services/schengen-visa). At the same time, depending on which country you are a citizen of, you have the following options for legally entering and staying in the Slovak Republic during your scholarship:

  1. If you belong to the group of scholarship holders who do not need a visa to enter Slovak Republic territory or the Schengen area and your scholarship stay lasts less than 90 days (from the date of arrival to the Schengen area to the date of departure), you do not need to obtain a national visa or a temporary residence permit for the duration of your scholarship stay.

Note: If your scholarship stay is for less than 90 days but you have already been in the Schengen area for the previous 180 days, please check whether you will need a visa in this case (https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/border-crossing/short-stay-visa-calculator_en; or https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/visa-calculator/)

 

  1. If you belong to the group of scholarship holders who do not need a visa to enter Slovak Republic territory or the Schengen area, but your scholarship stays lasts more than 90 days (from the date of entering the Schengen area to the date of departing it), you have the following 2 options:
    1. you can apply for a national visa at the nearest Representation Office of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassy or consulate) prior to departure, and once the national visa is granted, arrive and stay in Slovak Republic territory for the entire validity of the national visa (please note: the decision-making process for national visas may take 30 days, in which case you should deal with the national visa application well in advance to allow time for the start of your scholarship stay);
    2. you can arrive for the scholarship stay and apply for a national visa in Slovakia as soon as possible (in this case, it is essential that you apply for a national visa as soon as you arrive in Slovakia, so that from the application date to the end of your stay is not less than 90 days; for the sake of scheduling a visit to the relevant department of the foreign police, you can arrange/book a date for a visit before your arrival in Slovakia - see below for details).

 

  1. If you belong to the group of scholarship holders who need a visa to enter Slovak Republic territory or the Schengen area, and your scholarship stay lasts less than 90 days, you have the following 2 options:
    1. recommended solution - apply for a Schengen visa at the nearest Representation Office of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassy or consulate) before departure, and once granted, you can arrive and stay in Slovak Republic territory for the visa's entire validity (please note: the visa decision-making process may take 30 days, and in such a case it is necessary to deal with the visa application well in advance);
    2. if for some reason it is not possible to arrange the Schengen visa directly at the Representation Office of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassy or consulate), you can try to also arrange the Schengen visa necessary for entry to the Slovak Republic at the consulate of another country with which the Slovak Republic has concluded an agreement on representation in issuing Schengen visas ("Visa representation agreements") - https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services/visa-information/visa-representation-agreements). In such a case, the visa is issued in accordance with the procedures of the country that accepted the visa application, and the Slovak Republic has no influence on its decision.

 

  1. If you belong to the group of scholarship holders who need a visa to enter Slovak Republic territory or the Schengen area, and your scholarship stay lasts more than 90 days, you have the following 2 options:
    1. recommended solution - apply for a national visa at the nearest Representation Office of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassy or consulate) prior to departure, and once the national visa has been granted, you can arrive and stay in Slovak Republic territory for the entire period of validity of the national visa (please note: the decision-making process for national visas may take 30 days, and in this case, it is necessary to deal with the application for a national visa well in advance).
    2. in case of exceptional circumstances - if for some reason it is not possible to deal directly with the national visa at the Slovak Republic embassy (consulate), you can try to arrange the so-called Schengen visa necessary for entry to the Slovak Republic at the consulate of another country with which the Slovak Republic has concluded an agreement on representation in the issuance of Schengen visas ("Visa representation agreements") - https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services/visa-information/visa-representation-agreements). In this case, however, there is no guarantee that you will actually be granted a visa for the intended duration of your stay (Schengen visas are intended for stays of 90 days or less over a 180-day period). In such a case, the visa is issued in accordance with the procedures of the country that accepted the visa application, and the Slovak Republic has no influence on its decision. However, if you are granted such a visa on an exceptional basis, you must apply for a Slovak national visa immediately upon arrival in the Slovak Republic (it is essential that the period from the application date to the end of your stay is not less than 90 days). To schedule a visit to the relevant department of the foreign police where you submit your application, you can arrange/book an appointment with the appropriate department before you arrive in Slovakia - see below for details. In the event of a decision to grant you a national visa, your original Schengen visa will be invalidated.

 

Where can I apply for a visa?

National visas (type D visas) as recommended above can be applied for:

  1. abroad in person at a consulate within a Representation Office of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassy or consulate) - a list of Representation Offices of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassies or consulates) is published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic (https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/ministry/slovak-diplomatic-missions/diplomatic-missions-of-the-slovak-republic)
  2. on the territory of the Slovak Republic in person at the respective Foreign Police department, while the applicant must make an appointment in advance by sending a message to the respective department according to the list of departments listed at https://www.minv.sk/?National-visa-reservation 

Procedure for making an appointment to the Immigration Police department:

The applicant chooses one of the workplaces according to the territorial area in which they are located (the city where you will actually live during your stay is decisive for the choice of workplace) and clicks on "Send message". After clicking on the link, the applicant fills in the required data, namely:

  • your e-mail address,
  • in the "Your message" field, the applicant indicates that they wish to apply for a national visa in accordance with the Slovak Government Regulation No. 731/2021 (in Slovak "uznesenie vlády SR č. 731/2021"), the number of people for whom the visa will be applied for, and contact details,
  • in the "Attach file" field, we recommend attaching a scan of the Letter of Award of the respective scholarship (remember that you will have to present the original Letter of Award when you visit in person),
  • enter your mobile number in international format in the "Mobile" field,
  • Finally, you must check the box to indicate your consent to personal data processing.

After completing the form, to send a message to the respective Foreign Police department, press "To send" button. The form will reload with the text you have filled in, at the end of the form there will be a new field "Verification code" - in this field, type the verification code from the SMS message you received on your mobile and then press "To send" again.

 

Confirmation of the message will be sent to the applicant's mailbox. Subsequently, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to the applicant with a date for a visit to the Foreign Police department. When you expect one of these e-mails, be sure to check your junk mail (spam) folder in addition to your inbox.

 

ATTENTION! An applicant for a visa will be processed only if they have an appointment with the correct Foreign Police department. Applications for visas will be processed at the Foreign Police departments on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 

Schengen visas (type C visas) as recommended above can be applied for:

  1. abroad in person at a consulate within the Representation Office of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassy or consulate) - a list of Representation Offices of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassies or consulates) is published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic (https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/ministry/slovak-diplomatic-missions/diplomatic-missions-of-the-slovak-republic);
  2. in person at the consulate of another country with which the Slovak Republic has concluded an agreement on representation in issuing Schengen visas ("Visa representation agreements") - list of countries at https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services/visa-information/visa-representation-agreements 

 

When can I apply for a visa?

The visa application (type C or type D visa), if submitted to a Representation Office of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassy or consulate), must be submitted well in advance, but not earlier than 6 months before the planned start of the stay in Slovakia. Visa applications can take up to 30 days to be decided.

If you apply for type C visa (Schengen visa) at the consulate of another country with which the Slovak Republic has concluded an agreement on representation in issuing Schengen visas, please contact the consulate of that country directly to find out about the deadlines and the duration of the process.

 

What documents will you need?

For details on the application form, the documents required for national visas (type D visas) and Schengen visas (type C visas), as well as the fees, please visit https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services.

In the case of an application for a national visa (type D visa) on the basis of the Resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic no. 731 of December 8th, 2021 to the Strategy of internationalization of higher education by 2030, you, as a scholarship holder, must submit the following documents:

  1. completed and signed national visa application form (downloadable form at https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services/national-visa)
  2. valid passport (passport must be valid for at least 90 days after departure from the Slovak Republic)
  • the travel document (the passport) shall, in general, meet the following criteria:
    • its validity shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States or, in the case of several visits, after the last intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States.
    • it shall contain at least two blank pages;
    • it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years.
  1. a 3 x 3.5 cm colour photograph showing the applicant's current appearance according to ICAO standards (details at https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/system/files_en?file=2016-12/icao_photograph_guidelines_en.pdf)
  1. proof of adequate and valid health insurance for at least the duration of the national visa
  • The insurance must cover any expenses, which may arise in connection with the repatriation for the medical reasons, urgent medical treatment, emergency hospital treatment or death during the stay on the territory of the Member States. Applicants for a uniform visa for multiple entries must prove that they are in possession of the adequate and valid travel medical insurance covering the period of their first intended visit.
  • Those who are compulsorily publicly insured in the Slovak Republic do not need to submit a certificate of adequate and valid health insurance for the national visa's entire validity period but, in this case, it is necessary to submit a certificate of insurance for at least the first 30 days of stay (i.e., for the period until the compulsory public health insurance is processed - details on who is covered by the compulsory public health insurance can be found at https://www.euraxess.sk/en/main/info/living/health-insurance/mandatory-public-health-insurance (among the scholarship holders of the above-mentioned scholarship programmes, students of a university, including PhD students, coming to Slovakia within the CEEPUS Programme are publicly insured).
  1. a certificate of study or acceptance letter from the relevant educational institution
    • in the case of scholarship holders, the Letter of Award issued by SAIA, n. o. is submitted, confirming the receiving institution, the purpose of the stay and sufficient financial security during the stay (attention: SAIA, n. o., is not the receiving nor host institution, SAIA is only the administrator of the scholarship programme; hence, in your visa application please indicate the actual receiving/host institution where your stay will take place).

 

If necessary, the relevant authority (consulate or immigration police) may request additional documents in relation to your visa application. Hence, we recommend that you consult the relevant authority where you will be applying in advance.

 

In the case of an application for a Schengen visa (type C visa) submitted at the Representation Office of the Slovak Republic (i.e., embassy or consulate), you will need to contact the local consulate directly to find out what documents are required and accepted (at a minimum, you will need the same documents as for the national visas described above).

 

In the case of an application for a Schengen visa (type C visa) submitted to the consulate of another country with which the Slovak Republic has concluded an agreement on representation in the issuance of Schengen visas ("Visa representation agreements") - https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services/visa-information/visa-representation-agreements), it is necessary to contact the consulate directly and find out the required and accepted documents. In such a case, the visa is issued in accordance with the procedures of the country that accepted the visa application, and the Slovak Republic has no influence on its decision.

 

How much is the visa fee?

The fee for the issuance of a national visa (type D visa) in connection with scholarship stays under the above scholarship programmes is EUR 35.

The fee for issuing a Schengen visa (type C visa) at a Slovak embassy abroad is usually EUR 80.

Further information on fees in relation to visas issued by Slovak authorities can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic in the section under "What visa fee will I pay for the visa application?" (https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services/schengen-visa).

For information on visa procedure fees when applying at the consulate of another country with which the Slovak Republic has concluded an agreement on representation in issuing Schengen visas ("Visa representation agreements") - https://mzv.sk/en/web/en/visa-and-services/visa-information/visa-representation-agreements), it is necessary to contact the consulate of the country in question directly.