Foreigners - Running a business in the Slovak Republic

DECISION ON APPLICATION FOR GRANT AND RENEWAL
OF TEMPORARY RESIDENCE

 TO NATIONALS OF THIRD COUNTRIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF BUSINESS

We are glad that you are interested in doing business in Slovakia.

On this page, you will find useful information for residents of third countries who want a temporary/permanent stay in the Slovak Republic for business purposes.

Only companies holding a certificate of significant investment send the application directly to the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic (via the slovensko.sk). HERE - Significant investments | Investment support | Support of entrepreneurs | MHSR

In other cases, it is necessary to fill in the application and send it to the relevant department of the Slovak Foreign Police or the embassy. (Stay of a foreigner, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic - Police (minv.sk))

Who evaluates the application for the granting of temporary residence that I submitted to the Office of the Border and Foreign Police of the Slovak Republic or the embassy?

The application for the grant/renewal of temporary residence is evaluated by the Office of the Border and Foreign Police of the Slovak Republic.

According to Act no. 404/2011 Coll. on the residence of foreigners and on the amendment and supplementation of certain laws, the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic will ask for a position on the application for granting or renewing the residence of nationals of third countries. The Ministry of the Economy of the Slovak Republic evaluates requests from the point of view of the economic benefit for the Slovak Republic. The Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic declares the opinion in question whether or not the given business activity is beneficial for the economy of the Slovak Republic. The opinion of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic is in the form of a substantive opinion, which has a recommendatory character for the administrative procedure conducted by the relevant department of the Office of the Border and Foreign Police of the Slovak Republic.

How does the process of evaluating the benefit of the business activity of the applicant for the granting of a temporary residence in the Slovak republic work?

As part of the decision-making process on the application for the granting of temporary residence according to § 22 of Act no. 404/2011 Coll. on the residence of foreigners and on the amendment and addition of certain laws, the police department takes into account the public interest, the security aspect and the economic interests of the Slovak Republic. The police department will request an opinion from the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic.

On June 29, 2022, the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic adopted changes leading to the improvement of the assessment of the benefit of planned business activities of third-country nationals. Part of the changes was also the transition to electronic communication with the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, which simplified and accelerated the process of processing applications.

Following the example of other EU countries, we will place greater emphasis on the personality criteria of applicants, such as education, professional courses, certificates, experience, or command of the Slovak language and foreign languages. We have prepared the form Simplified business plan (EN) (SK), which the applicant should be able to fill out independently without the help of another person. Based on it, we evaluate the feasibility or sustainability of the business as well as the expected benefit in the form of job creation or business in areas
of insufficient professions.

When applying for permanent residence, we examine in detail whether
the applicant is running a real business in the Slovak Republic or only virtually, we evaluate the fulfilment of tax obligations, the number of employees and the degree of contribution to reducing unemployment in the districts.

Subsequently, the supporting opinion is sent to the relevant department
of the Foreign Police.

What documents should I attach to the application?

 I. Applicants for the granting of a temporary residence permit for an objective assessment of the benefit of the planned business activity are recommended to attach to the application:

• Business plan or
• Simplified business plan (Slovak language version here and English version here) and a copy of the Document confirming authorization to do business (trade certificate or extract from the commercial register) or
• Entrepreneurial intention to implement an innovative project

Supporting documentation, such as:

• the contract for a future contract
• the contract on the future rental agreement,
• the contract on the future supply contract,
• the contract on the future customer contract,
• price lists, certificates, attestations...

• the identification of the applicant (address, ID number, VAT number and others)
• the description of the business activity that the applicant carries out,
• the overview of education, certificates, attestations,
• financial statements for the previous accounting period,
• lease agreements,
• supply contracts,
• customer contracts, price lists,
• the contract on business cooperation,
• invoices for the previous accounting period or their overview,
• records of the number of employees

If the application concerns permanent residence and the applicant has not yet been granted temporary residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic for business purposes, the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic will evaluate the applicant, especially if it concerns an employee whose employer holds a certificate of significant investment.

We, therefore, recommend that the entrepreneurs first apply for temporary residence and only then (after proving economic benefit) apply for permanent residence.

What are the deadlines for the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic to issue a sub-opinion to my application?

Law no. 404/2011 Coll. on the residence of foreigners and the amendment and supplementation of certain laws, the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic does not impose any deadlines for the issuance of a sub-opinion within the process led by the administrative body, i.e. Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic.

The deadline for issuing a binding opinion for the police department follows from § 33 par. 8 of Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the residence of foreigners and the amendment of some laws. The police department will decide on the request within 90 days.

The effort of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic is to assess each application objectively, transparently and in the shortest possible time frame.

I am a foreigner and I want to do business in the Slovak Republic. What other conditions do I have to meet?

The business of foreigners in the territory of the Slovak Republic is regulated by Act no. 513/1991 Coll. as amended - the Commercial Code. Foreign persons may do business in the territory of the Slovak Republic under the same conditions and to the same extent as Slovak citizens unless otherwise provided by law.

Other conditions that entrepreneurs must meet are determined by:

• Act no. 455/1991 Coll. about business,

• Act no. 431/2002 Coll. about accounting,

• Act no. 595/2003 Coll. on income tax,

• Act no. 222/2004 Coll. on value added tax, etc., from which the entrepreneur has various obligations.

You can find more detailed information about entrepreneurship on the website of the MH SR in the section Business environment - life situations of entrepreneurs.

You can address your suggestions for improvement of the residence agenda in the management of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic to: cudzinec@mhsr.sk.

 Print version HERE