Since December 2007, the Slovak Republic is part of the Schengen Area. Therefore the common Schengen rules apply. Foreign nationals, who are subject to visa requirement and want to enter the Schengen Area, with Slovakia being their target destination, must file a visa application with the competent Slovak embassy or consulate general. Foreign nationals legally residing in a third country (i.e. other than the country of their citizenship) may apply for a visa at the embassy/consulate general competent for the country of their current residence.
Depending on the duration and purpose of the stay, either a Type C Schengen visa (stay lasting up to three months) or a National visa type D (stay lasting more than three months) is needed. List of countries with the visa duty and list of Slovak embassies and consulates general are available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic (www.mzv.sk). Nationals of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia don’t need visa for stays of less than 90 days, if they are holders of biometric passports.
The visa application procedure may be lengthy in some cases. Therefore, you should file your application well in advance, but not sooner than 3 months prior to your planned trip.
Under the applicable law, the visa application procedure shall not take longer than 15 days. Exemptions apply to the nationals of the third countries which have signed Community-level visa facilitation agreements. Such countries include Moldova, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and also citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia who do not hold biometric passports. With respect to the nationals of the aforementioned countries, the decision must be delivered within 10 calendar days of the delivery of a completed visa application.
When lodging the application, the applicant shall:
(a) present an application form (downloadable from www.mzv.sk );
(b) present a valid travel document;
(c) present a full-face colour photograph, with dimensions of 3x3.5 cm;
(e) pay the visa fee (depends on type of visa and origin of applicant, see www.mzv.sk );
(f) provide supporting documents:
• documents demonstrating the purpose and conditions of the planned stay;
• accommodation-related documents;
• documents confirming sufficient financial resources;
• documents enabling an assessment of the applicant’s intention to leave the territory of the Member States (e.g. return ticket);
(g) produce proof of possession of adequate and valid travel medical insurance.
A visa is issued in the form of a visa sticker. Visas are issued by Slovak embassies and consulates general abroad or, under extraordinary circumstances (e.g. humanitarian reasons), by the Slovak police at a border crossing point. The visa entitles the foreign national to transit through or to stay in the Schengen Area for the period of validity of the respective visa. The length of stay and expiry date of the visa is specified on the visa sticker. Within local Schengen co-operation the Schengen Member States issue a uniform visa valid for all Schengen countries.
Last modified: 2011-08-18
