Parental allowance

Parental allowance is a state social benefit by which the state makes a contribution to the expenses of taking proper care of a child of up to 3 years of age, or up to 6 years of age in case of a child with long‑term poor health, or up to 6 years of a child placed in the alternative care, not longer than 3 years from the date on which the decision of the court to place the child in the alternative care became final. Those eligible to claim parental allowances are the parents of the child or persons providing alternative care.

Entitlement criteria:

• proper care of a child
• permanent or temporary residence of the eligible person in the Slovak Republic
• permanent or temporary residence of the in the Slovak Republic

The amount of the parental allowance has been 203.20 €/month since 2014. If the parent is entitled to a maternity/equivalent benefit, the amount of the parental allowance is decreased by the amount of this benefit. In case the person takes care of two or more children born together, the parental allowance is increased by 25 % per each child born together with the first one

Eligible persons may claim a parental allowance by filing a written application with the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family competent according to the person’s place of permanent or temporary residence. Application form can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family and is also available at the local labour offices.

A sworn translation of the birth certificate of the child into the Slovak language is required to be submitted together with the application if the child was born outside the Slovak Republic.

Child allowance

Child allowance is a state social benefit whereby the state contributes to the upbringing and maintenance of dependent children by eligible persons (e.g. parents, foster parents).

In general, a dependent child is defined as a child receiving compulsory education, up to the age of 25, provided he/she is in continuous education for the future profession and until he/she has graduated from the 2nd level of higher education. Only 1 adult person is entitled to the allowance for the same child.

Entitlement to the child allowance arises upon the fulfilment of the following conditions:

• care of the child by the eligible person
• a permanent or temporary residence of the eligible person in the Slovak Republic
• a permanent or temporary residence of the dependent child in the Slovak Republic.

As of January 2016, the amount of allowance is 23.52 €/month.

Eligible persons may claim a child allowance by filing a written application with the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family competent according to the eligible person’s place of permanent or temporary residence. Application form can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (in Slovak only) and is also available at the local labour offices.

The eligible person has to provide a proof of the facts decisive for the entitlement to the parental allowance, the amount and payment thereof, and announce any change of these facts in writing within eight days. The right to the parental allowance expires from the first day of the calendar month, following the calendar month when the child turned 3 years of age.

The decision about the allowance disbursement lies with the local Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, correspondent to the place of the eligible person's permanent or temporary residence.

Example:

A university teacher from Russia will come to Slovakia with his wife and a 2-year old child upon a granted scholarship. Does he have the right to receive a parental allowance? Which will social security provisions apply to his situation?

The Act No. 571/2009 on parental allowance lays down the conditions for the foreigner's entitlement to claim the benefit: he /she is an eligible person (child's parent, spouse of the child's parent, if living in the same household, child's guardian), he/she is taking proper care of the child, he/she and also the child has permanent or temporary residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic. The person is not eligible to claim the allowance if he/she has a right to a similar allowance in another Member State, and the amount is higher than the parental allowance in Slovakia; if a non-member state disburses a similar allowance to the person.