Expert articles

Blue card

One type of temporary residence in Slovakia is in the meaning of Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on Residence of Foreigners, as amended, the so-called “blue card”. In the meaning of this act a blue card enables a citizen of a third country to enter, remain, work, travel and repeatedly enter the Slovak Republic during the period for which the card was issued to that person.

This type of stay is primarily intended for citizens of third countries, who should be doing highly qualified work on the territory of the Slovak Republic. According to the intentions of the lawmakers, a blue card should enable easier entry to the labour market of the Slovak Republic.

A police unit may grant a blue card for this purpose for a maximum of three years. This period is determined by the length of the job, which is stated in the work contract of the applicant with an employer on the territory of the Slovak Republic, or in the promise of the employer to hire a citizen of a third country who is suitable for highly qualified employment. The contract should be concluded or the promise should be given minimally for one year. If the duration of the job is shorter than three years, the police authority issues a blue card for the job’s duration, extended by three months.

In the meaning of valid legislation high-qualified employment is defined as employment which requires a higher professional qualification, which is demonstrated by a document on a university education. In addition to this, the following conditions must be observed:

  • the gross monthly wage must be agreed on in at least the amount of 1.5-times the average gross monthly wage in the relevant branch in the economy of the Slovak Republic for the calendar year that precedes the year in which the application is submitted. The current amount of the average gross monthly wage in the relevant branch in the economy of the Slovak Republic can be verified on the Web page of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic,
  • higher professional qualification – demonstrated by a university diploma, or by a decision on recognition of a document on education of the citizen of a third country,
  • the job must be concluded for a period of at least one year.

In the meaning of the Act on Employment Services an employer which has an interest in employing a citizen of a third country in a position which corresponds to high qualified employment is obligated to notify the local relevant labour office about the open position. Local competency is determined according to the place of performing the work of the citizen of a third country. This job must be announced to the relevant department of the foreign police at least 30 working days before submitting the application for temporary residence. The employer is obligated to indicate in the announcement that this is a job which corresponds to highly qualified employment and also must state that it has interest in hiring a citizen of a third country for this job.

As in the case of other temporary residences, a citizen of a third country may submit an application on the issuing of a blue card at the representative office of the Slovak Republic (embassy/consulate) in the country of which he/she is a citizen, or if there is no representative office of the Slovak Republic in this state, then at the representative office which territorially covers the country in which he/she is a citizen. If the citizen of a third country is already legally on the territory of the Slovak Republic, he/she may submit this application also at a police authority. If the applicant is the holder of a blue card issued by another EU member state, this person may apply for the granting of a blue card on the territory of the Slovak Republic within 30 days of entry to its territory. An application on the issuing of a blue card must be submitted with all the appurtenances; otherwise, it will not be accepted.

It is necessary to include the following with an application:

  1. a filled-out form “Application on the granting of temporary residence”, which must be filled out in the Slovak language,
  2. 2 photographs of size 3 x 3.5 cm of the applicant’s face, showing its current form,
  3. a valid passport (for inspection),
  4. documents confirming the purpose of the stay:

– a work contract for the job corresponding to highly qualified employment, or the written promise of an employer on the hiring of a citizen of a third country for a position which corresponds to one of highly qualified employment,

– a document confirming higher professional qualification – a university diploma furnished with an apostille and an official translation into the Slovak language and a decision on recognition of the document on education which was issued by the Centre for Recognition of Documents on Education of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic. If this does not involve a regulated profession, the decision of a university in Slovakia which carries out a study program in the same or related field as is stated in the document on education submitted by the blue-card applicant may also be submitted.

  1. documents confirming respectability:

– the respectability of the citizen of a third country is shown by a statement from the criminal registry of the country in which he/she is a citizen. At the same time it is also necessary to submit a statement from the criminal register from the country in which this foreigner lived more than 90 days during a period of 6 consecutive months over the past three years.

– in the case of citizens of Ukraine it is also necessary to document respectability for the territory of Crimea, the city Sevastopol and of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This is documented by a declaration on oath made before a relevant Ukrainian authority (notary).

The document on respectability must be furnished with an Apostille if the country that issued this document is a signatory of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention).  In each of these countries a competent authority is assigned which performs such verification. If this country is not a signatory of this treaty higher verification of this document is required, so-called consular superlegalization. And these documents must be translated into the Slovak language by a translator who is recorded in the list of experts, translators and interpreters kept by Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic.

  1. documents confirming the provision of accommodation:

– a rental contract for a living space and an ownership deed for the relevant property,

– a declaration on oath of the owner (owners) of the property that provides the foreigner accommodation in a property which he/she (they) own and an ownership deed for the relevant property,

– a document on ownership of the property indicated for housing (if its owner is a foreigner who is applying for the granting of temporary residence),

– confirmation of the accommodation facility regarding the fact that during the stay of the foreigner on the territory of the Slovak Republic it will provide the foreigner with accommodation.

Documents confirming respectability and accommodation cannot be as of the day of submitting the application older than 90 days.

The fee for submitting an application on the issuing of a blue card is 166.50 EUR (or 170 EUR if the application is submitted through a representative office abroad). The police authority decides on the application on granting a blue card within 30 days from the day of submitting the application.

After a decision on temporary residence the foreigner is obligated within 30 days from the day of accepting the document on residence to submit to the police authority confirmation about the fact that he/she does not suffer an illness which would endanger public health in the Slovak Republic. This confirmation is issued by specialized clinics of infectology and travel medicine.

If the applicant submits only the promise of an employer with the application, the citizen of a third country is obligated to submit to the police authority a copy of the work contract within 30 days from accepting the document on residence.