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The Law No 558/2005 entered into force on 15 December 2005.
Link to the Slovak version of the Law.

There is an annex to an Order of the Director of Bureau of Border and Foreigners Police of the President of Police Force No 53/2005 called Methodology to Secure Procedures in the Issues of Residence of Foreigners at the Territory of Slovak Republic. This Annex governs details regarding residence procedures, but is intended for the purposes of police officers and in general is not available to foreigners.

Another important issue, which is more favourable for family members of third country nationals, is that before implementation of the Directive, when there were reasons for withdrawing a residence permit, the permit had to be withdrawn. After implementation of the Directive, private and family life has to be taken into consideration before the decision on withdrawal is taken.

There is no waiting period before the family reunification application can be submitted after the Directive was implemented, whereas before the implementation of the Directive, there was waiting period of one year for certain groups of family members of third country nationals.

The conditions for granting residence permit are very similar, more or less the same. Third country nationals, who are family members of Slovak citizens, are entitled to apply for a residence permit at the territory of Slovakia always, when they are staying legally in the country. An other difference is, that third country nationals, who are family members of Slovak citizens, are granted permanent residence permit for the period of five years.

• the purpose of stay (spouse – marriage certificate, photocopy of a document on residence of the sponsor; unmarried child under 18 – birth certificate of the child, statutory declaration of the legal representative of the child that the child is unmarried, photocopies of the documents on residence of parents, or photocopy of the document on residence of one parent and photocopy of the decision of the relevant authority on confiding the child to care of the parent; …);
• blamelessness (criminal records, from country of origin, from Slovakia, and from the country, where he/she was residing for past three years); this shall not apply in the case of a foreigner younger than 15 years;
• financial coverage of the stay in the sum of the minimum wage (7,600 SKK) for each month of the stay (either a bank statement from a foreigner – family meber, or statutory declaration of a foreigner that he/she will provide for a financial coverage for a family member during his/her stay together with extract from the bank statement or a testimonial from an employer about the income);
• health insurance on the territory of the Slovak Republic (document issued by any insurance company, which confirms that the foreigner concerned has got his/her medical treatment costs arising in Slovakia insured);
• secured accommodation in the course of the temporary residence (document on the ownership of the property; or contract of lease and document on the ownership of the property; or acknowledgement of a housing facility on provision of accommodation during the temporary residence; or a statutory declaration of a natural or legal person on provision of accommodation together with a document on the ownership of the property);
• the foreigner’s long-term residence (document on residence issued in one of the EEC countries containing a statement “person with long-term residence – EC”;
• a consent of a parent of a child under 18 years to whose custody this child was not placed and who is entitled to meet with this child with family reunification at the territory of Slovakia.

According to Article 25 (5) of the Foreigners Law, a foreign mission or police department may request a foreigner to submit a document not older than 30 days confirming that he/she does not suffer from a contagious disease whose spread is punitive and a document confirming that the foreigner will not constitute a burden to the social security system of the Slovak Republic.

Article 24 (2) of the Foreigners Law provides, as regards the issue of family reunification, that in the case of a foreigner who is not required to have a visa, or in the case of children under 18 years, or in the case of direct relatives of persons granted asylum younger than 18 years, or in the case of a stay of a spouse of a person granted asylum, the foreigner may submit an application for a temporary residence permit also at a police department.

• document on the ownership of the property; or
• contract of lease and document on the ownership of the property; or
• acknowledgement of a housing facility on provision of accommodation during the temporary residence; or
• a statutory declaration of a natural or legal person on provision of accommodation together with a document on the ownership of the property.

When renewing a residence permit, a police department shall also dismiss an application for renewal of a temporary residence permit in the case when the temporary residence permit was granted for the purpose of family reunification and the husband and wife do not have a joint family life (Article 27 (6) of the Foreigners Law).

Article 29 (1) (d) of the Foreigners Law provides that a police department shall withdraw a temporary residence permit when it determines that the foreigner entered into marriage with the aim to obtain a temporary residence permit.

There are no specific provisions in Slovak Law governing checks and inspections regarding suspected marriage of convenience.

According to Article 27 (4) of the Foreigners Law, if a foreigner does not submit an application for renewal of the residence permit in the time limit set by the law, a police department shall dismiss the application for renewal of the temporary residence permit; this shall not apply if the consequences of the application’s dismissal were inadequate to the reason for dismissal of the application for renewal of the temporary residence permit. In assessing the adequacy, the police department shall take into account the possible consequences of the application’s dismissal, above all with respect to the foreigner’s private and family life.

According to Article 29 (2) of the Foreigners Law, a police department does not withdraw a temporary residence permit, if the consequences of withdrawal of the temporary residence permit were inadequate to the reason of the withdrawal of the temporary residence permit, above all with respect to the foreigner’s private and family life.

As regards expulsion and ban on residence, Article 57 (7) of the Foreigners Law provides that a police department may shorten the time period of a ban on residence or not expel administratively a foreigner who was granted a permanent residence permit if the consequences of expulsion and ban on residence were inadequate with regard to the foreigner’s private and family life and the length of his/her stay.

The decision of the appeal body (the Bureau of the Foreigners and Border Police) can be challenged by the complaint to be lodged at a court (Article 244 of the Code on Civil Procedure as amended – Občiansky súdny poriadok: Collection of Laws (Zbierka zákonov), Vol. 56 (1963)). The complaint can be lodged within 2 months from the service of the decision challenged (Article 250b § 1 of the Code on Civil Procedure). It has not the suspensive effect, however, the execution of the decision in question can by suspended on the request of the party, if the immediate execution could cause a serious damage (Article 250c of the Code on Civil Procedure). The judicial review is a review on legality.

• correct transposition
• no transposition
• violation of the Directive
• unclear