On 1 May 2018, the amended legal regulation concerning the stay of aliens in the territory of the Slovak Republic enters into force. The amendment leads to significant changes in the Act on the Stay of Aliens and introduces new legal institutes to the modification of the existing ones.

One of the main changes introduced by the amendment to the Aliens Act is the possibility of submission of an application to the Aliens Police Department in the Slovak Republic. Prior to the amendment, the legal regulation in force allowed, with some minor exceptions, an alien to submit an application to the respective Aliens Police Department provided that such alien staid legally in the Slovak Republic. After the first of May this year, a foreigner will exclusively be entitled to submit an application for temporary residence to the relevant Alien Police Department in the Slovak Republic, if such foreigner is allowed to stay in the Slovak Republic, has been granted a tolerated stay, has been granted a national visa or his entry to the territory of the Slovak Republic is not subject to the visa requirement. Applications for permanent residence may be submitted to the appropriate Alien Police Department by both the aliens fulfilling the conditions as in the case of applying for temporary residence and also aliens that have been granted Schengen visas by other Member States of the European Union.

An alien, who has been lawfully residing in the territory of the Slovak Republic, is obliged, upon the entry of the amendment into force, to stay in the territory of the Slovak Republic for at least half the time in a calendar year for which a temporary stay was granted. The exception is in the case if, after being granted a temporary residence, there is less than 90 days till the end of the calendar year and the cases where an alien exercises his/her right to mobility in another Member State.

In the case of an application for a temporary residence for the business purposes, if an alien demonstrates the purpose of his/her stay by a business plan and also in the case of renewal of temporary residence for business purposes, if an alien in the previous tax year did not reach the desired profit, the alien will be obliged, along with the application, to also submit documents proving feasibility and sustainability of business activity. Such documents may be contracts, under which the alien has the right to use the premises in which he/she carries out his/her business activities or invoices or other documents related to the business activities of the alien.

In certain cases, the applicant for granting temporary residence is exempt from the obligation to submit the documents that are freely available on the websites of the competent authorities, such as extracts from the Commercial Register or lists of titles.

The amendment has also changed the legal regulation of the so-called mobility of third country nationals. The mobility of third country nationals – aliens – is in the newly applicable wording divided into three subcategories, and in particular the mobility of intra-corporate transferees, the mobility of researchers, the mobility of university students and the mobility of family members.

The amendment also regulates the terms and conditions for a tolerated stay, which, according to the new wording, will not be awarded to foreigners due to the obstacle to administrative expulsion or due to the impossibility of their journey and ineffectiveness of their detention. In the case of obstacles to administrative expulsion, but also in the case of institutional care or in the case of duration of a quarantine measures, or due to another reason stipulated by the Act, a foreigner, who stays in the territory of the Slovak Republic illegally, may remain in its territory due to a new institute “remaining of a third country national in the territory of the Slovak Republic”. However, this institute is not a type of residence.

Elaborated as at 1 May 2018