I am happy to share the news that our family today received new residence permit cards with extension in Bratislava for a year and a half! When we applied for a residence permit extension in Slovakia, I promised myself that as soon as the new cards are in hand, I will share with our subscribers my personal experience in this process, tell them what requirements must be met to extend the residence permit, what documents must be collected, as well as what pitfalls an applicant may encounter in the process of waiting for the extension of the residence permit in Slovakia.
I recommend that you start dealing with the issue of extending your residence permit at least 2-3 months before the expiry of your current residence permit, as you need to collect a considerable list of documents and certificates. It is advisable to apply for an extension 2-3 weeks before the expiry of the residence permit.
You should take into account possible force majeure: weekends in Slovakia, when the police are also not working; possible suspension of the work of the Zuzenec police for several days for technical reasons, as was the case in June 2018; possible long queues when you have to come on the next working day, etc. Therefore, it is not a good idea to allow filing on the last day. If the foreigner is even 1 day late with the extension, the residence permit will be cancelled, it is necessary to start all over again, and the previous period of residence in Slovakia will no longer be counted in the five-year period after which the residence permit is issued. It is better to apply early, even if you do not have all the certificates or documents. The police will take your application and the rest of the certificates can be submitted in the next few days.
List of documents for renewal of residence permit in Slovakia:
● Заявление на словацком языке на специальном бланке (žiadosť);
● A copy of a valid passport (you only need to present the original);
● Extract from the Commercial Register (confirmation that you are still an entrepreneur in Slovakia);
● Bank statement on the balance of the personal account. As of 1 July 2018, the amount of the living wage has increased and is now €205.07. The account balance for one adult must be a minimum of 12 subsistence 205.07*12=2460.84 euros, for children under 18 – half as much, it is 205.07*6=1230.42. It is better to round the amounts up. All amounts for each family member must be in the Guarantor’s account. Before obtaining a certificate from the bank, always check what the current cost of living is in Slovakia;
● A certificate from the tax service stating that there are no debts and taxes paid for the previous year;
● Certificate from the social insurance company that there are no debts;
● A certificate from the customs office stating that there are no debts;
● Certificates from three health insurance companies (VšZP, Dôvera, Union) stating that there are no debts;
● Health Insurance;
● A rental contract for the flat and a confirmation from the owners of the flat that they give permission to stay (Čestné vyhlásenie) with notarised signatures of the landlords; or a document proving that you are the landlord of the residential property;
● One 3*3.5 cm colour photograph;
● In case of family extension, you also need a statement that you will support your family members and a statement that the family members have not changed the basis for the residence permit.
A separate set of documents is formed for each family member. The guarantor himself signs the application for children under 18 years of age. All certificates must be no older than 90 days.
Conditions for prolongation of residence permit in Slovakia:
No debts to the state. For this purpose, an appropriate certificate is taken.
● The minimum amount of profit after tax for an entrepreneur is €4,100 and for a company €12,200.
● According to the new amendments to the Aliens Act of 1 May 2018, there is now an additional condition on the foreigner’s stay in Slovakia. According to it, an applicant for a residence permit extension must be in Slovakia (or the EU) for at least half of the period for which the previous residence permit was issued. Deadlines are cumulative. This means that you do not have to be continuously on Slovak territory for the entire period. It can be torn, but cumulatively must be at least half.
It is VERY desirable to have Slovak counterparties with whom contracts have been signed and invoices issued. You need to have at least 2-3 Slovak contractors, otherwise the police may refuse to extend your residence permit on the grounds that you do not need a residence permit in Slovakia because you are doing business outside Slovakia.
● Availability of rented or own accommodation. After applying for an extension, the police in 99% check the residence.
● It will be a big plus to have an office and/or warehouse with which to conduct business in Slovakia.
If all the conditions are fulfilled and the documents are submitted to the police, you have to wait for the 90 days that the police have by law, when you will have your residence permit renewed and new residence permit cards will be issued. You will hear the happy news from your phone when it receives an SMS with information about the release of new cards. By the way, the cards can be received by courier right at home. To do this, you must specify the courier delivery method during the application process. After the text message arrives, the courier usually arrives the next day.
Call for an interview at the Alien Police Station
The police selectively call applicants for residence permit extension for an interview. I just became such a ‘lucky’ one!) They notify about it by registered letter one month before the date of the interview. The letter will contain information about the date and time of the interview, as well as a request to bring with you all documents confirming the real activity of your IE or company: contracts, invoices, cheques, etc.
At the specified time, I arrived at the new building of the Zudzinec police in Bratislava at Regrútska 4. I was provided with an interpreter from Ukrainian to Slovak. It’s the law. Although I already speak the language enough to communicate with a police representative. The interview lasted an hour and a half.
We asked many questions ranging from ‘What is my name?’ to ‘What companies do you work with in Slovakia? What are the names of their directors? How much have you invested in the Slovak economy?’. There were also a lot of leading questions. I took copies and originals of contracts with counterparties, invoices to the meeting, as stated in the invitation to the interview. I left the copies with the policeman to attach to my case for the renewal of my residence permit. At the end of the interview, we thanked each other, signed the transcript, and I was free to go. After the interview, we didn’t receive any communication from the police until after the text messages came in about the new cards being issued.
Recently, there has been an increase in the processing time of both the application for the first residence permit and the renewal. As mentioned, the police have 90 days to process the application, but in practice it can take longer. In our case, we were renewed our residence permit after 3 months and 3 weeks. Not everyone knows that you can write to the police to request to see your file. If we didn’t get any information this week, I was planning to write such a formal request next week. In Slovak such a letter is called Ziadost o nahladnutie do spisu, in Russian – application for review of the case. Such a letter helps to speed up the decision as it goes through the police leadership.
In case of refusal to extend the residence permit, the police will send a registered letter with information about the reason for the refusal. But even that’s not a judgement call. The applicant has 5 days to appeal it. You need to seek professional help immediately. If everything is done competently, then after appealing there is a chance to extend the residence permit even up to 3 years.
Conclusion
Thanks to proper bookkeeping, preparation of all documents and certificates for the application for extension, as well as good preparation for the interview, we were granted an extension of our residence permit for a year and a half, which is quite rare in Bratislava.
Our own experience, knowledge of the law and skills are at your disposal. If you also need to extend your residence permit, you can safely turn to our company. We will collect all the necessary documents and certificates, accompany you to the police to apply for the extension of residence permit, prepare you for a possible interview. You will feel confident answering any question. If necessary, we will help you to correctly draw up an appeal against the refusal. You can find out more about the service on this page.
Our company wishes you success in your business so that every renewal is quick and easy for you!
