IF A RESIDENCE PERMIT WAS OBTAINED THROUGH \u017dIVNOS\u0164, AND THEN THE PERSON SWITCHED TO THEIR OWN S.R.O., WILL THEY LOSE THE RESIDENCE PERMIT?
Some say, “Closing your \u017eivnos\u0165 card automatically means you’ve lost your residence permit.” Others insist that after receiving the card, you don’t have to do anything at all until the next renewal. <\/p>\n\n
Both answers oversimplify the situation.<\/p>\n\n
Let’s imagine an ordinary case. A foreigner received a temporary residence permit in Slovakia for entrepreneurial activity as \u017eivnostn\u00edk. After some time, the business grew, and the man decided to open his own s.r.o. He registered the company, became its director, began operating through a legal entity, and suspended or completely closed \u017eivnos\u0165. <\/p>\n\n
A logical question arises: does his residence permit remain valid, or might foreign police consider the basis for his residence to have disappeared?<\/p>\n\n
Generally, a person should not automatically lose their residence permit simply because they ceased operating through a \u017eivnos\u0165. However, this is only possible if the business activity actually continues through the s.r.o., and the foreigner maintains the correct legal status within the company. <\/p>\n\n
The fact is that Slovakia’s Act No. 404\/2011 on the Residence of Foreigners does not grant a residence permit for a specific \u017eivnos\u0165 number or a specific I\u010cO. A residence permit is granted for a specific purpose of stay. <\/p>\n\n
In the case under consideration, this goal is called podnikanie, that is, entrepreneurial activity.<\/p>\n\n
The full, current text of Law No. 404\/2011 can be found in the official collection of laws Slov-Lex.<\/a><\/p>\n\n Section 22 of the Act provides for two main forms in which a third-country national can fulfil the purpose of an entrepreneurial residence permit.<\/p>\n\n The first form is when a person conducts business in Slovakia as a natural person. This is where the \u017eivnos\u0165 (personal legal entity) falls. <\/p>\n\n The second form is when a person acts on behalf of a trading company or cooperative without being in an employment relationship with that company. This is where operating as a private limited company (s.r.o.) falls. <\/p>\n\n Thus, \u017eivnostn\u00edk and konate\u013e s.r.o. are within the same general purpose of residence\u2014podnikanie. It’s not the purpose of the residence permit itself that changes, but the legal form in which the person conducts business. This follows directly from the structure of \u00a7 22 of Act No. 404\/2011. <\/p>\n\n Therefore, the transition from \u017eivnos\u0165 to operating as a konate\u013e own s.r.o. cannot be automatically equated to a change in the purpose of stay.<\/p>\n\n A completely different situation would arise if a person closed their residence permit and took up employment under an employment contract. In this case, entrepreneurship would be replaced by employment, which is a different purpose of residence. To do this, the issue of changing the purpose of the residence permit must be addressed separately. <\/p>\n\n However, if business activity continues through an s.r.o., the purpose of podnikanie is generally retained.<\/p>\n\n There’s a crucial condition here, however. Simply opening a company or owning a stake in it isn’t enough. <\/p>\n\n A person must be registered as a konate\u013e, meaning a person authorized to act on behalf of the company. In certain legal forms, this may be another member of the statutory body, but in a typical s.r.o., it is the konate\u013e. <\/p>\n\n If a person is only a spolo\u010dn\u00edk, i.e. a shareholder or founder of a company, this is not sufficient to fulfil the purpose of an entrepreneurial residence permit under \u00a7 22 part 1 point b).<\/p>\n\n It’s possible to own even 100% of a company, but if another person is the company’s director, the owner themselves are not formally acting on behalf of the s.r.o. Therefore, company ownership alone does not replace \u017eivnos\u0165 as the basis for an entrepreneurial residence permit.<\/p>\n\n The Migration Information Centre of the International Organization for Migration explicitly points this out. The clarification states that a foreigner who is or will become a shareholder of an s.r.o. company can obtain an entrepreneurial residence permit through an s.r.o. Simply being a member or co-owner of the company is not sufficient. <\/p>\n\n Current IOM clarification on residence permits for konate\u013e s.r.o.<\/a><\/p>\n\n The page was updated on July 30, 2026 and explicitly distinguishes between the status of a company owner and the status of a person acting on behalf of the company.<\/p>\n\n Therefore, the sequence of actions is of great importance.<\/p>\n\n First, an s.r.o. must be established and registered. Then, the individual must be entered into the Obchodn\u00fd Register specifically as a konate\u013e. The company must have the necessary activities registered and the relevant business permits obtained. Only after the company is legally established and the individual is officially authorized to act on its behalf is it safe to suspend or close a personal \u017eivnos\u0165. <\/p>\n\n The problem arises when a person first closes \u017eivnos\u0165 and registers a company later.<\/p>\n\n Let’s assume \u017eivnos\u0165 was terminated on September 1, and the individual’s registration as a konate\u013e s.r.o. only appeared in the trade register on September 20. During this period, they may not have a documented means of fulfilling the purpose of their entrepreneurial residence permit. <\/p>\n\n It is precisely this kind of gap that can raise questions from foreign police.<\/p>\n\n The law obliges a third-country national to notify the foreign police within three working days if the purpose for which he was granted a residence permit has ceased.<\/p>\n\n An explanation of the responsibilities of foreigners is published here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n At the same time, the law provides that the police will revoke a temporary residence permit if the purpose for which it was granted has ceased to exist.<\/p>\n\n But the key question is precisely whether the goal has disappeared.<\/p>\n\n If a person has ceased to be a \u017eivnostn\u00edk, but is already a konate\u013e of an operating s.r.o. and continues to conduct business through it, then it can be reasonably argued that the purpose of podnikanie has not disappeared.<\/p>\n\n If the \u017eivnos\u0165 is closed, and the person is only the owner of the company, but not its konate\u013e, the situation is entirely different. In such a case, the police may conclude that the documented basis for pursuing the business purpose no longer exists. <\/p>\n\n It’s important to understand another nuance. Closing the \u017eivnos\u0165 card does not mean that the residence permit card physically ceases to be valid immediately. <\/p>\n\n The police must assess the circumstances and, if grounds exist, initiate the revocation of the residence permit. However, relying solely on the card continuing to display the valid expiration date is dangerous. <\/p>\n\n The period printed on the plastic card and the actual fulfillment of the purpose of stay are not the same thing.<\/p>\n\n For example, the card may be valid for another two years, but if the person has completely ceased business activity and no longer fulfills the purpose of the residence permit, the foreign police have the right to consider its cancellation.<\/p>\n\n Conversely, if a person has closed one form of business but continues the same business purpose without interruption through another form provided by law, the closure of the \u017eivnos\u0165 itself does not yet mean the disappearance of the basis for residence.<\/p>\n\n In this case, is it necessary to obtain a new residence permit?<\/p>\n\n Published official materials do not contain a separate procedure called “transfer of residence permit from \u017eivnos\u0165 to s.r.o.” The law also does not distinguish such a transfer as an independent change in the purpose of stay. <\/p>\n\n The goal remains the same – to sneak in.<\/p>\n\n Therefore, according to a systematic reading of \u00a7 22, it should not be a question of obtaining a completely new residence permit just because a person has switched from entrepreneurship as an individual to activity as a company konate\u013e.<\/p>\n\n But here it must be said honestly: to date, I have not found a separate official explanation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Border and Foreign Police Department that would literally state that the transition from \u00a7 22 part 1 point a) to \u00a7 22 part 1 point b) always occurs automatically and does not require any notification. <\/p>\n\n That is, the conclusion is based on the current law’s structure: both forms relate to the same purpose\u2014entrepreneurship. However, the police may evaluate specific circumstances on a case-by-case basis. You must first ensure that the foreigner’s entry as a “konate\u013e” has already appeared in the Obchodn\u00fd register. After that, you can suspend or close the “\u017eivnos\u0165” entry. <\/p>\n\n It is also advisable to notify the relevant foreign police department in writing that the business purpose of the stay has not ceased, but is now being fulfilled through activities as a konate\u013e of a specific s.r.o.<\/p>\n\n The notification may be accompanied by a current v\u00fdpis z obchodn\u00e9ho registra, confirming the status of the konate\u013e, the company’s data and, if necessary, a document on the suspension or termination of \u017eivnos\u0165.<\/p>\n\n It’s important to emphasize: I don’t see a direct legal requirement to notify the police about switching between two forms of business within the same residence permit purpose. This is a practical recommendation that helps to establish in advance that the purpose of stay has not disappeared. <\/p>\n\n Such notification can be particularly useful because government agencies share data. Information about the termination or suspension of a \u017eivnos\u0165 can reach government systems faster than a person can explain that they are now working through an s.r.o. <\/p>\n\n If the police only see the termination of the \u017eivnos\u0165, but don’t see or compare the new konate\u013e status, unnecessary questions may arise. It’s much better to provide the full picture upfront. <\/p>\n\n The next important point is the labor relationship with your own company.<\/p>\n\n Section 22 of Act No. 404\/2011 provides for an entrepreneurial residence permit for a person who acts on behalf of a commercial company and is not in an employment relationship with it.<\/p>\n\n In addition, the current version of the law provides for the possibility of canceling an entrepreneurial residence permit if its holder has entered into an employment relationship.<\/p>\n\n Therefore, without additional verification, you cannot simply register yourself in your own s.r.o. under a regular employment contract and assume that this does not affect your residence permit in any way.<\/p>\n\n The function of a konate\u013e and the work of a regular employee are legally different things.<\/p>\n\n A konate\u013e acts on behalf of the company as its statutory body. The terms of this function, responsibilities, and remuneration can be formalized, for example, through a corresponding corporate agreement. However, a simple pracovn\u00e1 zmluva (working relationship) refers to an employment relationship and can create problems for someone who has a residence permit specifically for entrepreneurship. <\/p>\n\n Therefore, the way in which the relationship between a foreigner and his own company is formalised must be verified before the documents are signed, and not after the information has already been entered into the Soci\u00e1lna pois\u0165ov\u0148a and other state registers.<\/p>\n\n Another serious question arises when renewing a residence permit.<\/p>\n\n Even if the current card has not been cancelled and the business purpose continues, the police will assess the current form of business conduct upon the next renewal.<\/p>\n\n If a person applies for renewal as a konate\u013e s.r.o., they will need to prove that they are indeed authorized to act on behalf of the company. Typically, the current registration document is used for this purpose. <\/p>\n\n The law explicitly states that when extending an entrepreneurial residence permit, the purpose of stay must be confirmed by a document certifying the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity.<\/p>\n\n Special tax conditions also apply to konate\u013e. According to the current IOM clarification, when renewing, the company must prove that it paid business tax for the previous tax reporting period at least the amount established by special legislation. <\/p>\n\n Explanations on extension through s.r.o. are on the same page. <\/a>