The Slovak Citizenship Act in English
Act No. 40/1993 Coll. on Citizenship of the Slovak Republic (in Slovak: zákon č. 40/1993 Z. z. o štátnom občianstve Slovenskej republiky) is the Slovak Citizenship Act: it governs how Slovak citizenship is acquired and lost. This courtesy translation covers it, as in force since July 15, 2026, in two parts: The provisions on citizenship by descent, and the provisions on loss of citizenship.
Courtesy translation by FALATH & PARTNERS. Only the Slovak text published in the Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic is legally binding. Translated from the consolidated version in force from July 15, 2026, as published on Slov-Lex. Footnotes and references to other acts are omitted.
Citizenship by descent
These provisions govern Slovak citizenship by descent: Who may be granted citizenship, what the application must contain, where it is filed, how long the Ministry has to decide, and when citizenship is acquired.
- Section 7(1): Conditions for granting citizenship
- Section 7(8): Citizenship by descent
- Section 8(1) and (2): Who decides, where the application is filed, what it contains
- Section 8(3): What the applicant submits
- Section 8(4) and (11): The questionnaire, and children
- Section 8a(7), (10), (12), and (13): Time limit, acquiring citizenship, the oath, a new application
- What changed on July 15, 2026
Loss of citizenship
These provisions govern the loss of Slovak citizenship: Release at one’s own request, loss by voluntarily acquiring a foreign citizenship, the exceptions and the duty to notify, and the provisions under which a former citizen may be granted citizenship again.
- Section 9(1): How citizenship of the Slovak Republic can be lost
- Section 9(2)–(15): Release from the state union at one’s own request
- Section 9(16)–(20): Loss by voluntarily acquiring a foreign citizenship
- Section 9(21)–(22): Public service and classified information
- Section 9b: Administrative offenses
- Section 16 and Section 16a(1): Which office has jurisdiction; minor children
- Section 7(2)(i), (6), and (7): Citizenship granted again to a former citizen
- What changed, and when
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