Section 7(1): Conditions for granting citizenship
Section 7(8) waives only the condition in letter (a). The other conditions in subsection 1 apply, except that letter (h) does not apply to applicants under subsections 4 to 8.
(1) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic may be granted to an applicant who is not a citizen of the Slovak Republic and who
(a) has had continuous permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic for at least eight years immediately preceding the filing of the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic;
(b) is of good character [translator’s note: meaning a clean criminal record]; for the purposes of this Act, a person is not considered to be of good character
1. who was finally convicted of an intentional criminal offense, if five years have not passed since the conviction was expunged,
2. whose criminal prosecution for an intentional criminal offense was finally conditionally discontinued, if five years have not passed since the end of the probationary period,
3. whose criminal prosecution for an intentional criminal offense was discontinued by a court decision or a prosecutor’s decision approving a settlement, if five years have not passed since that decision became final;
(c) has not been sentenced by a court to the penalty of expulsion;
(d) is not subject to criminal prosecution;
(e) is not subject to extradition proceedings or to proceedings for the execution of a European arrest warrant;
(f) is not subject to administrative expulsion proceedings;
(g) is not subject to proceedings for the withdrawal of asylum or of subsidiary protection;
(h) has demonstrated command of the Slovak language, spoken and written, and general knowledge of the Slovak Republic (“command of the Slovak language”) under Section 8(5) to (8); this does not apply to an applicant under subsection 2(b) or (i) or under subsections 4 to 8, or to an applicant who
1. was under 14 years of age when the application was filed,
2. is or was a citizen of the Czech Republic,
3. holds a valid certificate of the status of a Slovak living abroad,
4. is older than 65 years, or
5. passed the secondary school-leaving examination (maturita) in the Slovak language, the state language examination in the Slovak language, or a state final examination at a university in a study program taught in the Slovak language, if no more than ten years have passed between that examination and the filing of the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic;
(i) fulfills the obligations arising from the legal regulations on the residence of foreigners in the territory of the Slovak Republic, public health insurance, social insurance, old-age pension savings, taxes, levies, fees, and the employment of foreigners, and the other obligations that the legal order of the Slovak Republic imposes on foreigners; and
(j) does not pose a threat to public order or to the security of the Slovak Republic.
Section 7(8): Citizenship by descent
(8) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic may be granted without meeting the condition in subsection 1(a) to an applicant who was not a citizen of the Slovak Republic and at least one of whose parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents was a Czechoslovak citizen born in the territory of the Slovak Republic.
Section 8(1) and (2): Who decides, where the application is filed, what it contains
(1) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic is granted by the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic (the “Ministry”) on the basis of a written application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic. An application under Section 7(2)(b) is assessed by the Ministry and submitted to the Minister of the Interior of the Slovak Republic (the “Minister”), who decides on it in accordance with the conditions set out in this Act. An application under Section 7(3)(b) is assessed by the Ministry after a prior opinion of the Office for Slovaks Living Abroad and submitted to the Minister, who decides on it in accordance with the conditions set out in this Act. No appeal (rozklad) may be filed against the Minister’s decision on an application under the second and third sentences. An application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic is filed in person at the district office in the regional capital, at a diplomatic mission, or at a consular office of the Slovak Republic.
(2) An application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic contains
(a) the applicant’s first name, surname, birth surname, birth number if one has been assigned, and date and place of birth;
(b) the address of the applicant’s permanent residence, unless this Act provides otherwise;
(c) the reasons for the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic; and
(d) the date and the applicant’s signature.
Section 8(3): What the applicant submits
(3) The applicant shall submit with the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic
(a) a detailed structured CV stating in particular the personal data under subsection 2(a) and (b) and information on education, employment, other gainful activity, language skills, special abilities, and interests, with the date and the applicant’s signature;
(b) a valid identity document showing the applicant’s current facial likeness in frontal view (the “applicant’s current facial likeness”);
(c) a birth certificate;
(d) a document of personal status, namely a marriage certificate, a final judgment or certificate of divorce, or the death certificate of the spouse, if the applicant is married, divorced, or widowed;
(e) proof of residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic and, in the case of a former citizen, proof of last permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic or a declaration on honor [translator’s note: comparable to an affidavit] of that residence; proof of residence is submitted only if the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic requires residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic to be shown;
(f) proof of good character [translator’s note: meaning a clean criminal record] not older than six months, namely an extract from the criminal record of every state of which the applicant is or has been a citizen and an extract from the criminal record of every state in which the applicant held a residence permit in the 15 years before filing the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic, or another proof of good character issued by the competent authorities of those states;
(g) the deed of release from the state union of the Czechoslovak Republic, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the Slovak Socialist Republic, or the Slovak Republic, or a naturalization certificate, or a confirmation of acquiring the citizenship of another state, if the applicant is a former citizen;
(h) the certificate of the status of a Slovak living abroad, if the applicant has that status;
(i) those of the following documents that confirm the fulfillment of the obligations under Section 7(1)(i) concerning the applicant, if the data they contain cannot be obtained from information systems under a special regulation; documents that do not concern the applicant are replaced by a declaration on honor stating why they are not submitted; on that basis, the applicant submits these further documents:
1. a confirmation from the tax office, the customs office, and the municipality that taxes and fees have been paid,
2. the employer’s confirmation of employment and a copy of the employment contract,
3. the health insurer’s confirmation that public health insurance premiums have been paid and of the duration of the insurance relationship,
4. the employer’s confirmation that income tax and premiums for public health insurance, social insurance, and old-age pension savings have been paid,
5. a confirmation of studies,
6. a confirmation of receipt of a pension,
7. a confirmation of a source of income sufficient to finance the stay of the applicant and persons close to the applicant in the territory of the Slovak Republic, if the applicant is voluntarily unemployed;
(j) the documents under Section 7(1)(h)(5) that replace demonstrating command of the Slovak language;
(k) a document or record by which the applicant demonstrates that the applicant’s parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent was a Czechoslovak citizen born in the territory of the Slovak Republic, if the application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic is filed under Section 7(8).
Section 8(4) and (11): The questionnaire, and children
(4) When filing a separate application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic, the applicant also completes the applicant’s questionnaire for citizenship of the Slovak Republic (the “applicant’s questionnaire”), the template of which is set out in Annex 1. The questionnaire of an applicant under 18 years of age is also signed by the applicant’s parents. If only one parent signs it, the consent of the other parent, with an officially certified signature, must be attached.
(11) Parents and their minor children who have reached 14 years of age apply for citizenship of the Slovak Republic in separate applications. Minor children under 14 years of age whom their parent has listed in the parent’s application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic acquire citizenship of the Slovak Republic together with the parent.
Section 8a(7), (10), (12), and (13): Time limit, acquiring citizenship, the oath, a new application
(7) The Ministry decides on an application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic no later than 24 months after the application is delivered to the Ministry. If the decision requires the opinion of other state authorities, other than the opinion under Section 8(9), and the decision depends on that opinion, the time limit under the first sentence does not run from the request for that opinion until its delivery to the Ministry.
(10) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic is acquired by taking over the deed of granting citizenship of the Slovak Republic. The district office in the regional capital, the diplomatic mission, or the consular office of the Slovak Republic hands the deed to the applicant after the applicant has taken the oath of a citizen of the Slovak Republic. Taking the oath is a condition of acquiring citizenship of the Slovak Republic. Children under 14 years of age and persons whose health does not permit it do not take the oath. The district office in the regional capital, the diplomatic mission, or the consular office of the Slovak Republic makes a record of the oath, sends it to the Ministry together with proof that the deed was taken over, and enters on the deed the date of the oath and of taking over the deed.
(12) The oath of a citizen of the Slovak Republic is taken before the head of the district office in the regional capital, an ambassador, a consul, or a person they have authorized, and reads: “I promise on my honor and conscience that I will be loyal to the Slovak Republic, that I will observe the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, constitutional laws, laws, and other generally binding legal regulations, and that I will duly fulfill all the obligations of a citizen of the Slovak Republic.”
(13) If the Ministry has not granted citizenship of the Slovak Republic, the applicant may file a new application for citizenship of the Slovak Republic no earlier than two years after the day on which the decision rejecting the application became final.
What changed on July 15, 2026
Until July 14, 2026, the descent route was Section 7(2)(j). It applied only to an applicant who held a residence permit in the territory of the Slovak Republic. Since July 15, 2026, the route is Section 7(8), without that requirement. The description of the ancestor is unchanged.
Section 8(3)(k), added at the same time, requires every application under Section 7(8) to include a document or record about the ancestor. Section 7(1)(h) lists applicants under subsections 4 to 8 among those who do not have to demonstrate command of the Slovak language, so applicants under Section 7(8) are exempt.
Loss of citizenship