Loss of Slovak Citizenship: The Act in English (2026)

Section 9(1): How citizenship of the Slovak Republic can be lost

(1) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic may be lost

(a) by release from the state union of the Slovak Republic at one’s own request,

(b) by acquiring a foreign citizenship on the basis of an explicit expression of will.

Section 9(2)–(15): Release from the state union at one’s own request

Release is a decision on the citizen’s own application. Citizenship is lost on the day the deed of release is taken over (subsection 11).

(2) A person may be released from the state union of the Slovak Republic if the person proves that they hold the citizenship of another state, or a promise that it will be granted in the event of release from the state union of the Slovak Republic.

(3) A person may not be released from the state union of the Slovak Republic

(a) against whom criminal proceedings are being conducted, or who is serving a sentence, or who has not served a sentence imposed by a judgment of a court of the Slovak Republic,

(b) who has recorded arrears with a tax office, a customs office, or a municipality, or recorded arrears on social insurance contributions, or against whom a health insurance company records overdue receivables under special regulations in the Slovak Republic.

(4) An application for release from the state union 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.

(5) An application for release from the state union 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 applicant’s residential address and the address of the applicant’s last residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic,

(d) the date and the applicant’s signature.

(6) With the application for release from the state union of the Slovak Republic, the applicant submits

(a) a valid identity document showing the applicant’s current facial likeness,

(b) a birth certificate, if the applicant was born abroad and the birth is not entered in the special register (osobitná matrika),

(c) 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; the marriage certificate or the death certificate of the spouse is not submitted if the marriage or the death of the spouse took place in the territory of the Slovak Republic or is entered in the special register, in which case the applicant states the place of the marriage or the place of the death of the spouse,

(d) the data needed to request an extract from the criminal record,

(e) a promise of granting the citizenship of another state, or proof of having acquired it,

(f) a confirmation that the applicant has no recorded arrears with a tax office, a customs office, or a municipality, no recorded arrears on social insurance contributions, and that no health insurance company records overdue receivables against the applicant under special regulations, if the data contained in the information system cannot be obtained from information systems under a special regulation.

(7) Spouses and minor children aged 14 and over apply for release from the state union of the Slovak Republic in separate applications. Minor children under 14 years of age whom a parent has listed in the application for release from the state union of the Slovak Republic lose citizenship of the Slovak Republic together with the parent.

(8) The district office in the regional capital decides on release from the state union of the Slovak Republic. If the district office in the regional capital decides to release the applicant from the state union of the Slovak Republic, it issues a deed of release from the state union of the Slovak Republic, which contains

(a) the name “Slovak Republic” and the name of the district office in the regional capital,

(b) the number of the proceedings on release from the state union of the Slovak Republic,

(d) the first name, surname, birth surname, date of birth, place of birth, and residential address of the applicant, and the address of the applicant’s last residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic,

(e) the place and date of issue of the document,

(f) the first name, surname, position, and signature of the authorized person,

(g) the imprint of the official stamp.

(9) The district office in the regional capital decides on an application for release from the state union of the Slovak Republic no later than six months after the application is delivered to the district office in the regional capital.

(10) The district office in the regional capital decides on the application for release from the state union of the Slovak Republic again if, between the issue of the deed of release and its taking over by the applicant, new facts come to light that must be taken into account in the decision on the matter.

(11) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic is lost on the day the deed of release from the state union of the Slovak Republic is taken over. The district office in the regional capital, the diplomatic mission, or the consular office of the Slovak Republic hands the deed of release to the applicant, who takes it over in person. The diplomatic mission or the consular office of the Slovak Republic sends proof that the deed of release was taken over to the district office in the regional capital without delay.

(12) If the applicant, without a serious reason, does not take over the deed of release from the state union of the Slovak Republic within six months of delivery of a written invitation, the diplomatic mission or the consular office of the Slovak Republic returns the document to the competent district office in the regional capital, which discontinues the proceedings. The decision to discontinue the proceedings is noted in the file, and the applicant is informed of the discontinuation.

(13) No appeal may be filed against the decision to discontinue the proceedings under subsection 12.

(14) The district office in the regional capital sends notice of the fact under subsection 11 to the municipality of the applicant’s permanent residence, the Police Force unit, the tax office, the customs office, and the institutions administering social insurance and public health insurance.

(15) The district office in the regional capital requests an extract from the criminal record concerning the applicant for release from the state union of the Slovak Republic from the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Slovak Republic. The district office in the regional capital sends the data under subsection 6(d) without delay, in electronic form by means of electronic communication, to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Slovak Republic for the issue of the extract from the criminal record; Section 14(1) is not affected.

Section 9(16)–(20): Loss by voluntarily acquiring a foreign citizenship

Subsection 16 states when citizenship is lost; subsections 17 and 18 state when it is not, and the duty to notify.

(16) A citizen of the Slovak Republic loses citizenship of the Slovak Republic on the day on which they voluntarily acquire a foreign citizenship on the basis of an explicit expression of will, which is an application, a declaration, or another act aimed at acquiring the foreign citizenship.

(17) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic is not lost under subsection 16 if a citizen of the Slovak Republic acquired the foreign citizenship of their spouse during the marriage, or if the foreign citizenship was acquired by birth or by adoption, or if it was acquired by a minor child. A citizen of the Slovak Republic is obliged to notify the district office in the regional capital in writing of the acquisition of a foreign citizenship under the preceding sentence within 90 days of its acquisition and to submit with that notification documents in paper form proving the acquisition of the foreign citizenship and further documents proving that citizenship of the Slovak Republic was not lost under the preceding sentence, in particular a birth certificate, a marriage certificate, and a final decision on the adoption of the child.

(18) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic is also not lost under subsection 16 if a citizen of the Slovak Republic acquired the foreign citizenship of a state in which, at the time of acquiring the foreign citizenship, they had a residence permit, registered residence, or otherwise recorded residence for at least five years; the residence condition is considered met if the citizen of the Slovak Republic actually stayed in the territory of the foreign state during that period. A citizen of the Slovak Republic is obliged to notify the district office in the regional capital in writing of the acquisition of a foreign citizenship under the preceding sentence within 90 days of its acquisition and to submit with that notification documents in paper form proving the acquisition of the foreign citizenship and the length of residence in the state of acquisition as of the day of acquisition; the district office in the regional capital also requests further documents if they are needed to prove the residence of the citizen of the Slovak Republic in the territory of the foreign state. If, after the notification under the preceding sentence is received, it is shown that the residence condition under the first sentence is not met, the district office in the regional capital sends to the person who notified the acquisition of the foreign citizenship a written notice of the loss of citizenship of the Slovak Republic under subsection 1(b) and of the entry of a record of its loss in the Central Register of Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship of the Slovak Republic and in the Register of Residents of the Slovak Republic. The district office in the regional capital enters in the information systems under the preceding sentence a record of the acquisition of a foreign citizenship with citizenship of the Slovak Republic retained under subsection 17 and this subsection.

(19) A person who has lost citizenship under subsection 16 is obliged to notify the district office in the regional capital of this fact in writing without delay and to submit with that notification documents in paper form proving the acquisition of the foreign citizenship.

(20) The district office in the regional capital notifies the loss of citizenship under subsection 16 to the bodies listed in subsection 14. The district office in the regional capital that received the notification of the loss of citizenship of the Slovak Republic sends to the person who lost citizenship of the Slovak Republic under subsection 16 a written notice of the loss of citizenship of the Slovak Republic and of the entry of a record of the loss in the Central Register of Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship of the Slovak Republic and in the Register of Residents of the Slovak Republic.

Section 9(21)–(22): Public service and classified information

(21) Unless a special act provides otherwise, on the day of loss of citizenship of the Slovak Republic under subsection 16, any civil service employment, service relationship, or similar legal relationship establishing an office, employment, or profession the exercise of which is conditional on citizenship of the Slovak Republic ends.

(22) Unless a special act provides otherwise, on the day of loss of citizenship of the Slovak Republic under subsection 16, the authorization to access classified information ends.

Section 9b: Administrative offenses

(1) An administrative offense is committed by a person who

(a) does not return the deed of granting citizenship of the Slovak Republic to the Ministry [translator’s note: the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic] within 30 days of delivery of the Ministry’s notice under Section 8b(3),

(b) does not return an issued certificate of citizenship of the Slovak Republic to the Ministry within 30 days of delivery of the Ministry’s notice under Section 9a(10),

(2) For an offense under subsection 1(a) and (b), a fine of EUR 3,300 is imposed, and for an offense under subsection 1(c), a fine of up to EUR 330 may be imposed.

(3) Offenses under this Act are heard by the District Office Bratislava.

(4) The general regulation on offenses applies to offenses and their hearing, unless this Act provides otherwise.

Section 16 and Section 16a(1): Which office has jurisdiction; minor children

Local jurisdiction under this Act is governed by the residence of the person whose citizenship is concerned. If the person has no residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic, local jurisdiction is governed by their last residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic. If the person has never had residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic, the District Office Bratislava has jurisdiction under Sections 8, 9, and 9a. For a minor child, local jurisdiction is governed by the residence of the child’s legal representative, guardian, or curator who files the application on behalf of the minor child. An application under Section 9a may be filed at any district office in the regional capital, which decides on it. The competent authority for filing a declaration of choice of citizenship by a former Czechoslovak citizen under a special act is the District Office Bratislava.

(1) For a minor child, the application under Sections 8, 9, and 9a or the declaration under Section 16 is filed, or the obligation under Section 9(17) to (19) is fulfilled, by the child’s legal representative, guardian, or curator. On behalf of a person whose legal capacity is restricted, the application under Sections 8, 9, and 9a is filed by a court-appointed curator.

Section 7(2)(i), (6), and (7): Citizenship granted again to a former citizen

Subsection 1(a) is the condition of at least eight years of continuous permanent residence in the Slovak Republic.

(2) An applicant who has a residence permit in the territory of the Slovak Republic may be granted citizenship of the Slovak Republic without meeting the condition in subsection 1(a), unless this Act provides otherwise, if […] [translator’s note: letters (a) to (h) omitted]

(i) they lost citizenship of the Slovak Republic by release from the state union of the Slovak Republic under Section 9(1)(a).

(6) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic shall be granted, without meeting the condition in subsection 1(a), to an applicant who is a former citizen of the Slovak Republic and who was released from the state union of the Slovak Republic under this Act, if they so request and submit proof that they have not been granted the citizenship of another state.

(7) Citizenship of the Slovak Republic shall be granted, without meeting the condition in subsection 1(a), to an applicant who lost citizenship of the Slovak Republic by acquiring a foreign citizenship in the period from July 17, 2010 to March 31, 2022, if the applicant acquired the foreign citizenship of a state in which, at the time of acquiring the foreign citizenship, they had a residence permit, registered residence, or otherwise recorded residence for at least five years, and submitted documents in paper form proving these facts; the residence condition is considered met if the applicant actually stayed in the territory of the foreign state during that period.

What changed, and when

July 17, 2010 — Act No. 250/2010 Coll. added loss by voluntarily acquiring a foreign citizenship on the basis of an explicit expression of will [Section 9(1)(b) and (16)].

April 1, 2022 — Act No. 72/2022 Coll. gave Section 9(17) and (18) their present wording, including the exception for a citizen who had at least five years of residence in the foreign state, and added Section 7(7), under which citizenship shall be granted to those who lost it between July 17, 2010 and March 31, 2022 and met the same residence condition.

July 15, 2026 — Act No. 128/2026 Coll.: the notifications under Section 9(17) and (18) are made to the district office in the regional capital instead of the Ministry, and the district office records in the information systems that a foreign citizenship was acquired with Slovak citizenship retained [last sentence of Section 9(18)].

Citizenship by descent