SLOVAKIA’s EU membership has inspired some Canadians with Slovak origins to obtain Slovak citizenship. Canada, like Slovakia, recognises double citizenship, and Canadians with both passports can travel freely within the whole European Union, the Hospodárske Noviny business daily wrote.
The Slovak Embassy in Ottawa confirmed an increased interest in obtaining Slovak citizenship. However, many applicants who were born to Slovaks speak almost no Slovak.
“Their level of knowledge of the Slovak language is very low,” said Ivan Chomo, the Slovak consul in Ottawa, as cited by the daily. “I have to say that most descendants of Slovaks born in Canada do not master the Slovak language and that they do not even know the basics of the language. They have problems filling in the application form.”
