Volkswagen Slovakia. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
The Foreign Ministry has launched a ‘flying consuls’ project in an attempt to speed up the arrival of foreign workers to Slovakia.
The first consul has already left for India. From there, they will move on to Indonesia.
Their role will be to receive national visa applications from non-EU citizens in professions that have long lacked a workforce. Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer) has said that the flying consul, by the end of June, should receive 900-1,100 visa applications from the workers selected by employers in Slovakia.
“These job applicants have already undergone approval procedures by Slovakia’s central labour authority, and at the same time undergo all important security checks,” the minister added.
As Blanár further explained, the project has been launched to help Slovak embassies in Delhi and Jakarta. They have been flooded with national visa applications and not been able to handle them all alongside standard visa procedures.
The new workers should predominantly work in the automotive industry.
Counting on foreigners
Earlier on, the government introduced the possibility of non-EU workers applying for national visa via an external services provider.
National visas apply not only to highly skilled professions in all sectors, but also to professions with lower qualifications, especially in transport and industry. After granting this visa, it is not possible to change employer.
Back in February, PM Robert Fico (Smer) admitted that Slovakia is a country with an acute labour shortage, arguing that schools will have to reflect on the needs of the labour market, including car companies and more.
"For now," he said, “We will have to seek qualified workers from abroad.”
Almost 28,000 workers from outside the EU worked in Slovakia in April.
