Interior Ministry. (source: TASR)
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It has been two years since an amendment to Slovakia's Citizenship became effective, on April 1, 2022. This amendment makes it easier for people who descended from Slovak ancestors to gain Slovak citizenship.
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Descendants of people who emigrated from Slovakia or Czechoslovakia in the last century then spoke up against the requirement of legal residence in Slovakia when they requested Slovak citizenship.
The government and the parliament did not oblige their call two years ago. Residence as a condition for obtaining citizenship remains among the requirements in the law. But, according to OĽaNO MP Milan Vetrák, it is just a minor obstacle since the descendants of emigrants from Slovakia and Czechoslovakia are able to request a residence permit at Slovak embassies around the world.
Another change was that people who accepted the citizenship of another country can keep their Slovak, if they fulfil the condition of residence in that country at least five years prior to obtaining the citizenship.
Application can be sent from abroad
Today, the offspring of former Czechoslovak and Slovak citizens are in a more advantageous position than foreigners with no family ties to Slovakia. However, they still have to observe certain conditions, a residence permit being one. The length of their residence in Slovakia is not specified in the law, as it is for other foreigners who request Slovak citizenship.
Temporary residence in Slovakia can be requested at any Slovak embassy abroad or consular office. The consular office dealing with the request will conduct a personal interview with the applicant for the preliminary assessment of their application.
In this case, the applicant has to prove the purpose of the temporary residence they are requesting. The document confirming the purpose of their stay may be, for example, a promise of employment, a work permit issued by the relevant labour office, a certificate of admission to a study programme, a certificate of school or educational institution, a certificate of a Slovak living abroad, a marriage certificate or the birth certificate of a child and other.
Foreigners requesting residence permit in Slovakia must also prove that they have secured accommodation in Slovakia for at least six months.
People applying for a residence permit for the purpose of obtaining Slovak citizenship would consider this an obstacle, since most are not planning to live in Slovakia.
Proving purpose of stay
In March 2022, MP Milan Vetrák told The Slovak Spectator that the law would provide an exception for descendants of Czechoslovak citizens who apply for Slovak citizenship.
“The Interior Minister has yet to issue an order that applicants who are descendants of emigrants from former Czechoslovakia should be considered cases of very special consideration, and do not need to prove the purpose of their stay,” Vetrák said.
The Foreigners' Police, acting as the immigration authority in Slovakia, were then unable to provide more details.
Vetrák also added that if the change he mentioned wasn't introduced, the certificate of a Slovak Living Abroad could be used instead of a proof of stay for the purposes of obtaining the residence permit.
The certificate can be requested at the Office of Slovaks Living Abroad, including an embassy or consular office abroad.
Embassies to handle citizenship
The applications for granting Slovak citizenship can be submitted at a diplomatic mission or consular office of Slovakia abroad, including online.
Subsequently, the Interior Ministry will handle the request.
If approved, citizenship is acquired by accepting the document granting Slovak citizenship. The document is handed over to the applicant by the district office in the seat of the region, diplomatic mission or consular office of Slovakia. The applicant is first required to take the oath of a citizen of the Slovak Republic. This is also possible to arrange abroad.
Children younger than 14, people whose health conditions do not allow, and people deprived of legal capacity are exempt from the obligation to take the oath before officially becoming Slovak citizens.
Lawyer skeptical
Lawyers dealing with the citizenship law were skeptical about removing the residence condition to grant citizenship to people with Slovak ancestry. They voiced the opinion that the state should instead look for opportunities on how to easily grant citizenship to people who live in Slovakia and want to help shape Slovakia by voting in elections and participating in social and public life.
Marek Domin, associate professor and deputy head of the Department of Constitutional Law of Comenius University in Bratislava, repeated that in cases when residence in Slovakia is required for a specific time prior to obtaining citizenship, such as three years for people with the Slovak Living Abroad Certificate, a person has a real tie to the Slovak Republic.
But there are cases of granting citizenship without a stipulated length of residence in Slovakia, to people who are descendants of Czechoslovak citizens and people with the Slovak Living Abroad certificate who significantly contributed to the development of their community abroad. This new group was added to the amended law.
“I would be a bit skeptical here, especially when it comes to the existence of real ties to Slovakia,” Domin then told The Slovak Spectator.
“However, the fact is that in this manner it is possible to grant citizenship even today, even without the status of a Slovak Living Abroad,” he said in 2022. This is often the case with athletes, who obtain citizenship easily to represent the country. “So, in the end, it's just a systematic connection or addition to existing rules.”
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