This article is for graduates who successfully finish their University studies in Slovakia (either Bachelor studies or Master’s studies). This means that a student passed all exams, and state exams, and defended a thesis at Slovak University. The diploma is a required document that needs to be submitted to the Foreign police either for an extension for job-seeking RP or for RP for employment.

Note: if you have completed university studies at TOP 500 University, Slovak University, or Czech University, you can also apply for job seeking visas for 90 days for highly qualified workers. For more information, please check the article: https://www.studyinslovakia.sk/slovak-national-visas-for-job-seeking-candidates-or-highly-qualified-foreigners/

Residence permit for foreign students and graduates in Slovakia

The residence permit awarded to a student at the beginning of studies was for studies. The usual duration of a residence permit for studies in up to June or up to August (typically up to the 30th of June or 31st of August). We suggest going to foreign police a minimum 2-4 weeks before the expiry of your residence permit. You cannot stay even single day in Slovakia without a residence permit. On another hand, you may submit a request for RP extension even if your documents are not complete and submit them later. Even if your current RP got over, you are still legally in Slovakia – based on the condition you submitted at least an incomplete request for RP extension. When you submit an incomplete request for RP extension, the police will contact you officially in 2-3 weeks for the submission of remaining documents, which is also your time for securing missing documents.

There are two options for how you can extend your residence permit in Slovakia after graduation:

a) residence permit for employment

b) job-seeking residence permit

Let’s discuss both options in detail:

a) residence permit for employment (residence permit furthermore as RP)

If you find a job, you can ask for a residence permit for employment. Please note there is a difference between RP for employment and work permit. The work permit is for 3rd country nationals, who did not study in Slovakia and got an offer in Slovakia. Before they may submit a residence permit to the police, they need to get approval from the labor office that the given position cannot be assigned to European citizens. This permit is called a work permit and takes usually 20-30 working days to get from the Labour office. When you speak to the employer as graduate, you should not mention that you need work permit. For graduates, a residence permit for the job is mandatory.
The good news is that as a graduate, you do NOT need a work permit or any confirmation from the labor office.

The following documents need to be submitted for RP for employment at foreign police department:

1. filled in the application form – you may use the portal of the foreign police  (option 1)
2. 2 identical colour photos (3 x 3.5 cm);
3. proof of payment of the administrative fee- for employment it is 165,5€
4. a valid passport and your current residence permit card (the card must be valid on the day of submission)
5. a promise of employment or labor contract (labor contract should state that you will start working once the RP is awarded) – it must be signed by an executive (=main manager of the company) and there must be a company stamp on it. The alternative is that the HR officer signs but then you must also submit delegation of power that HR was authorised to sign it on executive behalf  (this is usual in ATNT)
6. confirmation of income (either you can submit a bank statement with 3300€ balance or confirmation from an employer about salary with a signature and stamp)
7. confirmation of accommodation – it must be either a signed rental contract (the owner or the owners of the flat must sign it in front of a notary) or may have a form of an affidavit confirming accommodation (again owner or owners of the flat must sign it in front of the notary). The longer validity of the employment and accommodation contract, the better chances of longer residence permit awards. Your signature as a tenant does not need to be verified.
   Important notice regarding flat size: the minimum size of the flat must be 15m2 with a minimum living area of 12m2 (12m2 per first person and 6m2 per every next person. If there are 2 people, there must be a minimum 12m2+6m2 of the living area – §8 odst. 1 vyhlasky 259/2008). Every flat must have drinkable water with sink, place to cook, toilet and heating.
8. notary copy of your Diploma certificate from the University
9. Confirmation of employer, that you do not need a work permit – signed by an executive of the company and stamped by the company stamp (Attachment 2)

You will submit these documents to the foreign police and within 90 days you will get a residence permit for employment. You can also book an online appointment directly on the foreign police website (in Bratislava, slots are usually available only several weeks from the date of booking)

There is also an option for submitting RP for so-called scarce professions. How do they work? There are localities in Slovakia where the unemployment rate is below 5% and a job you are planning to get a job contract for, is in high demand from employers (e.g. IT professions, mechanical jobs, etc). If you submit an RP request for a profession from this list, you may start to get 6 weeks of training at the company right after submission of your documents. The process of issuing a residence permit for scarce professions takes only 30 days from the day of submission. The list of scarce professions is different from one region to another so we suggest checking the list of occupations before submitting a request at the local labor office or IOM office.

b) job-seeking residence permit (RP) for 9 months

Job-seeking RP is the best option for you in the case when you are a graduate but do not have a job contract yet. You may ask for 9 months extension for job-seeking purposes. Once you get a work contract later on you would need to go to foreign police and ask for RP for employment according to previous point a). Please note that you can apply for a residence permit for job-seeking only if your current residence permit is still valid.

The process is easier and requires the following documents:

1. filled in the application form – you may use the portal of the foreign police
2. original of passport and RP card
3. bank statement with a 2.820€ balance (in Slovak or translated to Slovak)
4. accommodation contract for a minimum of 10 months (1 month is processing time, 9 months will be for RP itself) – according to recent information from the foreign police, you will not need to submit health confirmation from the municipality
   Important notice regarding flat size: the minimum size of the flat must be 15m2 with a minimum living area of 12m2 (12m2 per first person and 6m2 per every next person. If there are 2 people, there must be minimum of 12m2+6m2 of the living area – §8 odst. 1 vyhlasky 259/2008). Every flat must have drinkable water with sink, place to cook, toilet and heating.
5. 2 passport pictures (3×3,5 cm)
6. notary copy of Diploma certificate
7. police may ask also for confirmation from the Dean’s office, that the education have been completed successfully. The paper must be signed by the Dean or Vice-dean

After submission of these documents, you need to wait 30 days for the issue of a residence permit. There is no fee for the submission of documents – you pay only 4,50€ for card production (or 24,50€ for the express card). You can book the slot also on the foreign police website.

Notes:

• all documents which are in English and you submit them to foreign policy, must be translated by sworn translation to the Slovak language
• please do notary copies of documents which you will need later (e.g. accommodation contract, bank declaration or Diploma). You will not get papers back from the foreign police
• do not wait with submission to the last day of your current residence permit as not every day at the police is a working day and there might be a lot of people submitting with you
• write an email to incoming.studyinslovakia@gmail.com in case of questions

c) Job-seeking visas for graduates of Slovak Universities, Czech Universities, and graduates of TOP 500 universities – 3 months extension

The new type of visa is currently valid in the year 2022. The visas are awarded to highly skilled foreigners. You can find more details about it in the video below: