Schengen visa (Type C - short stay)

Entitles its holder to enter and stay in the Schengen area for not more than a total of 90 days in any 180-day period.

National visa (Type D - long stay) 

May be issued for the purpose of applying for a temporary residence, for participation in language education, or in connection with Slovakia’s commitments under international treaties or for the benefit of the Slovak Republic. 

You can apply for a visa 3 months prior to your planned trip at the earliest*. Under the applicable law, the visa application procedure shall not take longer than 15 days, in exceptional cases the decision may take up to 60 days.

The decision should be issued within 10 calendar days from the delivery of a completed visa application in case of nationals of those countries that have signed Community-level visa facilitation agreements (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine).

Nationals of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine don´t need visas if they are holders of biometric passports.

The validity of the granted visa or the duration of stay may be extended if the visa holder proves serious personal reasons. The applicant shall pay a fee of 30 € for the renewal. The visa is renewed for free if the holder has proven force majeure or humanitarian reasons, preventing him from leaving the country before the expiry of the visa, or the authorised duration of stay. Extension of visas shall take the form of a visa sticker. Visa may not be extended to more than 90 days and as a rule, the visa can only be extended if the holder has stayed in the Schengen area for less than 90 days before the expiry date.

*Chapter II, Art. 9, para. 1 of the Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European parliament and the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas

A visa is issued in the form of a visa sticker. Visas are issued by Slovak embassies and consulates general abroad or, under extraordinary circumstances (e.g. humanitarian reasons), by the Slovak police at a border crossing point.

The visa entitles a foreign national to transit through or to stay in the Schengen Area for the period of validity of the visa. The length of stay and expiry date of the visa are specified on the visa sticker. Within local Schengen cooperation, the Schengen Member States issue a uniform visa valid for all Schengen countries.

The visa sticker specifies the territorial validity in the line „Platné pre/Valid for“. The visa may have limited territorial validity, for example „Valid for: the Slovak Republic“ (i.e. the visa is valid only for the Slovak Republic), or „Valid for: Schengen countries – HU“ (i.e. the visa is valid for all Schengen countries except for Hungary), or „Valid for: SK, AT“ (i.e. the visa is valid only for the Slovak Republic and Austria).

The visa may also be valid for all Schengen Member states. In such case, the visa sticker will state „Valid for: Schengen countries“. This means the holder is entitled to move freely within the whole Schengen area for the period of visa validity and duration of stay.

Foreigners may be asked to enclose an official invitation validated by a police authority to their visa application. It is necessary to verify this obligation with the embassy/consulate of the Slovak Republic in your home country. The invitation can be replaced by the Hosting agreement in the case of a research stay.