Slovak Citizenship

New – Amendment to the Slovak Citizenship Law

At the end of 2022, a far-reaching amendment to the Slovak Citizenship Law was introduced. Slovak citizenship may now be arranged through the naturalization process for any (former) Slovak citizen and up to four generations of his descendants on whom he bestowed the right thereto. For example, a great-grandchild may inherit the right to Slovak citizenship, whereas a child of a great-grandchild may not, unless he was born after the parent acquired Slovak citizenship, in which case he may be entitled to Slovak citizenship under the general law.

The date on which the bestower of the right left Slovakia, whether he held Slovak citizenship or lost that citizenship, and whether he alone had been a Slovak citizen and his spouse held citizenship in another country, have no bearing in the aforementioned process, nor do the dates of birth of his descendants, all of whom are entitled.

There are, however, additional requirements which must be satisfied, including, inter alia, financial wherewithal, a clean bill of health, and the absence of a criminal record.

The process takes approximately three years and is a Byzantine undertaking, since numerous notarized and Slovak-translated documents relating to the applicant are required, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, registry extracts, national insurance certificates, employment documents, résumés, HMO certificates, income tax certificates, certificates of good conduct from both Israeli and Slovak police, etc.

There are three main stages in the Slovak naturalization process:

• Obtaining temporary residence in Slovakia.
• Receipt of a Slovak citizenship certificate.
• Registering the applicant’s birth, name changes, marriage(s) and divorce(s) at the Slovak population offices.

In most cases, the assistance of a Slovak lawyer shall be required order to successfully navigate the process.

Our firm has extensive experience and expertise in submitting the aforementioned applications, and to date has done so with great success.

The laws governing Slovak citizenship are intricate and complex. There is no single law that regulates the entire topic of entitlement to Slovak citizenship, but rather a complete set of laws and treaties exist between Slovakia and other states which affects the entitlement to receive it.

Over the years, the process of obtaining Slovak citizenship has become more complicated, and since the laws governing the acquisition of citizenship have been tightened and each application is scrutinized both at the substantive level of entitlement and in terms of the probative value of the documents supporting it, the handling of the application takes many years.
Arranging Slovak citizenship through our firm’s experienced team in Israel and Slovakia, which has represented thousands of applicants, increases the likelihood of Slovak citizenship being obtained and significantly reduces the processing time.
Navigation of the process of obtaining Slovak citizenship by someone who is not well versed in all the intricacies of the law, may cause damage in the process of obtaining citizenship that cannot be rectified, even by experts in the field.

Who is entitled to receive Slovak citizenship?

Slovak citizenship is transmitted by consanguinity. The applicant must be a direct descendant of a Slovak citizen. There is no requirement to renounce Israeli citizenship in order to acquire Slovak citizenship and nor is knowledge of the Slovak language required.

Slovak law distinguishes between persons who were born before and after 01.01.1969:
An applicant for a Slovak citizenship certificate who was born outside Slovakia before 01.01.1969 must prove that both his parents were entitled to Slovak citizenship on the date of his birth and that they did not relinquish his right to citizenship while he was a minor.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in certain cases it is possible to arrange for the renewal of Slovak citizenship, even for a person whose father (as opposed to his mother) held Slovak citizenship.
An applicant for a certificate of Slovak citizenship who was born outside Slovakia after 31.12.1968 need only prove that one of his parents was entitled to Slovak citizenship on the date of his birth and that such parent did not relinquish his right to citizenship while he was a minor.
In this case, the origin of the applicant’s non-Slovak parent and his/her parents is also carefully examined, and in many cases, due to various dual citizenship conventions between Slovakia and states that formerly belonged to the Communist Bloc, the application for Slovak citizenship shall be denied.
All the applications must be supported by appropriate documentation which prove entitlement to Slovak citizenship. Where necessary, the firm undertakes the tracing of the relevant documents in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine.
For applicants whose parents were born in the Carpathian region, which nowadays belongs to Ukraine but was formerly part of Czechoslovakia, other additional arrangements apply.

Additional areas of practice in Slovakia

· Restitution and realization of Jewish property in Slovakia.
· Administering inheritances and estates in Slovakia.
· Establishing companies in Slovakia
· Arranging all types of notarial certifications and Slovak-language notarial translations.

For further information and an initial assessment of entitlement to Slovak citizenship, please contact the firm.