Slovakia
Slovakia · Europe (EU) · updated 21.09.2026
An EU, eurozone and Schengen country in the middle of Europe with a moderate cost of living, low violent crime and a tech sector in Bratislava and Košice (average tech salary around €34k gross a year). EU long-term residence is available after 5 years. Held back by citizenship only after 8 years of continuous permanent residence with compulsory Slovak, restrictions on dual citizenship, an antibody titre test for pets from countries outside the EU rabies list, and river flooding as the main natural threat.
Some descriptions for this country are still Russian only: 91% translated. Numbers, prices and timelines are complete.
Entry
Entry rules depend on citizenship. Choose a passport to see the requirement for that one.
Work and visas
- Salary in IT
- $ 22 760 – $ 58 038
- Median
- $ 38 692
- Visa speed
- The single permit and the EU Blue Card: processing usually takes from several weeks to several months (exact timelines are not confirmed by an official source).
- Degree required
- no
- Language at work
- English at B2 in international teams; Slovak is useful for local companies
- Changing employer
- The single permit is tied to a specific employer; a change requires a new or updated permit. With the EU Blue Card changing employer is simpler (a notification procedure after the initial period).
Visa types: A single residence permit for the purpose of employment (single permit) · EU Blue Card · Intra-company transfer (ICT)
Employers: ESET (Bratislava), IBM ISC (Bratislava), Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia (Košice), Accenture, AT&T / DXC
Long-term visas and residence permits
Temporary residence for the purpose of business
StartupTemporary residence for the purpose of employment
WorkTemporary residence for seasonal employment
WorkTemporary residence for an intra-corporate transferee
WorkTemporary residence for the purpose of study
StudyTemporary residence for the purpose of a special activity
OtherTemporary residence for the purpose of research and development
WorkTemporary residence for the purpose of family reunification
FamilyTemporary residence for civilian components of the armed forces
OtherTemporary residence for a Slovak living abroad
RepatriationTemporary residence for a long-term resident of another EU member state
WorkEU Blue Card
WorkMobility of an intra-corporate transferee holding an ICT permit from another member state
OtherMobility of a university student holding a permit from another member state
StudyMobility of a researcher holding a permit from another member state
OtherMobility of a family member
FamilyPermanent residence for five years
FamilyPermanent residence for an unlimited period
OtherEU long-term residence
OtherTolerated stay
OtherProgramme terms change, and the final decision rests with the consulate or the country migration service. The data is collected from official sources on the date shown and is not legal advice.
Residence and citizenship
- Permanent residence after
- 5 years
- Citizenship after
- 8 years
- Language
- Slovak
- Dual citizenship
- not allowed
Absence limits: Continuous residence is required; long absences break the count towards permanent residence and citizenship
Citizenship by naturalisation generally comes after 8 years of continuous permanent residence (for the spouse of a Slovak citizen, 5 years of living together in the country). Knowledge of Slovak and of general facts about the country is required, along with a clean criminal record. Permanent residence / EU long-term residence is available after 5 years of continuous lawful residence. Dual citizenship is restricted: a citizen loses Slovak citizenship on voluntarily acquiring a foreign one (since 2022 there is an exception for those who have lived abroad for 5+ years); naturalising foreigners are generally not required to give up their previous citizenship.
Documents
- Document certification
- apostille
The country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention: a degree or certificate is authenticated with a single apostille in the country that issued it.
Family
Partner
- Timeline
- Family reunification, usually several months to process
- Right to work
- yes
The partner of a work residence or EU Blue Card holder receives residence under family reunification with the right to work.
Children
- Can be brought
- yes
- Age limit
- up to 18 years
Minor children join a parent under family reunification.
Parents
- Route
- Family reunification for a dependent parent (the Foreigners' Residence Act / EU Directive 2003/86): proven financial dependency and the absence of support in the country of origin are required
- Timeline
- several months after filing
- Income threshold
- The sponsor must show income at or above the statutory subsistence minimum for all family members
- Difficulty
- difficult
Narrow grounds: a parent is admitted mainly on proven dependency on the sponsor.
Partner's parents
- Difficulty
- difficult
Matters: In a number of countries only a biological child can sponsor a parent, in which case the spouse files the application.
Pets
- Limit
- 5
- Quarantine
- no
- Antibody titre test
- needed
- Preparation
- ~4 months
- Cost per animal
- $ 341 – $ 910
EU rules: an ISO microchip and rabies vaccination. Bringing an animal directly from Russia (Russia is not on the list of low-risk third countries) requires a rabies antibody titre test, with blood taken no earlier than 30 days after the vaccination, followed by a waiting period. There is no quarantine where the paperwork is correct. In practice preparation often takes up to six months. The veterinary authority is ŠVPS SR.
Safety
- Situation
- calm
A member of the EU, the eurozone, Schengen and NATO. A stable democracy, though with marked domestic political polarisation in recent years.
Crime: A safe EU country with low levels of violence and homicide. The main issues are perceived corruption above Western European levels and petty pickpocketing in the tourist areas of Bratislava.
Natural hazards
Seismicity is low overall. There are individual zones of moderate risk (the Dobrá Voda area in the west, Komárno on the Danube) where noticeable earthquakes have been recorded historically, but there have been no destructive events in modern times.
Large wildfires are uncommon. Local fires are possible in dry weather (the Slovak Karst, the lowlands), but they are not a leading threat.
Flooding is the country's main natural threat. The Danube, the Váh and the Hron; flows peak in spring as the mountain snow melts. Major floods have affected a significant part of the country (in 2010 in particular).
The country is landlocked and there are no hurricanes. Strong storm winds are possible in winter.
Periodic droughts in the southern lowlands, affecting agriculture.
Summer heatwaves in the southern lowlands; the historic maximum is about +40°C. There is no prolonged extreme heat of the southern European kind.
There are no active volcanoes (the volcanic massifs went extinct long ago).
The country is landlocked.
The main and essentially only serious hazard is river flooding (the Danube, the Váh, the spring high water). Seismicity, fires and heat are low or moderate.
Climate
- Type
- Moderate continental
A moderately continental climate: warm summers and cold snowy winters, with four distinct seasons. Rainfall peaks in summer. The mountains (the Tatras) are noticeably colder and snowier; the south (the Danube lowland) is warmer than the averages given.
Quality of life
- Life expectancy
- 78.4 years
- Migration
- stable
Healthcare: Compulsory health insurance (VšZP and private insurers) with universal coverage; quality is acceptable and there can be queues for planned and specialist care. Legal workers and their family members are included in the system.
Air: Acceptable on the whole; worse in some industrial districts and in winter because of heating.
Flows: Migration flows are moderate. Since 2022 the country has taken in a notable number of Ukrainian refugees.
Cities
Bratislava
tech hubThe capital and the country's main economic and tech centre: the most vacancies and international companies.
It sits on the Danube; certain districts (Devín, Devínska Nová Ves) are historically prone to flooding, and flood defences have been built. Pickpocketing in the centre and on transport.
Košice
tech hubThe country's second city, in the east, a growing IT and services centre (including Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions), cheaper than Bratislava.
Natural hazards are low; metallurgical production affects air quality.
Prešov
The country's third city, in the east near Košice, with a low cost of living.
Natural hazards are low; there is local flooding from the region's rivers.
Žilina
The industrial centre of the north-west (the Kia plant), close to the mountains.
The region lies in a zone of moderate seismicity; local flooding on the Váh. Risks are low overall.
Nitra
An ancient city in the south-west, an industrial centre (the Jaguar Land Rover plant) in a farming region.
Natural hazards are low; summer heat and droughts in the lowlands.
Grocery basket
- Bread, 500 g
- $ 1,46
- Milk, 1 l
- $ 1,19
- Eggs, 12
- $ 4,09
- Chicken breast, 1 kg
- $ 8,04
- Cheese, 1 kg
- $ 13,8
- Rice, 1 kg
- $ 1,81
- Potatoes, 1 kg
- $ 1,43
- Apples, 1 kg
- $ 1,96
- Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 l
- $ 2,00
- Total
- $ 35,8
The same set for every country, so the comparison is fair.
Cost of living across the country
- Rent, 1 bedroom
- $ 738 a month
- Rent, 3 bedrooms
- $ 1 324 a month
- Utility bills
- $ 237 a month
- Home internet
- $ 18,9 a month
- Monthly transport pass
- $ 34,6 a month
- Single transport ticket
- $ 1,28
- Petrol, litre
- $ 1,80
- Cold medicine
- $ 8,12 for a week
Country averages. City prices, where collected, are shown above and are more precise.
Indicators
- Life expectancy
- 78,4 years2024
- Homicides
- 1,1 per 100k2024
- Theft
- 142,9 per 100k2024
- Burglary
- 61,4 per 100k2024
- Robbery
- 5,7 per 100k2024
- Vehicle and vehicle-part theft
- 14,5 per 100k2024
- Road deaths
- 6,4 per 100k2021
- Unemployment
- 5,4 %2025
- Unemployment, ages 15–24
- 18,4 %2025
- Inequality (Gini)
- 23,82023
- Health spending per person
- $ 1 813 a year
- Air pollution, PM2.5
- 13,7 µg/m³2023
- Access to clean water
- 99,8 %2024
- Internet, fixed line
- 119,7 Mbit/s2026
- Internet, mobile
- 122,1 Mbit/s2026
Governance
- Political stability
- above average · 0,6
- Control of corruption
- above average · 0,1
- Rule of law
- above average · 0,6
- Government effectiveness
- above average · 0,7
World Bank estimates on a −2.5 to +2.5 scale, higher is better.
Natural hazards
- Earthquakes
- 3,8 out of 10
- River floods
- 6,8 out of 10
- Coastal floods
- 0 out of 10
- Tropical cyclones
- 0 out of 10
- Droughts
- 1,3 out of 10
- Tsunamis
- 0 out of 10
Policy towards newcomers
- Migrant integration, overall score
- 37 out of 100 · 2019
- Family reunification
- 59 out of 100 · 2019
- Permanent residence
- 65 out of 100 · 2019
- Access to citizenship
- 28 out of 100 · 2019
- Access to the labour market
- 17 out of 100 · 2019
Measures how favourable the law is towards newcomers, not one person's chances of getting a visa.
Each value carries the year it refers to. “Data lags behind” means this country's figure was collected noticeably earlier than the rest. Natural hazards use one 0–10 scale and are meant to be compared against each other.