Temporary Residence Permit for the Purpose of Business (Prechodný pobyt za účelom podnikania)

Year establishedPublished

2011

Governing lawPublished

Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the Residence of Foreigners, as amended (most recently 1 July 2025) - business-purpose temporary residence

Responsible authorityPublished

Foreign Police (Cudzinecká polícia) of the Police Force of the Slovak Republic; Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (consular filing)

What the program providesPublished

Register a Slovak company or trade licence and turn hands-on entrepreneurship into an EU-adjacent residence with a road to permanent status

No governed customer claim is present for this section.

Minimum agePublished

18 years

Clean criminal record requiredPublished

Yes

Local health insurance requiredPublished

Yes

Nationality restrictionsPublished

No

Basic eligibilityPublished

Register a sole-trader trade licence (živnosť) or become an executive/statutory representative of a Slovak company, submit a business plan showing economic benefit to Slovakia, and hold the required personal and business bank balances

Employment statusPublished

Self-employed

Generational limitPublished

Not applicable

Family sponsorshipPublished

Yes

Spouse includedPublished

Yes

Children includedPublished

Yes

Child age limitPublished

18 years

ChildrenPublished

Spouse (18+) and unmarried children under 18 apply for a separate family-reunification residence permit alongside/after the business applicant; they may work in Slovakia without a separate work permit after 12 months of residence

No governed customer claim is present for this section.

Processing timeUnknown

Unknown

Can apply without travelingPublished

No

How you applyPublished

Paper application filed in Slovak, in person, at a Slovak embassy/consulate abroad, or at the Foreign Police in Slovakia for visa-exempt/already-resident applicants

Required in-person stepPublished

Application must be lodged in person (embassy/consulate or Foreign Police); no online filing found

What the processing time measuresPublished

Foreign Police decision within 90 days (~13 weeks) once the application file is complete; embassy pre-processing time is additional and not published

Official application routePublished

https://mic.iom.sk/en/doing-business/trade-business/683-start-trade-business.html

Minimum investmentPublished

$6,649

Minimum passive investment (July 2026)Published

None required

Minimum active investment (July 2026)Published

$6,649

Processing feePublished

$5

Application feePublished

$281

Total cost to applyPublished

$286

Monthly income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Monthly pension income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Monthly rental income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Savings requiredPublished

$3,989

Proof of sufficient fundsPublished

Yes

Local bank deposit requiredPublished

Yes

Minimum local bank depositPublished

$3,989

Fees paidPublished

Before approval

Cost notesPublished

Application fee EUR 240 filed at an embassy/consulate abroad (the standard route), or EUR 232 if filed inside Slovakia at the Foreign Police (visa-exempt / already-resident applicants); residence-card issuance EUR 4.50; renewal fee EUR 132.50. Figures per immigration-law-firm sources citing the Slovak Administrative Fees Act; no direct government fee-schedule page was checked, so confidence is medium.

Stay required to keep statusPublished

183 days/year

Physical presence requiredPublished

Yes

In-country visit requiredPublished

Yes

Move-in windowUnknown

Unknown

Length of residencyPublished

36 months

Residency is lifetimePublished

No

RenewablePublished

Yes

Maximum durationUnknown

Unknown

Maximum duration is lifetimePublished

No

Stay rule (Sept 2026)Published

Must reside in Slovakia for more than half of each granted period (immigration-office practice reads this as more than half of the calendar year, i.e. more than ~183 days), per Act No. 404/2011 Coll. as paraphrased by the EU Immigration Portal and a Slovak immigration-law firm

Tax residency rulePublished

Residents staying more than 183 days per year will be considered tax residents

Personal income taxPublished

range between 19%-25%

Time to permanent residencyPublished

5 years

Time to citizenshipUnknown

Unknown

Work for a local employerPublished

No

Start a businessPublished

Yes

Remote or freelance workUnknown

Unknown

Local healthcare accessPublished

Yes

University accessPublished

Yes

Can buy landPublished

Yes

Local bankingPublished

Yes

Permanent residence timeline basisPublished

Years stated

Plan B note (Sept 2026)Published

A capped scheme (700 applications a year across all Slovak embassies worldwide) with real ongoing obligations: renewal at the 3-year mark requires taxed business income of at least 20 times Slovakia's statutory subsistence minimum for the prior year, on top of the more-than-half-year presence rule. Not a light-touch Plan B asset - it needs an active, profitable Slovak business.

Official program websitePublished

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/eu-immigration-portal/self-employed-worker-slovakia_en

Plan B sources (Sept 2026)Published

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/eu-immigration-portal/self-employed-worker-slovakia_en | https://madej.sk/en/legal-services/immigration-law/residence-permit/temporary-residence-permit-for-the-purpose-of-running-a-business/ | https://mic.iom.sk/en/doing-business/trade-business/683-start-trade-business.html

Every fact on this page comes from the CitizensOS Mobility Asset Database (Sep 21, 2026 edition). A blank is shown as Unknown.