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For foreign entrepreneurs and employees

Company formation and residence permits — handled as one matter

A Slovak s.r.o. is easy to form remotely. Running it as its director from outside the EU or OECD is not — that needs a separate residence permit, applied for under a different chapter of the same Act. We handle both together, so one doesn't stall on the other.

We act for founders forming a Slovak company, for highly qualified employees applying for the EU Blue Card, and for third-country nationals seeking a work-based residence permit.

We advise exclusively on Slovak law and represent you before the Slovak commercial register, the tax authority and the foreign police (cudzinecká polícia).

Describe your situation+421 907 823 239
Who this is for

Three starting points, one destination

The right procedure depends on why you need to be in Slovakia — as a director, as an employee, or as a highly qualified specialist. We work out which one fits before we file anything.

Directors from outside the EU, EEA and OECD

A national of an EU member state, an EEA state or an OECD state is registered as a director without any proof of residence. For anyone else, the registry court checks for a Slovak residence permit before registration — and this applies to every person authorised to act on behalf of or for the company, so to a procurator or branch manager too. It is the single most common snag in forming a company for a non-EU founder.

Highly qualified employees — EU Blue Card

A recognised university degree — or, for selected ICT occupations, three years' professional experience gained within the preceding seven — an employment relationship agreed for at least six months, and a salary above the statutory threshold qualify for the fast-track EU Blue Card procedure.

Employment-based residence

Where the position does not qualify for the Blue Card, we apply for a standard temporary residence permit for employment, including intra-company transfers.

Existing companies with a stalled director

If your Slovak s.r.o. is already formed but its non-EU director cannot obtain or renew residence, we review why the application failed and refile.

Three legal tracks

Which permit applies to you

All three tracks run under the same Act on the Residence of Aliens, but the conditions, the evidence required and the length of the permit differ sharply between them.

Temporary residence for business purposes

Under Section 22(1) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the Residence of Aliens, this permit is granted to a third-country national who carries on or will carry on business in Slovakia as a self-employed person (point (a)), or who acts or will act on behalf of a trading company or cooperative without being in an employment relationship with it (point (b)) — in practice, its director. Since 1 July 2025 it is granted for a fixed three years (Section 22(2)), not for the expected duration of the activity. Alongside it you must show financial security for the business activity in a dedicated business account: one hundred times the subsistence minimum for a director, twenty times for a self-employed person, and forty times for a director whose business plan has been assessed as an innovative project (Section 32(7)). Financial security for the residence itself is a further twelve times the subsistence minimum (Section 32(14)).

The renewal test changed on 15 July 2026 (amending Act No. 128/2026 Coll.). For a director, the company's after-tax profit is no longer assessed; what counts is tax actually paid, at least at the level of the minimum corporate tax under Section 46b(2) of the Income Tax Act (Section 34(6)). A self-employed applicant instead shows taxable income above the threshold in Section 32(1) of the Income Tax Act (Section 34(5)). Older sources still quote twenty or sixty times the subsistence minimum — that is the position up to 14 July 2026. Plan the company's first tax return around the new test, not the renewal application.

EU Blue Card

The Blue Card is governed by Sections 37 to 41 of the Act, transposing Directive (EU) 2021/1883. Under Section 37(3) it covers employment requiring higher professional qualifications and carrying a monthly salary of at least 1.2 times the average monthly wage of an employee in the Slovak economy for the calendar year preceding the year of application; where the applicant obtained their degree no more than three years before applying, the plain average wage is enough. Qualification is proved by a decision recognising the university degree — or, for the occupations listed in Annex 3 to the Act (ICT managers and specialists), by evidence of higher professional skills acquired over at least three years within the seven years preceding the application (Section 37(5)).

The police authority decides within 30 days of receiving a complete application (Section 38(7)) — against 60 days for standard employment residence. The employment relationship must be agreed for at least six months; that condition sits not in the Residence of Aliens Act but in Section 21a(4)(d) of Act No. 5/2004 Coll. on Employment Services. The Blue Card also carries EU-wide labour mobility and a shorter path to permanent residence — worth checking even where a standard work permit would also be available.

Temporary residence for employment

Section 23 of the Act covers the standard route: the employer first reports the vacancy, the labour office issues a confirmation that it can be filled, and only then does the police authority decide on residence. The permit is granted for the expected duration of the employment, up to five years (Section 23(3)). For an intra-company transfer it is up to three years for a manager or specialist and up to one year for a trainee employee (Section 23(5)). Seasonal employment is capped at 240 days within any 12 consecutive months (Section 23(4)).

The police authority decides within 60 days of receiving a complete application (Section 33(8)(b)); where the role is one with a recognised labour shortage in the region, the deadline is 30 days (Section 33(8)(c)). That decision is preceded by reporting the vacancy and obtaining the labour office's confirmation, so plan the overall timeline in months rather than weeks — and obtain the supporting documents late enough that they are still valid when the application is filed.

Procedure

How the two matters run together

1

Assessment

We establish which of the three tracks fits your situation, what the Slovak company structure needs to look like, and what evidence each authority will ask for.

2

Company formation

Where a company does not exist yet, we draft the founder’s deed or memorandum of association and authorise it as attorneys — since 17 August 2026 that is, alongside a notarial deed, the only permitted form (Section 57 of the Commercial Code). You do not need to be in Slovakia to sign: a representative signs for you under a power of attorney with an officially certified signature (Section 57(2)). We file the registration electronically; the registry court registers the company within two working days of receiving a complete application (Section 58(1) of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.).

3

Residence application

We prepare the application file, including confirmations from the company, and file it with the foreign police. Where required, we guide you through certifying documents abroad or obtaining an apostille.

4

Decision and registration

Once residence is granted, we handle what follows on the company side — the business bank account, tax registration and, where relevant, the registered seat.

5

Renewal

We track the renewal deadlines and the evidence each track requires — taxable income, tax paid or the Blue Card salary threshold — so the permit does not lapse.

Documents

What we typically need

The exact list depends on which track applies; these five cover most matters at the outset.

  • Valid travel document, valid for at least six months beyond the intended stay.
  • Extract from the criminal record of your home country (and of any country of residence in the last three years), apostilled or otherwise legalised where required — not older than 90 days at filing.
  • Proof of secured accommodation in Slovakia.
  • For the business track: extract from the Slovak commercial register (once the company is formed) or the draft incorporation documents; for remote formation, a power of attorney with an officially certified signature, apostilled or otherwise legalised where required.
  • For the employment tracks: the employment contract or the employer's written promise of employment, and — for the Blue Card — proof of qualification: the decision recognising the university degree, or evidence of higher professional skills for the ICT occupations listed in Annex 3 to the Act.
Fees

What it costs

The scope and the fee are agreed in advance and in writing, for each part of the matter separately.

Company formation

299 € flat fee

Full formation including attorney authorisation of the founding documents, filing with the commercial register and arranging the trade licences — the same fee we quote for any Slovak s.r.o. The EUR 220 court fee for first registration is paid separately.

Residence permit application

fixed fee agreed in advance

Assessing which track applies, preparing the application and representing you before the foreign police. Quoted once we know which of the three tracks fits your matter.

Third-party costs

billed separately, at cost

Court and administrative fees, sworn translations where required, and the registered seat, if you use one — see below.

We handle the legal representation ourselves; we do not provide accounting, a registered seat, employment intermediation or accommodation sourcing in-house. Where you need one of these, we point you to an independently licensed provider, and their invoice is separate from ours — never bundled into our fee. This keeps each service under the licence that actually covers it, and keeps our advice to you free of any referral interest.

No obligation

Tell us about your situation

Tell us whether you already have a Slovak company, what your role in it is or will be, and where you are applying from. We will get back to you and set out which track applies. Submitting this form does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

+421 907 823 239klienti@tkak.sk
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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The legislation this page is based on

Legal position as at 23 August 2026; Act No. 404/2011 Coll. is cited as in force from 15 July 2026, and Act No. 29/2026 Coll. on the Commercial Register, which replaced Act No. 530/2003 Coll. on 17 August 2026. The full text of each instrument is available on Slov-Lex and EUR-Lex. Thresholds tied to the subsistence minimum or the average wage change each year — the current figure must be checked as at the date of filing. The information above is general and does not replace advice on an individual matter.