Temporary residence for employment

The Employment, Social Affairs and Family Office's (ESFA) Employment Consent Statement is an official document that confirms that a particular person, who is not a citizen of the Slovak Republic or a Member State of the European Union, can be employed in Slovakia. This document is necessary in the case of employment of foreigners who do not have permanent residence in Slovakia and for whom employment is conditional upon obtaining a consent opinion from the Office of Employment and Social Affairs. This process applies primarily to third-country nationals.

The consent opinion is issued on the basis of an assessment of the availability of the labour market to ensure that it is not possible to employ a Slovak national for the position in question or another EU country. If all the conditions are met, the Employment and Social Affairs Office will issue a positive opinion, which must be submitted together with other documents when applying for a work visa or residence permit.

Proving the financial security of the foreigner's stay in case of employment in Slovakia is usually carried out by means of documents proving that the foreigner has sufficient financial means to cover the costs of his/her stay.

The employer should provide the foreigner's employment certificate, which includes the amount of his or her wages. This salary must be sufficient to cover the living costs of the foreigner and his/her family (if he/she is also applying for residence for family members).

The foreigner may be asked to provide a statement from a personal bank account showing that he or she has sufficient funds to cover living expenses (e.g. accommodation, food, insurance, transport).

The accommodation must meet the requirements of Section 62 (f) of Act No. 355/2007 Coll. on the protection, promotion and development of public health and on amendments and supplements to certain acts and Section 8 (1) of Decree No. 259/2008 Coll. of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic on the details of the requirements for the internal environment of buildings and on the minimum requirements for lower standard apartments and accommodation facilities. According to the above, the living area of a lower standard apartment must be at least 12 m2 per occupant and 6 m2 for each additional personwho lives in the household with him. The useful floor area of the lower standard flat must be at least 15 m2.

Proof of accommodation arrangements must show that the third-country national has accommodation arrangements for at least six months of the temporary stay; if he or she applies for a temporary stay of a shorter duration, he or she must show that accommodation arrangements have been made for the duration of the temporary stay. In the case of family reunification, the third-country national must prove the provision of shared accommodation with the third-country national with whom he/she is applying for family reunification.