Amendments in the Act on stay of foreigners as at 1 January 2021

As at 1 January 2021 various amendments of the Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on stay of foreigners and on change and supplementation of certain acts as amended became effective. The amendments are applicable specifically to citizens of The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (further “UK”) and their family members. 

Amendments of the Act mainly describe the residency rights of the UK citizens after the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (Brexit) in case of already having registered stay in the territory of the Slovak Republic. In case the UK citizens already have their residency registered in the Slovak Republic, they have the right to obtain the long term residency permit for 5 years. In case the UK citizens already have the permanent residency permit in Slovakia, their right to permanent residency remains unchanged. We have reviewed the changes in the UK citizens residency permit rights in detail in our previous article.

New information is the possibility for UK citizens, who remained within the territory of the Slovak Republic before the 1 January 2021, to register their residency permit for 5 years, provided they credibly prove that they have fulfilled the conditions for EU national registration in Slovakia before 1 January 2021.

Act on stay of foreigners further reviews the conditions of issuance and validity of residency cards for the UK citizens. We would like to point out, that the validity of EU nationals residency cards of the UK citizens expires not later than on 30 June 2021. Until this date, it is required to apply for issuance of new residency card at respective foreign police department.