Simplifying the employment of foreigners

On 17 April 2024, the Parliament pushed to the second reading the government's draft amending the Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the Residence of Aliens and related legislation in the field of employment of third-country nationals („Amendment“), the primary purpose of which is the transposition of the new Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2021 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly-skilled employment.

The Amendment introduces several novelties, especially from the perspective of employers and foreigners applying for temporary residence for the purpose of employment in the Slovak Republic. The most interesting changes include:

• Increasing attractiveness of the so-called EU blue cards (high-skilled employment) for the needs of the labour market, e.g. by:

1. Recognition of professional qualifications (except for higher education) as a criterion for the issue of a blue card, thus expanding the possibilities for skilled workers to obtain a blue card on the basis of their high qualifications or professional experience; or
2. reducing the minimum wage from 1.5 times to 1.2 times the average monthly wage;

• Reducing the time limit for a police department to decide on an application for temporary residence for employment purposes from the current 90 days to 60 days;
• Abolition of the current obligation of the police department to issue the "Additional Employment Data" document;
• Reduction of the number of annexes to the application for temporary residence for the purpose of employment (e.g. the financial security of the residence will only have to be proved before the competent Social Affairs and Family Labour Office);
• Vacancies in the case of employment of a highly qualified third country national may be reported to the competent Social Welfare and Family Labour Office on the day of the application for a certificate of the possibility of filling the vacancy.

The course of the legislative process will be closely monitored, and we will keep you informed about the final text of the Amendment.