Schengen Visa

 

The Schengen area is a part of the territory of the European Union in which the rules of free movement of persons, goods, services and capital apply. People may freely travel around this area without any border checks at internal borders of Schengen Member States. In fact, the internal borders were abolished and border checks at Schengen external borders have been reinforced in order to safeguard the security of Member States. The joint border check rules and effective oversight on the external borders aim at preventing illegal migration, drug trafficking and other illegal activities. The Schengen Member States also apply a uniform visa policy regime.

Members of the Schengen area: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Swiss Confederation, Sweden and Italy.

 

Foreign nationals who are subject to visa requirement and want to enter the Schengen area, with Slovakia being their target destination, must file a visa application with the competent Slovak embassy or consulate general. Foreign nationals legally residing in a third country (i.e. other than the country of their citizenship) may apply for a visa at the embassy/consulate general competent for the country of their current residence.

A visa is issued in the form of a visa sticker. Visas are issued by Slovak embassies and consulates general abroad or, under extraordinary circumstances (e.g. humanitarian reasons), by the Slovak police at a border crossing point. The visa entitles the foreign national to transit through or to stay in the Schengen area for the period of validity of the respective visa. The length of stay and expiry date of the visa is specified on the visa sticker. Within local Schengen co-operation the Schengen Member States issue a uniform visa valid for all Schengen countries.

 

The type of visa you will need depends on the length and purpose of your visit. A decision on the particular type of visa is made by the competent embassy or consulate general.

Type A Schengen visa: airport transit visa

You can normally stay in the international transit area at the airport without a visa while waiting for a connecting flight. However, some natinalities are required to have a valid visa, even if they do not leave the international transit area. The Airport Transit Visa only authorises the holder to transit through the airport's international transit area.

Type C Schengen visa: entry visa

The visa entitles its holder to enter and stay in the Schengen area for not more than a total of 90 days within a six-month period subsequent to the date of the first entry. This visa may be issued for one or several entries (single entry and multiple entry visa).

National visa type D (long-stay)

National (long-stay) visa may be issued in relation to the granted residence permit or in connection with Slovakia´s commitments under international treaties or for the benefit of the Slovak Republic. It si allowed for long-term visa holders to travel to other member states (outside the frontier of the state who issued the visa), however the total of stay cannot exceed 90 days in any six month period.

The visa application procedure may be lengthy in some cases. Therefore, you should file your application well in advance, but not sooner than three months prior to your planned trip. Under the applicable law, the visa application procedure shall not take longer than 15 days. Exemptions apply to the nationals of the third countries which have signed Community-level visa facilitation agreements. Such countries include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Ukraine. With respect to the nationals of the aforementioned countries, the decision must be delivered within 10 calendar days of the delivery of a completed visa application. Nationals of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia don´t need visa, if they are holders of biometric passports.

General conditions

When applying for a Schengen visa, foreign nationals have to submit the following:

1) a completed “Application for Schengen Visa” form
The application must be signed by the applicant; in the case of minors or persons lacking legal capacity, the application must be signed by their legal guardian who is required to attach a copy of the document identifying him/her as the applicant?s legal guardian.

Visa application forms

2) full-face colour photo, with dimensions of 3x3.5 cm.

3) valid travel document; the travel document must be valid for at least three months longer than the expected validity of the visa requested and it must have been issued within previous 10 years. The document shall contain at least 2 blank pages.

4) documents demonstrating the purpose and conditions of the planned stay (a letter of invitation, a voucher in the case of an organised trip etc.)

5) accommodation-related documents:

• a voucher confirming hotel accommodation and services;
• a personal letter of invitation confirming that the applicant will stay at the inviting person?s place;
• other documents.

6) documents confirming sufficient means of subsistence:

• cash in a freely convertible currency;
• travel cheques;
• a bank account statement confirming that the applicant has had a regular income (salary, pension) in the previous 6-12 months;
• other documents safeguarding funds in a convertible currency.

No general amount of funds to cover the costs of living is prescribed, but the funds must be sufficient for the length and purpose of stay and costs of living in the final country of destination or Schengen area countries. At a Slovak border crossing the foreign nationals may be asked to demonstrate that they have sufficient means to cover the costs of living for the length of stay specified in the visa in the amount of EUR 56 per person per day.

7) documents enabling an assessment of the applicant's intention t leave the territory of the Member States before the expiry of the visa applied for, eg. means of transport – a return (not open) air/bus/train ticket.
When travelling by a passenger motor vehicle, the applicant must submit a valid driving licence and roadworthiness certificate, motor third-party liability insurance certificate (so-called green card), and demonstrate possession of sufficient funds for fuel.

8) travel medical insurance – the insurance must cover all costs that may arise in connection with the repatriation, the return to the applicant?s home country due to health problems, urgent medical treatment or emergency hospital treatment.

The travel insurance must be valid for all Schengen Member States and the entire length of the applicant?s stay. A minimum insurance coverage of EUR 30,000 is required. Family members of EU or EEA nationals are exempt from the obligation of submitting travel health insurance. Such exemption does not apply to the family members of the Slovak citizens.

9) other documents – for the purposes of the visa application procedure, the embassy or consulate general may ask foreign nationals to submit other documents in order to verify the declared purpose of the visit and applicant?s intention to return to their home country or the country of their residence.

Documents demonstrating the purpose of stay:
Documents demonstrating the purpose of stay include also

Organised/individual travels:

• voucher issued by a travel agency (the voucher must include information on the services paid, not just the reservation or a partial payment for the services);
• in case of a private visit (visiting your family, acquaintances), a personal letter of invitation is required, with an officially authenticated signature of the inviting person, or a letter of invitation authenticated by a competent alien police department. An invitation authenticated by the alien police department may be requested from visa applicants of any nationality.

Business trips:

• invitation issued by a business partner or institution;
• invitation issued by a competent alien police department. An invitation authenticated by the alien police department may be requested from visa applicants of any nationality. The embassy or consulate general is free to decide what type of document they will require for the verification of the purpose of stay. For repeated business trips, foreign nationals are required to submit a cooperation agreement concluded with a Slovak company and other documents.

International conferences, seminars, symposia, cultural and sport events:

• invitation by event organisers;
• official letter by a dispatching organisation applying for a visa for its employee;
• invitation verified by a competent alien police department.

Other purposes: other documents demonstrating the purpose of travel and stay in the Slovak Republic (e.g., medical treatment, study visits shorter than 90 days).

Uniform schengen visa application 60,- EUR

You must visit the embassy or consulate in person in order to submit your visa application and verbally explain the purpose and circumstances of your journey. In the case of minors, the application is submitted by their legal guardian.

You may be exempt from the requirement to submit your visa application in person in certain exceptional cases. To learn if you are exempted from requirement of personal apprearance, you should contact the competent embassy or consulate general.


There is no legal entitlement to a visa and foreign nationals are not notified of the reasons for visa refusal, except in cases involving a family members of an European Economic Area national, asylum-seekers or foreign nationals who have been granted complementary protection. The notification does not apply to the family members of the Slovak citizens.


A decision on visa refusal is always issued by the Slovak embassy/consulate general to a family member of a European Economic Area national, asylum-seekers or foreign nationals who have been granted complementary protection. The decision also specifies available remedies.


Territorial validity of the visa is specified on a visa sticker in the “Platné pre/Valid for” line. The visa may be valid for all Schengen Member States. In that case, “Valid for: Schengen countries” is specified on the visa sticker entitling its holder to move freely within the entire Schengen area for the period of the visa validity and duration of stay.
In the case of a visa with limited territorial validity, the following may be specified on the visa sticker: “Valid for: the Slovak Republic” (i.e., the visa is valid only for the Slovak Republic), or “Schengen countries – GR” (i.e., the visa is valid for all Schengen countries except Greece), or "Valid for: SK, AT" (i.e., the visa is valid only for the Slovak Republic and Austria).


A short-stay Schengen visa can be issued for one or several entries.
If you have been granted a single entry visa and you leave the Schengen area, you cannot use the same visa for the re-entry.
A multiple entry visa entitles you to repeatedly enter and leave the Schengen area during the period of its validity and permitted duration of stay.


Yes. A valid Schengen visa entitles you to enter the Schengen area via any Schengen border crossing or airport.


Foreign nationals who have been granted a short-stay or long-stay visa, or who are exempt from the visa requirement upon entry, are obliged to inform, within three days of their arrival, a competent police department of the commencement, place and anticipated length of their stay. EEA nationals or foreign nationals with a preferential status are required to do so within ten working days of their arrival.
If you are staying in a hotel or other accommodation facility, the aforementioned obligation is performed by the respective accommodation provider.


Commencing 1 December 2008, it is possible, in exceptional cases, to extend a short-stay visa for a maximum of another 90 days over a period of six months. The validity of the visa is extended by the Ministry of the Interior if the foreign national concerned cannot leave the Slovak Republic due to a natural disaster, humanitarian grounds or a serious personal reason. In any other case (tourism, family visit, etc.), the visa cannot be extended.