Foreigners will be able to apply for temporary residence after their temporary asylum ends. However, they will be required to provide documents proving the purpose of their stay and evidence of accommodation. The changes follow an amendment to the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, which entered into force on July 15.
Foreigners who do not apply for temporary residence will still be allowed to remain in Slovakia for up to one year after their temporary asylum expires. However, this period is intended solely to allow them to arrange their voluntary return to their home country. Their right to stay in Slovakia will automatically end once they leave the country or on the last day of their permitted stay.
Foreigners who would face the death penalty, torture, or other serious harm in their home country will be able to remain in Slovakia legally even if they are not granted asylum. An amendment introducing subsidiary protection entered into force on July 15. The Ministry of the Interior will decide whether to grant subsidiary protection, which will be valid for one year and may be extended.
Subsidiary protection is a form of international protection established under European Union law and adopted by Slovakia as an EU member state. It may also be granted to the family members of a protected foreigner, including their minor children and, where the protected person is under 18 years of age, their parents. However, the Ministry of the Interior will not grant subsidiary protection to foreigners who have committed a serious crime.
The amendment also introduces stricter rules for foreign nationals with temporary residence who operate a business in Slovakia. They must now remain free of tax or other public arrears throughout the entire duration of their temporary residence. Previously, this requirement applied only when renewing their residence permit.
The legislation also establishes a regional central visa authority that will decide on visa applications in the same way as Slovakia's diplomatic missions. In addition, it expands the circumstances under which a decision on administrative expulsion becomes final 30 days after it is delivered. These include cases where a third-country national poses a security risk or where there are reasonable grounds to believe they may abscond or otherwise obstruct the enforcement of the expulsion order. In such cases, the decision on administrative expulsion will be enforceable immediately upon delivery.
Source: TASR, Pravda
