Those who have been deprived of their Slovak citizenship by taking up the citizenship of a foreign country can apply for the return of their Slovak passports as of Monday (February 2). A decree from the Slovak Interior Ministry concerning the granting of Slovak citizenship by virtue of exemptions came into effect at the beginning of the month. It will allow former Slovak nationals who have been deprived of citizenship since January 1993 to apply for it. When deciding about the application, officials will take into consideration the reasons for loss of citizenship and the conditions under which the applicant acquired the citizenship of another state.
The State Citizenship Act, which came into effect in July 2010, was adopted by the first government of Prime Minister Robert Fico (2006-2010) in response to Hungarian legislation that made it possible for ethnic Hungarians living in countries neighbouring Hungary to gain Hungarian citizenship under relatively relaxed conditions and to take part in Hungarian elections, for example. A total of 984 people have been deprived of their Slovak passports under this State Citizenship Act.
