9. February 2023
If you are coming from Ukraine, ask the Slovak authorities to grant you the “Temporary Refugee” status and get rights that will make your life in Slovakia easier.
If you are a citizen of Ukraine, you can apply for temporary refuge right after entering the territory of the Slovak Republic.
Your family members can also apply for temporary refuge if they lived in Ukraine before February 24, 2022. Family members include:
You can apply for temporary refuge even if you are not a citizen of Ukraine, but one of the following conditions applies to you:
(1) You have a permanent residence in Ukraine, which was granted to you before February 24, 2022, and you cannot return to the country or region of your origin due to unstable and unsafe conditions there,
or
(2) You have been granted asylum or awarded international protection in Ukraine before February 24, 2022.
In this case, your family members can also apply for temporary refuge as long as they lived in Ukraine before February 24, 2022. Family members include:
How do minors under the age of 18 cross state borders without their parents?
How to proceed if a minor child under the age of 18 without parents is already in the territory of Slovakia?
You can read more in the article Conditions of entry to Slovakia.
Applying for temporary refuge is easy and usually takes no more than 20 minutes.
Come in person to any Help Centre or foreign police department. When applying, the staff will scan your biometric data (fingerprints). Therefore, even minor children must be present in person.
You can also apply online at the government’s Temporary Refuge Registration page. However, you must pick up the confirmation in person, and this also applies to minor children.
By obtaining the “Temporary Refuge” status you automatically be awarded the “Tolerated stay” along with all the benefits that will make your life in Slovakia easier.
Temporary refuge is granted until March 4, 2024.
If you have already been granted temporary refuge with a date of validity until March 4, 2023, this document will continue to be valid for you at least until March 4, 2024 without the obligation to take further administrative steps.
Unless the Council of the European Union decides otherwise, it will be automatically extended by 6 months, but at most by one year.
Even if you do not yet have accommodation, you can apply for a temporary refuge.
If you already have accommodation in Slovakia, attach one of the following documents to your temporary refuge application:
The signatures on the above-mentioned documents do not have to be certified.
We would like to remind you that even a foreigner with a temporary refuge has the obligation to report his address to the foreign police within 3 working days via the Residence report form, in person or by mail.
If you are moving to another place in Slovakia, report the change of address at the municipal or city office in the place you will be staying at.
If you want to move to another EU country and apply for temporary refuge there, you can do so.
But don’t forget that you can only get temporary refuge in one EU country.
Therefore, if you are issued a temporary refuge in another EU member state, the validity of your temporary refuge issued in Slovakia will automatically expire and you will also lose the benefits mentioned above.
If you do not have a residence permit in Slovakia, but you have been here for a long time, we will advise you on what to do next. Get in touch with us.
Based on the visa-free regime, you have the right to stay in Slovakia and the Schengen area for 90 days. However, without a temporary refuge or granted asylum, you cannot work and you do not have health insurance.
If you already have permanent or temporary residence in Slovakia, have applied for asylum, have already received asylum, or are under another protection regime, then you do not need to apply for temporary refuge.
Your temporary refuge will remain valid even after you leave Slovakia.
With a confirmation of temporary refuge you can travel freely in the territory of the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within 180 days.
You can travel to Ukraine and back to Slovakia without any worries. Your temporary refuge will still be valid.
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