Skip to content

Employing third country nationals in Slovakia

If you want to work in Slovakia and are not an EU citizen, you must meet various conditions depending on the type of your residence in Slovakia, the work you want to perform, the length of your stay, and other circumstances. Third country nationals can be employed in territory of the Slovak Republic only if they bear employment permit and temporary stay permit for purpose of work, except otherwise stated in the Employment Service Act. A third country national shall apply for employment permit on his/her own or may empower the future employer to do so.

In general, a non-EU national can be employed in Slovakia if he/she:

  • holds an EU Blue Card:
    • based on the confirmation of the possibility to fill a vacancy corresponding to high-skilled employment, or
    • and the Labour Office has issued a consenting confirmation of the possibility to fill a vacancy corresponding to high-skilled employment, or
    • and he/she has notified this employer after 12 months of performing high-skilled employment based on the Blue Card, or
    • based on an application for the renewal of the Blue Card submitted after 12 months of performing high-skilled employment under a Blue Card and specified this employer in the renewal application, or
    • and the Labour Office has issued a consenting confirmation of the possibility to fill a vacancy.
  • has been granted temporary residence for the purpose of employment (so-called single permit),
    • based on the confirmation of the possibility to fill in a vacancy, or
    • and the Labour Office has issued a consenting confirmation of the possibility to fill a vacancy, 
  • has been granted a work permit and temporary residence for the purpose of employment,
  • has been granted a work permit and temporary residence for the purpose of family reunification (within the first 9 months of being granted the residence),
  • has been granted a work permit and temporary residence as a third-country national who has been granted long-term residence in another EU Member State (within the first 12 months of being granted the residence), 
  • has been issued a consenting confirmation of the possibility to fill in a vacancy corresponding to high-skilled employment and his/her application for a Blue Card has been accepted along with all the necessary documents,
  • has been issued a consenting confirmation of the possibility to fill in a vacancy and his/her application for temporary residence for the purpose of employment has been accepted along with all the necessary documents,
  • meets the conditions under which he/she does not need the confirmation of the possibility to fill in a vacancy nor the work permit for employment.


If you need a work permit, a confirmation of the possibility to fill a vacancy or if you hold the EU Blue Card, you can only work under an employment contract). In other cases, you can also be employed under agreements to perform work outside the employment relationship.

Detailed information on the employment of third countries nationals are available on the website of the Central Office of Social Affairs and Family, or on the website of the IOM Migration Information Centre.