Slovakia: Visa Access for Labor Shortage Industries to be Eased

Update - June 26, 2025: This visa category is no longer available (the quota was not extended for 2025). The Foreign Police did not have the capacity to review these applications, and so the program was terminated

Update - May 16, 2024: This program is expected to come into effect on July 15, 2024. 

October 6, 2023: The Slovak government has approved regulations that will ease access to the national D visa for foreign nationals from select countries who work in certain roles experiencing labor shortages in the country. Under the new program, employees in the following roles would be granted a one-year visa: various assembly worker roles (engineering production, chemical, rubber and plastic production, and electronic devices); forklift operators; welders and construction and operation electricians, among others. Additionally, the employee must be from one of the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, Nepal, North Macedonia, the Philippines, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Furthermore, among other requirements, the employer must have been established in Slovakia for at least four years. Following completion of the one-year period, further employment may be possible under alternate residence permit pathways. The implementation date of the program remains to be determined. We will continue to monitor developments.