3.4 Employment of foreigners

3.4.1 Employment of the EU-member-country citizens

In the European Union a regulation about free migration of people is in force which defines even the freedom of citizens and their relatives from the EU-member states to work in any EU country under the same conditions as the domestic citizens. The citizens from another EU- member state are also entitled to utilize all services of the Slovak state offices under the same conditions as the citizens of SR. The EU-member-state citizens do not have to apply for a work permit.

As far as the obligation to watch the free migration of people is in force, the employers employing a citizen from another member state have to fill in an information card within seven days after the hiring of the employee when establishing or terminating of the labour relation. This information card is delivered to the Labour office. The officially authenticated information cards are recorded as the evidence for control purposes of the Labour office or the labour inspection.

3.4.2 Employment of non-EU-member-country citizens

Foreigners from non-EU-member countries interested in working in Slovakia need a work permit.

Application for the work permit

It is required to apply for the work permit before the foreigner’s arrival to Slovakia. The application is handed in at the Office of labour, social and family matters in a written form on the specified application form containing even the employer’s future commitment that he/she will hire the foreigner. The application for the work permit is made by the future employer (or by other Slovak physical/legal entity).

The Labour office thereafter verifies this application according to the following aspects:

it takes the labour market situation as well as the anticipated development at the labour market into account

it considers whether there is another appropriate person for this work who is in the list of job applicants

it verifies the required qualification for the occupation of the position and whether it would be possible to occupy this position by domestic unemployed people after further education

it considers the reasons for recruiting the foreigner stated by the future employer, especially the reason why it is not possible to recruit some present unemployed person

However, the Labour office does not consider a sent-out foreigner’s application who is working on the basis of an intradepartmental transfer according to the WTO agreement. The Labour office will issue the work permit after a successful examination according to the restrictions stated in bilateral agreements. The work permit is non-transferable and is valid only for the required kind of work for the same employer and in the spot of the job performance as it was stated in the application.

The work permit is not issued if the foreigner has applied for asylum. The work permit is taken away if the conditions of its issue were violated.

Establishment of an employment relation

The employer who is stated in the work permit can conclude the employment contract with the foreigner but the establishment of the labour relation cannot be agreed upon before the foreigner submits a residence permit issued by the representative office of SR or by the police authority.

3.4.3 Specific employing conditions between Slovakia and the Ukraine

Slovakia and the Ukraine have concluded a bilateral agreement about the employing of their citizens with a permanent address in the home country who will be employed in the other country.

The citizens of these countries can be employed in the other country

Kind of job	Maximal length	Possibility of a prolongation
Long-term job	1 year	6 months at most
Short-term job (mainly seasonal jobs)	6 months per year	None
For the purpose of business contract fulfilment	2 years	to the maximum of 3 years to the maximum of 4 years in the case of managers

Source : Agreement between Slovakia and the Ukraine

The precondition for the employment is the acquiring of a skilled education or practice in a corresponding job in accordance with the state law where the worker is going to work and the age of 18 years.

Several kinds of jobs have set a maximal total number of workers from one country working in the other one.

Kind of job	Number of workers
Long-term job	200
Short-term job	300
For the purpose of business contract fulfilment	1800

Source : Agreement between Slovakia and the Ukraine