Rules for applying for a national visa
Please note that applicants must register individually (or through an authorised representative, in which case a certified power of attorney must be attached) only at cons.astana@mzv.sk.
Consular and visa enquiry and requests e-mails sent to the Embassy's official e-mail address (emb.astana@mzv.sk) will be deleted and will not be replied to.
Emails containing the details of more than one applicant (e.g. multiple applicants in a spreadsheet), will be disregarded, considered invalid and deleted. A limited number of places for national visa applications will be available on a monthly basis for applicants who have successfully registered.
Registration period
Registration for July and August 2024 will open on the 17 May 2024 at 09.00 am and close at 10.00 am local time in Astana.
Allocation of dates
The following cases are given priority for the granting of dates in the national interest of the Slovak Republic:
- if it is necessary to fulfil the Slovak Republic's obligations under international treaties;
- if it is in the interest of the Slovak Republic, e.g:
- on the basis of the confirmation of the statutory representative of the competent ministry
- on the basis of Resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 731 of 8.12.2021 on the Strategy of Internationalisation of Higher Education until 2030; study in the programmes:
- Erasmus+,
- National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic,
- Bilateral international agreements and programmes (dvojstranné medzinárodné zmluvy a programy),
- Central European Exchange Programme for Higher Education (CEEPUS - Stredoeurópsky výmenný program vysokoškolského štúdia),
- State Scholarship of the Slovak Republic;
- on the basis of Slovak Government Regulation No. 113/2023 Coll. (nariadenia vlády Slovenskej republiky č. 113/2023 Z. z. o záujme Slovenskej republiky udeľovať národné víza vybraným kategóriám štátnych príslušníkov tretích krajín) on the interest of the Slovak Republic in granting national visas to selected categories of third-country nationals according to the list of the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic and submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic;
- on the basis of Slovak Government Regulation No. 521/2021 Z. z. (nariadenia vlády Slovenskej republiky č. 521/2021 Z. z.) on the interest of the Slovak Republic in granting national visas to highly qualified third-country nationals;
- on the basis of Slovak Government Regulation No. 269/2022 Z. z. (nariadenia vlády Slovenskej republiky č. 269/2022 Z. z.) on the interest of the Slovak Republic in granting national visas to third-country nationals who have relocated and their family members;
- on the basis of Slovak Government Regulation no. 383/2023 Z. z. on the interest of the Slovak Republic in granting national visas to selected categories of third countries nationals in selected jobs in the field of industry according to the list of the Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic and delivered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic;
- the applicant is a family member of an foreigner who has been granted asylum or subsidiary protection;
- family reunification (if the applicant is a family member of a Slovak or EU citizen);
- in connection with taking over a residence permit issued in the Slovak Republic;
- temporary priority (July-September) is also given to applications by citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for national visas for the purpose of studying in the Slovak Republic and language training (at least 25 lessons per week) in the Slovak Republic (at universities and accredited language schools in the Slovak Republic).
Other national visa applications (e.g. for residence in the Slovak Republic for the purpose of studies, language courses, sports activities, business, employment, family reunification, etc.) will only be granted if there are vacancies after the above categories of applicants have been filled.
The Embassy will allocate reservation places for national visa applications in a transparent manner in accordance with the national interests of the Slovak Republic and subsequently in the order in which mail applications are received. If an applicant has not received an interview date due to lack of space, he/she may reapply (by sending a new application at the specified time) for a new application date in the following month. Please note that due to the limited capacity of the consular section of the Embassy of Slovakia in Astana, national visa applications from citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are processed on a priority basis.
Criteria for accepting applications
In the SUBJECT line of the e-mail it is necessary to write the purpose of stay.
The TEXT of the e-mail /application/ must contain the following information:
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The applicant's name and surname (in Latin alphabet, as on the passport),
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Date of birth of the applicant,
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The applicant's passport number,
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Photocopy of the passport (to be attached),
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purpose of stay: e.g. scientific research, study at a Slovak university, business, employment with a Slovak employer, family reunification, etc. (in Latin)
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Nationality of the applicant,
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phone
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e-mail - must be the same as the email from which the applicant requested the national visa application deadline. If the same email is used for more than one applicant, the email applications will be disregarded, considered invalid and deleted.
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Name of the local employment agency (Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan), if the applicant for a visa uses the services of an employment agency (if not, write zero „0“)
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Name of the Slovak employment agency, if the applicant for a visa uses the services of a Slovak employment agency (if not, write zero „0“)
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Name of the employer in the Slovak Republic (in the case of employment) or the school in the Slovak Republic (in the case of study or a language course)
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Name of the applicant's city of permanent residence in Kazakhstan or Kirgizstan
The above data (in Latin) should also be entered in the table (below) and sent as an e-mail attachment in Excel format.
Without this information and the attached completed Excel spreadsheet, the request for a application date is invalid, will not be considered and will be rejected and deleted without further communication to the applicant.
The dates allocated are fixed and will not be changed. The Embassy will not respond to requests for substitutions or rescheduling.
Emails containing information other than that requested and emails received in the cons.astana@mzv.sk email box before the start of the appointment process (i.e. before the date and time specified), after the appointment process and outside of the appointment process will not be responded to by the Embassy and will be considered invalid and deleted (in accordance with applicable data privacy laws).
If an applicant sends multiple emails by the deadline, they will be automatically disqualified, even if the emails were sent from multiple email addresses. If an applicant is found to have applied for a long-stay visa in previous months and that application is still pending, their email will also be excluded from further processing and considered invalid.
Please note that in order to ensure the functionality of the system for all applicants, attempts to send applications in bulk using software tools may be classified as spam by the mzv.sk anti-spam security system, and such applications will not be considered or answered.
The Embassy reserves 10 working days to process the applications and send a reply to those applicants who have been given a time slot. Due to the large number of applicants, the Embassy will not send replies informing applicants that no time slot has been set to them.
Please note that the Embassy does not have any arrangements with agencies or intermediaries for the processing of national visas. There is no charge for booking appointments for national visa applications.
Registration for the next period
Registration dates for the following months will be published by the 10th of each month.
Schengen Visa Applications
Applications for Schengen visa are processed through the BLS Visa Centers in Astana and Almaty. Consultation on Schengen visas is provided by the BLS Visa Center (by phone at +77051867241 and by e-mail at https://blsslovakiavisa.com/kazakhstan/contact_us.php).
