UNHCR Slovakia - Help for refugees and asylum-seekers

Welcome to the “Help” website run by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Here, refugees and asylum-seekers can find information about their rights, obligations and services in Slovakia.

On this website you will be able to find information about:

16 May 2025: The Odysseus Academic Network is accepting applications from refugees to attend the 25th edition of its Summer School in EU Immigration and Asylum Law & Policy ( 30 June – 11 July 2025, in Brussels or online). Deadline for submitting applications: 1 June 2025. (For refugee applicants, the deadline is 1 June, while for other applicants it is 15 May.) Relevant information: Booklet: Odysseus Summer School 2025 – Scholarships for Refugees, Odysseus Academic Network website. Please share this information in your communities.

27 March 2025: The city of Bratislava announced the opening of the Center for People with a Foreign Background – LOOM. LOOM will provide support services for refugees and other people of foreign origin in Bratislava, as well as promote inclusive approaches and facilitate the inclusion of foreign communities in the life of the city. In LOOM you will find: ✅ Information; ✅ Social counseling – Bratislava Archdiocesan Charity; ✅ Psychological counselling – iPčko; ✅ Legal counselling – Human Rights League; ✅ Employment counselling – Mareena; ✅ Community activities. Starting Tuesday, 1 April 2025, LOOM in Bratislava will be available at a new address: Česká 267/2, 831 03 Bratislava 🕰 Working hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 – 16:00. You will need to make an appointment for the consultations via: 📞 Infoline: +421 903 497 189 📧 Email: [email protected]📍From 1 April also in person in the centre

26 February 2025: The validity of Temporary Protection status (“odídenec” / “dočasné útočisko”) in Slovakia has been extended until 4 March 2026. You will be able to download your updated Temporary Protection document (paper form) with the new expiry date from the portal of the Ministry of Interior. If the European Union further extends Temporary Protection in the future, it will be automatically extended in Slovakia as well. Please share this information in your communities.

31 January 2025: On 30 October 2024, the Slovak Parliament approved important legislative changes. As a result, from the academic year 2025/2026 onwards, all refugee children aged 5-16 years, including children with Temporary Protection (TP) status (“odídenec” / “dočasné útočisko”) in Slovakia, will be required to attend: Kindergartens in Slovakia (children who will have reached the age of 5 by 31 August), Primary schools in Slovakia (children who will have reached the age of 6 by 31 August), and Secondary schools in Slovakia. More information can be found on these websites: Ministry of Education, National Institute of Education and Youth. Please share this information in your communities.

28 January 2025: UNHCR Slovakia invites refugee-led and community-based organizations to apply for grants to strengthen their capacity to support refugees in Slovakia. For detailed information about the grant, please review the Call for Expression of Interest for Grant Agreement partnerships with Refugee-Led and Community-Based Organizations. Who Can Apply?🔹 Refugee-Led Organizations, including those led by Temporary Protection holders (“odídenec”).🔹 Community-Based Organizations that work with refugees, including those from host communities. How to Apply?➡️ If you are registered on the UN Partner Portal, submit your project idea through the portal. ➡️ If you are not registered on the UN Partner Portal, submit your project idea using the Grant Agreement Concept Note document, sending it to [email protected]. Application Deadline: 7 February 2025. While the documents need to be submitted in English, you can use simple automatic translation tools between your preferred language and English. Do you have any questions? You can send them via email to [email protected] by 4 February 2025. Please share this information in your communities and with relevant organizations.

3 December 2024: The Slovak Parliament has approved an amendment to the system of subsidies for providing accommodation to Temporary Protection holders [odídenec / dočasné útočisko] in Slovakia, effective 1 March 2025. The subsidy will be provided by the Ministry of Interior to owners of accommodation who offer free accommodation to Temporary Protection holders: 1. For the initial 60 days (previously 120 days) after obtaining Temporary Protection for the first time in Slovakia, and 2. Longer than 60 days, only if the Temporary Protection holder is considered a vulnerable person.  If the person obtains Temporary Protection before 1 March 2025, the subsidy will still cover the initial 120 days. All other conditions remain the same.

25 September 2024: The Assistance Centre at Bottova 7 in Bratislava, including the UNHCR registration center, will continue to offer counselling and other services until Thursday 26 September 2024. After this date, the services will no longer be available at this location. Starting Monday, 7 October 2024, the Assistance Center in Bratislava will be available at a new address: Primaciálny palác, Primaciálne námestie 2, Bratislava
🚪 Room No. 19
🕰 Working hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 16:00

22 August 2024: Assistance Centre in Bratislava will continue to operate at the same address, Bottova 7, during the last week of August and throughout September 2024. Stay informed by following the official UNHCR Slovakia Telegram channel (@UNHCR_Slovakia).

6 August 2024: The Ministry of Interior of Slovakia has announced that it is necessary to book an appointment in advance for Temporary Protection registration at the Foreign Police (“Cudzinecká polícia”) department. Please use this booking system (“rezervačný systém”) to book your appointment before visiting the Foreign Police department. You can apply for Temporary Protection at the Foreign Police (“Cudzinecká polícia”) departments in the following cities across Slovakia: Bratislava, Nitra, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Rimavská Sobota, Dunajská Streda, Trnava, Nové Zámky, Trenčín, Ružomberok, Prešov, Košice, and Michalovce (Locations of the Foreign Police departments). Temporary Protection applications will be processed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30 – 13:30. In case you need support or more information, please contact the nearest Blue Dot. As of 2 August 2024, the Foreign Police no longer provides their services at the Assistance Center at Bottova 7, Bratislava. To apply for Temporary Protection in Bratislava, please visit the Foreign Police department at Regrútska 4.

26 July 2024: Open call for applications for UNHCR’s DAFI Scholarship Programme 2024/2025 – Applications for the academic year 2024/2025 are now open to refugee students, including students who have been granted Temporary Protection in Slovakia. Applications must be submitted in English through the DAFI online portal by 31 August 2024 at the latest: https://unhcr-dafi-tertiary.scholarshipsplatform.com/  Detailed information about the eligibility criteria and selection process can be found here.

11 July 2024: As announced on 13 June 2024, the Slovak Parliament approved a new system of subsidies for providing accommodation to Temporary Protection holders [odídenec / dočasné útočisko] in Slovakia. This new system is effective from 1 July 2024.  Official information and documents necessary for arranging the Government subsidies for providing accommodation to Temporary Protection holders [odídenec] are available here. You can also find practical tips on these subsidies on UNHCR help site. 

28 February 2024: As announced by the Slovak Ministry of Interior on its website, the validity of temporary protection [odidenec] status in Slovakia has been extended until 4 March 2025. For updating your temporary protection [odídenec] document, you can visit the Portal of the Ministry of Interior here. You can also find the information on how to apply for temporary protection [odídenec] for the first time on the Portal of the Ministry of the Interior here.

IMPORTANT: If you recently came to Slovakia, here you can find information about the possibility to seek protection (asylum) in Slovakia, and about the document “Potvrdenie o zotrvaní” you may have been issued. This information was prepared by the organization Human Rights League and is available for download in the following language versions: Arabic, English, Pashto, Turkish, and Slovak. If you seek more information about asylum in Slovakia, please click here. The information on international protection in Slovakia is available for download in the following language versions: Arabic, English, Persian, French, Kurdish, Pashto, Russian, Slovak, Swahili, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.