You can apply for asylum at the border or inside the territory of the country in which you wish to seek asylum.
Submitting your application
According to EU asylum law, asylum applications can be submitted in a Member State’s territory, border, territorial waters or transit zones. The Asylum Procedures Directive explicitly excludes applications submitted at diplomatic representations of Member States outside their territory, which has also been highlighted by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Need to be present
This means that you need to find your way to the territory or the border of the country in which you wish to seek asylum, to have access to the asylum procedure. If you contact the authorities of Slovakia or another safe country remotely from your own country, they will not be able to process your application or facilitate your arrival.
At the border
You can apply for asylum immediately at the border, upon entry into Slovakia, or in the airports´ transit zone. If you are already on the territory of Slovakia, you can apply for asylum at the Asylum Department of the Police Force in Humenné.
You can seek international protection at the nearest alien police department if:
- you are accommodated in a Detention Centre for Foreigners in Medveďov or Sečovce;
- you are hospitalized;
- you are in custody/prison;
- you are in a childcare facility.
The asylum granting procedure, during which state authorities will examine your asylum application, can start only if your asylum application is lodged at the above mentioned police authority.
You can express your wish to apply for asylum to a police at the border crossing point. The registration of an application must take place immediately after you have expressed your wish to be granted international protection, but no later than in three working days. You cannot start the asylum granting procedure if you have already been an applicant or if you are a minor.
Temporary refuge
If you are from Ukraine, as of 1 March 2022, you and your family members can apply for
temporary refuge. You must complete a “Declaration of a foreign citizen” at a Foreign Police department or large-capacity centre. If you have your identification document with you, the Foreign Police will immediately issue the document “Certificate of tolerated stay”, otherwise your application will be decided on within 30 days.
Temporary refugee status grants access to the labour market, healthcare, and education for children and it will be granted until 4th March 2024. This period may be automatically extended by six months to one year, unless the Council of the European Union decides otherwise.
Relevant documents
After you have applied for asylum, the initial acts are that you are required to submit all relevant documents for identification and regarding your travel, as well as evidence justifying your application. You will have to fill a “Declaration of the Foreigner”, according to which you declare that you are applying for an international protection. If you are older than 14 years, you are obliged to undergo photographing of your face and scanning of your fingerprints in order to verify your identity. If police officers have a doubt about your age, they can ask you to undergo an X-ray examination of your wrist bones/teeth to determine your age.
If you have a passport/ID card, police officers will take it away. The copy of documents taken away and documentation necessary for reviewing your application for granting asylum will be sent to the Migration Office of the Ministry of Interior for verification. Your documents will be returned to you once the asylum procedure is completed.