Country by country
Slovak citizenship by descent for Americans
Pick the generation of your Slovak-born ancestor and confirm they held Czechoslovak citizenship: the tool says whether section 7(8) applies.
Does your Slovak ancestor open section 7(8)?
Under Act 40/1993 as in force on October 25, 2026
Likely eligible
| Route | Grant of citizenship (discretionary) |
| Administrative fee | €30 |
| Legal time limit | 24 months from receipt by the Ministry |
| Keep US citizenship | Yes, if held before the grant |
It is a discretionary grant, and Czechoslovakia only existed from 1918: an ancestor who left Austria-Hungary earlier does not count.
Slovak citizenship by descent works differently from most European routes: it is a grant, not a recognition. Since April 1, 2022, section 7(8) of Act 40/1993 allows the Ministry of the Interior to grant citizenship to a person whose parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was a Czechoslovak citizen born on the territory of today's Slovakia. The applicant does not need to live in Slovakia or pass a Slovak language test, but must show a clean criminal record in every country of citizenship or residence over the last 15 years. The fee is €30 and the Ministry must decide within 24 months of receiving the file. Because Czechoslovakia only existed from October 28, 1918, an ancestor who left Austria-Hungary earlier and never held its citizenship does not open this door. A US citizen keeps US citizenship when Slovakia grants its own, but a Slovak who later naturalizes abroad can lose it.
What will the file cost?
US side of the file
$251
| 5 certified records (2 births, 2 marriages, 1 deaths) | $126 |
| Apostilles (5, ask the consulate) | $100 |
| Naturalization proof | $25 |
| Translations (6, ask the consulate) | $0 |
| Slovakia fee | €30 |
The Slovakia fee is paid in EUR and is not added to the dollar total. Records from the old country are not counted: they are ordered there.
Rules read and verdicts built by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How verdicts are built
A grant, not an automatic right
Slovak law uses the words "may be granted" for this route. That makes it different from the Czech declaration or from Polish confirmation, where an office recognizes a status that already exists. The current text of Act 40/1993 lists who can apply without residence in Slovakia, and section 7(8), added by Act 72/2022 with effect from April 1, 2022, is the provision for descendants. It was absent from the version in force on January 1, 2022, which is why older guides say Slovakia has no descent route.
| Your ancestor | Section 7(8) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Parent, grandparent or great-grandparent, Czechoslovak citizen born in Slovakia | Can apply | Up to three generations back |
| Great-great-grandparent | No | Beyond the list in the Act |
| Left before October 28, 1918 and never Czechoslovak | No | Czechoslovakia did not exist yet |
| Czechoslovak citizen born in today's Czech Republic | No | Look at the Czech route |
Three conditions sit at the core: the ancestor's Czechoslovak citizenship, the ancestor's birth on what is now Slovak territory, and the family link from that person to you. The Ministry still checks the general conditions of the Act, such as the absence of a criminal record or pending criminal proceedings, and it keeps a margin of discretion. Applicants are spared the residence period and the Slovak language test that ordinary naturalization requires.
Does your Slovak ancestor open section 7(8)?
Under Act 40/1993 as in force on October 25, 2026
Likely eligible
| Route | Grant of citizenship (discretionary) |
| Administrative fee | €30 |
| Legal time limit | 24 months from receipt by the Ministry |
| Keep US citizenship | Yes, if held before the grant |
It is a discretionary grant, and Czechoslovakia only existed from 1918: an ancestor who left Austria-Hungary earlier does not count.
Other routes in the same Act
Former Czechoslovak citizens, as well as people whose Hungarian-era or Czechoslovak citizenship ended under older laws or treaties, can also be granted citizenship without residence, at the same fee. A separate entitlement exists for people who lost Slovak citizenship by acquiring another between July 17, 2010 and March 31, 2022: if they had at least five years of permitted residence in that country at the time, the Ministry must grant it back. This last case concerns Slovaks who naturalized in the United States in those years, not their descendants.
Once one generation becomes Slovak, the rule at birth takes over: a child is Slovak if at least one parent is Slovak, wherever the birth takes place. A child born after your grant is therefore Slovak from birth, while children born before it need their own application.
What to file and where
The application is made in person, either at a district office in a regional capital of Slovakia or at a Slovak embassy or consulate, and the Ministry of the Interior decides. The file contains a signed structured CV, an identity document, your birth certificate and civil status records, the applicant questionnaire annexed to the Act, the criminal record extracts described above, and the evidence for the ancestor: one or more documents proving both the birth on Slovak territory and the Czechoslovak citizenship, together with the birth and marriage records that link each generation down to you. For minors, both parents sign the questionnaire or the other parent gives notarized consent.
The rules for US records are not spelled out in the Act. Whether an apostille and a Slovak translation are required for each US record is not published in the sources read for this page, so ask the embassy before you order anything. Slovakia and the United States are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, and the document checklist explains how to obtain an apostille in each state if one is requested. The cost calculator estimates the records, apostilles and translations once you know what the embassy wants.
Fee and the legal time limit
The administrative fees act sets €30 for a grant to a person whose parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was a Czechoslovak citizen, the same amount as for former citizens. By comparison, a holder of the Slovak living abroad certificate pays €560. The Ministry must decide within 24 months of receiving the application, but the clock stops while it waits for opinions from other authorities. No average processing time is published. When the answer is yes, you take an oath and receive the certificate of citizenship; it must be collected within six months of the invitation or the case is closed.
Keeping your US citizenship
Slovakia does not ask a US citizen to renounce US citizenship before a grant, and the documents listed in the Act include no renunciation. The risk runs the other way: a Slovak citizen who later takes another citizenship by an express act loses Slovak citizenship that day, unless the new citizenship comes through marriage, birth, adoption or as a minor, or the person had at least five years of permitted residence in that country. In those cases the acquisition must be reported to a district office within 90 days. The country table sets this beside other countries' rules, the dual citizenship page gives the US position, and the tax page covers the US filings that follow you abroad.
Czech or Slovak?
Families often know only that a grandparent was "Czechoslovak". The place of birth decides which country to look at first. An ancestor born in Bohemia, Moravia or Czech Silesia points to the Czech declaration, which is an entitlement for children and grandchildren. An ancestor born in Slovakia points here. The Czech route is closed to Slovak citizens, so a family with both options usually completes the Czech filing first. The family tree checker runs every country in your tree side by side, and the second passport overview lists the other routes open to Americans.