Useful information for citizens of Ukraine

Information on temporary refuge, refugee status, as well as employment and current humanitarian aid.

Frequently asked questions and answers for citizens of Ukraine with temporary refuge status [ PDF]

Current information

UNICEF and IOM Support for persons with severe disability [ PDF]

Notice on the provision of financial support to refugees by international organizations From May 2022, refugees from Ukraine are entitled to financial support from the OSN and the International Federation of Red Cross, which will be paid to them from June 2022. This financial support is incompatible with the provision of material need assistance, and therefore from May 2022 they are not entitled to benefits in material need.  Material need asistance for the month of April 2022 will be paid to them in the month of May 2022. The payment of benefits in material need in the month of May 2022 will take place in the period from 18.05.2022 to 27.05.2022 according to the place of payment, that you stated in the application for assistance in material need or that you notified it to the Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family. The amount of financial support provided by international organizations and more detailed information on the provision of this support are given in the Information on financial support provided by international organisations [ PDF].

General information

For more detailed information and frequently asked questions about coming to the territory of Slovakia, please visit: https://ua.gov.sk/

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic also publishes information for citizens who are in Ukraine and for people coming from Ukraine: https://www.mzv.sk/ukrajina

Temporary refuge

Who is eligible to apply?

Citizens of Ukraine and persons who had international or equivalent national protection in Ukraine and their following family members (as long as the family resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022) can apply for temporary refuge:

• spouse
• a minor child of the person or his or her spouse
• parent of a minor child (only in the case of a child who is a citizen of Ukraine)
• another close relative who has lived in the same household with a citizen of Ukraine or a person granted protection and has been wholly or partially dependent on his or her relative.

A foreigner who is not a citizen of Ukraine, is a permanent resident in the territory of Ukraine and is unable to return to his or her country or region under safe and stable conditions may also apply for temporary refuge.

In the meantime, temporary refuge will be provided until 4 March 2023.

Pass for foreigners

Citizens of Ukraine who have been granted temporary refuge will be issued with a card by the competent departments of the Border and Aliens Police Office of the Presidium of the Police Force. In accordance with the Asylum Act, they are issued a document of tolerated stay in the territory of the Slovak Republic designated temporary refuge.

Employment

An employer may employ a third-country national within the meaning of Section 23a(1)(k) of the Employment Services Act who has been granted temporary refuge. In the case of employment of this third-country national, neither a certificate of the possibility of filling a vacancy corresponding to a highly qualified job, nor a certificate of the possibility of filling a vacancy, nor an employment permit is required.

Employment can be in the form of an employment relationship (i.e. based on an employment contract) or in the form of an agreement for work performed outside the employment relationship.

Pursuant to the Employment Services Act, the employer is obliged to provide the relevant labour office according to the place of work on a prescribed form - the information card - with employment data, no later than seven working days from the date of commencement of employment and no later than seven working days from the date of termination of employment. The employer shall attach to the information card a copy of the employment relationship and a copy of the document of tolerated stay in the territory of the Slovak Republic designated "REFUGEE".

A third-country national employed within the meaning of Section 23a(1)(k) of the Employment Services Act may also be temporarily assigned to perform work for a user employer.

USEFUL INFORMATION FOR UKRAINIAN CITIZENS ON EMPLOYMENT [ PDF]

Workplaces of labour, social affairs and family offices [ PDF]

Material need

A foreigner coming from Ukraine who presents to the Labour, Social Affairs and Family Office a card of a foreigner applying for temporary refuge or a document of tolerated stay in the territory of the Slovak Republic designated "REFUGEE" meets the condition for the provision of material need assistance.

An application for the assessment of entitlement to material need assistance shall be submitted by a Ukrainian to the Office in whose territorial jurisdiction the Ukrainian is located.

Refugees from Ukraine are entitled to the basic benefit and allowances in the same amount and under the same conditions as are entitled citizens of the Slovak Republic. The only exception is the dependent child allowance, which shall apply to any child of the age at which he/she would otherwise be attending compulsory school, even if he/she is not currently doing so.

Refugees from Ukraine are currently not entitled to the activation and housing allowances. Foreigners accommodated under a housing contract shall not qualify for the housing allowance.

In determining the circle of jointly assessed persons, only persons residing in the territory of the Slovak Republic shall be considered as members of the household.

You can find the amounts of the material need benefit and the related allowances here: Amounts of benefit and allowances from 1 January 2022  [ PDF]

Application for material need assistance (UA-SK) [ DOCX]

Application for material need assistance (EN-SK) [ DOCX]

Application for material need assistance (SK) [ DOCX]

Subsidies for children

A child of a refugee, asylum seeker or other foreigner legally residing in the territory of the Slovak Republic, who attends a kindergarten or primary school and meets the conditions for granting a subsidy (participates in the educational process in the kindergarten or primary school, receives meals and belongs to one of the eligible groups of children), may also be granted a subsidy for meals.

1.This subsidy may be granted to children from households receiving material need assistance or children attending a kindergarten or primary school if at least 50% of the children in the kindergarten or primary school are children from households receiving material need assistance.

2.A family that has not applied for material need assistance or has applied for material need assistance only after the child has been included in the educational process may be granted a subsidy for meals if the child attends primary school or the last year of kindergarten also on the grounds that the child's legal representative cannot claim the so-called increased tax bonus for the child pursuant to Section 33(1)(c) of Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on Income Tax, as amended.

It is necessary to ask about the granting of a subsidy for meals when enrolling a child in kindergarten or primary school, and the school's founder or the authority will guide the parent on how to proceed.

Children from Ukraine integrated into schools in accordance with the Subsidies Act may also be granted subsidies for school supplies from September 2022 onwards, subject to the conditions of the Subsidies Act.

USEFUL INFORMATION FOR UKRAINIAN CITIZENS ON MATERIAL NEED AND SUBSIDIES FOR CHILDREN [ PDF]

State social benefits

Ukrainian citizens with temporary refuge status are not entitled to state social benefits such as child allowance, parental allowance, maintenance allowance, funeral allowance or childbirth allowance. These state social benefits are subject to temporary or permanent residence.

Ukrainian citizens may be entitled, for example, to parental allowance or child allowance if the child's parent is gainfully employed in the Slovak Republic and has a temporary residence there. 

Resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 93/2022 effective from 30 March 2022 defines a person with special protection (Ukrainian citizens) as a natural person:

1. to whom temporary refuge is provided
2. who is an applicant for asylum or subsidiary protection
3. who has acquired temporary residence.

According to the above-mentioned Resolution, Ukrainian citizens with the status of a person with special protection may claim:

- childcare allowance for a child up to three years of age or up to six years of age of a child with a long-term adverse health condition (both the claimant and the child must be a person with special protection) and the claimant is gainfully employed.

Childcare allowance
EUR 280 per month	in the case of a private establishment or a legal or natural person carrying out a trade
EUR 80 per month	in the case of an establishment set up by a municipality or a state administrative body in education
EUR 41.10 per month	care is provided by another person - not carrying out a trade, or by the child's parent

• allowances by which the state supports substitute care for the child:

Substitute care allowances:
EUR 829.86	One-time allowance for a child when placed in substitute care (entitlement arises if the child is a person with special protection, the residence of the surrogate parent is not examined)
EUR 199.20 per month (child under 10 years)	Repeated allowance for a child when placed in substitute care (entitlement arises if the child is a person with special protection, the residence of the surrogate parent is not examined)
EUR 229.00 per month (child over 10 to 15 years)
EUR 248.90 per month (child over 15 years)
EUR 194.20 per month	Repeated allowance for a surrogate parent (entitlement arises if the child is a person with special protection and the surrogate parent has permanent or temporary residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic)
+ EUR 138.40 per month, if a surrogate parent is personally caring for three or more children who are siblings

Application for childcare allowance (SK-EN) [ DOCX]

Unaccompanied minors

In the case of unaccompanied minors, in other words, children who are not citizens of the Slovak Republic and are staying in Slovakia without a parent or other adult accompanying them to whom they could be entrusted to the care of, the Slovak Republic is governed by the legislation in force (both Slovak and European legislation).

If the Department of Labour becomes aware of such a child, the authority for social and legal protection of children and social guardianship, in whose district the child is located, is obliged to immediately submit a petition to the court for the issuance of an urgent measure, to ensure that the child's basic living needs are satisfied and that he/she is admitted to a centre for children and families. The process is very fast.

The Central Office for Labour, Social Affairs and Family communicates directly with offices and institutions, among other things coordinating the filling of vacancies in centres for children and families. In the current situation, the Central Office has prepared centres for children and families for unaccompanied minors to take care of them. Their capacities have been expanded.

The Central Office for Labour further sets tasks for labour offices in this matter, manages vacant capacities, manages transfers of children, and resolves problematic situations.

USEFUL INFORMATION FOR UKRAINIAN CITIZENS ON UNACCOMPANIED MINORS [ PDF]

Humanitarian aid

The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic cooperates closely with the Archdiocesan Charity Košice, which has already announced a nationwide collection to help people in Ukraine. In addition to humanitarian aid for people fleeing before the war, the charity is ready to provide especially families with children with accommodation in its facilities, which are located in the east of Slovakia. 

The Department of Labour remains supportive and shall provide them with a supply of disinfectants if needed, as well as other protective equipment such as drapes, protective clothes, and tests.

Link to the call: Charity announces a collection: Let's help the people of Ukraine!

Through the Who Will Help Ukraine initiative you can donate any amount, 100 percent of the money collected will go to humanitarian aid for Ukraine or to help Ukrainians who will seek safety in our territory.

Information on current collections is also published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic: https://www.mzv.sk/ukrajina

Accommodation

Ukrainians arriving in Slovakia can find information about accommodation options on the website pomocpreukrajinu.sk. This is a complete offer of public, private and hotel accommodation with contacts and the number of available beds.