Czech and Slovak Dual Citizenship and Children: What the Rules Say

Two questions come up in almost every citizenship case: can I keep my other citizenship, and what about my children? The answers differ between the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and some of them changed in 2022. This guide explains what the governments’ pages and the laws say, and where we could not find an official answer. This guide reflects official pages we checked in October 2026. Rules, fees, forms and waiting times change and differ between embassies, so confirm every detail with the embassy or consulate that will receive your application.

Slovakia: keeping Slovak citizenship after acquiring another

Under the 1993 Citizenship Act, as amended in 2010 in reaction to a Hungarian law on dual citizenship for ethnic Hungarians abroad, a Slovak citizen lost Slovak citizenship on voluntarily acquiring a foreign one, according to Slovak public broadcaster STVR and GlobalCit. A Slovak law firm explains that, from 1 April 2022, loss does not occur if the foreign state is one in which the person had permitted, registered or otherwise recorded residence for at least five years at the time of acquiring its citizenship, and the residence condition is met if the person actually resided there for that period. It quotes Section 9(18) of the Act for this, and notes that the rule applies only to citizenship acquired after 1 April 2022.

• Notification. A Slovak citizen must notify the Ministry of the Interior in writing of acquiring foreign citizenship within 90 days, delivered to an embassy or to the Ministry.
• Children. After the 2022 amendment, the obligation to notify also applies to children who acquired foreign citizenship at birth.
• Earlier cases. The law firm says that if a person acquired US citizenship between 17 July 2010 and 31 March 2022, retroactive notification and a process of reacquiring Slovak citizenship may be needed.
• Exceptions. When the government approved the draft amendment, STVR reported that it would protect Slovaks who acquire the citizenship of a spouse’s country during marriage, who are adopted abroad or who acquire foreign citizenship while still minors. Check the final text of the Act for your situation.

These rules concern Slovak citizens who acquire a foreign citizenship. They do not say what you must give up to acquire Slovak citizenship by descent. The Slovak Embassy in Washington’s page lists no renunciation of another citizenship among its requirements, but it asks for an affidavit that you are not and have never been a Slovak citizen. If renunciation matters to you, ask your consulate and read the law of your other country.

The Czech Republic

Czech consular pages explain the declaration route and do not list renunciation of another citizenship among the documents. The Czech declaration requires a completed declaration that you have not acquired Slovak citizenship, and the route is closed to people who are citizens of Slovakia on the day of the declaration. Wikipedia notes that the Czech government maintains a registry of nationals who also hold another nationality. We did not find an official Czech page stating the dual citizenship rule in full, so confirm it with the embassy.

Children and the Czech route

• Minors. A separate declaration for a minor child can be made under Section 31(5) of Act No. 186/2013, according to the Ottawa embassy.
• Who attends. For a child under 15, the application is submitted by a parent or legal guardian, and both parents must be present or both signatures verified. For a child aged 15 to 18, both parents and the child must be present, or the signatures of both parents and the child verified.
• The other parent’s consent. It must be given in writing, with a signature verified by a Czech honorary consulate if the parent is not present. It is not required if the other parent has lost or been stripped of parental responsibility or died, which must be proved with original documents.
• Documents. The child’s birth certificate, apostilled if Canadian and translated into Czech, the parents’ valid IDs and the documents showing the parent’s or grandparent’s loss of citizenship.

Children and the Slovak route

• Under 14. A child may be included in a parent’s application. The embassy asks for the child’s passport, an apostilled and translated birth certificate and the second parent’s consent with a certified signature.
• Age 14 and over. The child must apply separately, since one application is mandatory for every applicant aged 14 and older.
• Consent. The second parent’s consent is required in all cases for children under 18.
• Health insurance. The embassy asks for confirmation that the child has health insurance in the United States, which may be an affidavit.
• The generation condition. A law firm says a child under 14 may be included only if the ancestor is a grandparent or great-grandparent in relation to the child, which we could not confirm on the embassy page. Check with your consulate.

Planning for a family

1. List who wants citizenship, with ages and the ancestor each descends from.
2. Decide the route for each person. See our guide to choosing a route.
3. Plan separate applications where a child is 14 or older on the Slovak route.
4. Collect both parents’ consents and IDs early.
5. Ask the consulate about timing, because a child’s age at the time of application matters.
6. Check the other country’s rules on holding a second citizenship.

Illustrative composite (not a real family): A reader hopes to apply for Slovak citizenship for herself, her 16-year-old son and her 9-year-old daughter. She learns that the 16-year-old must file his own application, that her daughter can be included in hers, and that the children’s father must give consent, with a certified signature, for both. She starts gathering the children’s apostilled birth certificates and the father’s consent.

Common mistakes

• Assuming one family application. Children aged 14 and over apply separately on the Slovak route.
• Forgetting the other parent’s consent. Both routes require it in most cases.
• Assuming the 2022 rule helps a Czech declaration. It concerns Slovak citizens acquiring foreign citizenship.
• Skipping notification. A Slovak citizen must notify within 90 days.
• Relying on a law firm’s summary alone. Confirm with the embassy.

Continue with the complete guide and choosing a route, and browse Czech & Slovak Citizenship by Descent. Sources: the Slovak Embassy in Washington (updated 18 June 2026), the Czech Embassy in Ottawa (updated 6 January 2025), a Slovak law firm on retaining Slovak citizenship, its page on loss of Slovak citizenship, Slovak public broadcaster STVR on the amendment and GlobalCit on the 2010 Slovak amendment.

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