Since 1 April 2022, Slovakia has had a route for descendants of Czechoslovak citizens born in what is now Slovakia. Unlike the Czech declaration, it is an application that the authorities decide, and the proof it asks for is more demanding than many people expect. This guide follows the Slovak Embassy in Washington’s page, updated on 18 June 2026, and notes where other Slovak missions differ. 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.
Who qualifies
According to the embassy, you may apply for Slovak citizenship by descent if your parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was a Czechoslovak citizen born in the territory of present-day Slovakia. A Slovak law firm adds that the amendment to Act No. 40/1993 took effect on 1 April 2022 and that the application is made under Section 7, paragraph 2, letter j) of the Act. That makes three generations eligible, compared with two on the Czech route. See the complete guide.
How many applications
You must submit one application for Slovak citizenship. It is mandatory for every applicant aged 14 and older, so a 14-year-old applies separately, and children under 14 may be included in a parent’s application, according to the embassy. The Ottawa embassy says the application must be submitted in person by appointment.
The documents the Washington embassy lists
- The completed application form, including the questionnaire.
- A detailed CV.
- A valid passport.
- A family tree (genealogical overview).
- Your birth certificate, apostilled and officially translated into Slovak.
- Marital status documents, if applicable.
- Proof of the ancestor’s Czechoslovak citizenship (see below).
- The ancestor’s Slovak birth certificate.
- A written affidavit that you are not and have never been a citizen of the Slovak Republic.
- Complete lineage documentation linking you to the ancestor.
- Criminal background checks: an FBI Identity History Summary, and a criminal record from any country where you are or were a citizen or lived more than 180 consecutive days in the past 15 years, not older than six months, apostilled and translated.
- A certificate of Slovak Living Abroad, if applicable.
- Other supporting documents, for example name change documents.
The embassy adds that some documents may be replaced by an affidavit if they are difficult to obtain: tax records (an IRS transcript is acceptable), employment confirmation, health insurance confirmation, social security or pension contributions, proof of study and pension income. The competent authority may request additional documents if the evidence is insufficient.
Proof of the ancestor’s Czechoslovak citizenship
This is often the hardest item. The Washington embassy says the applicant must provide documentary evidence that the parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was a citizen of the former Czechoslovak Republic, and lists acceptable proof:
- A Czechoslovak passport.
- A certificate or confirmation of Czechoslovak citizenship.
- A birth certificate or other civil registry record explicitly indicating Czechoslovak citizenship.
- An official extract from a population register (census) indicating Czechoslovak citizenship.
- Official immigration records issued by foreign authorities, in particular United States authorities, such as passenger manifests, naturalization records or other records in which the nationality or citizenship is stated as “Czechoslovak.”
- A certificate of domicile (domovské právo) or a comparable official document of the former Czechoslovakia.
- Military, school or other official records of the former Czechoslovakia indicating citizenship.
- Any other public document issued by a competent authority that reliably proves Czechoslovak citizenship.
Documents issued by US or other foreign authorities must be public documents, apostilled under the Hague Convention and officially translated into Slovak by a certified translator. See our document guide.
Children
If you include a child under 14, the embassy asks for the child’s passport and apostilled, translated birth certificate and the second parent’s consent with a signature certified by a Slovak honorary consul or the embassy, and states that the second parent’s consent is required in all cases for children under 18. It also asks for confirmation that the child has health insurance in the United States, which may be an affidavit. See our guide to dual citizenship and children.
Waiting for an appointment
When the Washington page was updated, appointment availability for citizenship applications was approximately 6 to 12 months from the date of the request. The embassy serves a list of states, including Missouri, Texas and California among others, and the Consulate General in New York serves other states. Start the appointment request early, because you can gather documents while you wait.
Fees and the residence-permit question
We did not verify the current fee on the Washington page, and sources give different figures, so check the embassy’s administrative fees page. Another point needs care: an older Slovak consulate page in Sydney described a first step of applying for a five-year permanent residence permit before the citizenship application, while the Washington page, updated in June 2026, describes a single citizenship application and no residence step. Procedures may differ by mission or have changed, so ask your consulate which steps apply.
Slovak Living Abroad
Both embassy pages list a certificate of Slovak Living Abroad as a supporting document, if applicable. The status is a separate certificate, and the Washington embassy lists a service page for it. We did not verify the eligibility criteria, so ask your consulate.
Illustrative composite (not a real family): A reader’s great-grandfather was born in a village in eastern Slovakia in 1890 and emigrated to Pennsylvania. His US naturalization record states his nationality as Czechoslovak in the 1920s, and a Slovak parish register supplies his birth. She gathers apostilled birth certificates for each generation, an FBI Identity History Summary and a family tree, requests an appointment and waits several months.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a birth certificate proves citizenship. The embassy asks for proof of Czechoslovak citizenship.
- Forgetting the background checks. The FBI summary is required.
- Skipping the apostille and the translation. Both are required.
- Including a child aged 14 or over. They must apply separately.
- Waiting to request the appointment. The wait may be months.
Continue with our guide to choosing a route and proving loss of Czechoslovak citizenship, and browse Czech & Slovak Citizenship by Descent. Sources: the Slovak Embassy in Washington (updated 18 June 2026), the Slovak Embassy in Ottawa, an older page of the Slovak consulate in Sydney, a Slovak law firm’s summary of the 2022 amendment and Slovak public broadcaster STVR on the amendment.
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