Slovakia Visa from the UK: Appointments, Checklist & Fees

Do UK residents need a visa for Slovakia?

British, Irish and EU citizens do not need a visa to visit Slovakia for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Non-EU nationals living in the UK usually do, unless their own passport is visa-exempt, and settled status, a Skilled Worker visa or a family visa does not change that.

That includes nationals of India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, China, South Africa, Turkey and the Philippines, among others. UK residence does not exempt you, but it lets you apply in the UK rather than your home country. The Embassy’s London checklist asks for UK residence valid at least 1 month after you leave the Schengen area; our guide to UK visa validity for a Schengen visa covers tight cases. If you are only in the UK as a visitor, you should normally apply in your home country, as explained in Schengen visas on a UK visitor visa.

You prove UK status with a UKVI eVisa share code, not a BRP; see our eVisa share code guide. The Entry/Exit System, fully operational since 10 April 2026, registers every non-EU traveller’s fingerprints and face at the first Schengen crossing, which for many Slovakia trips happens at Vienna, Budapest or Bratislava airport. ETIAS, the €20 authorisation for visa-exempt travellers such as British citizens, has no launch date and never replaces a visa. Our EES and ETIAS guide tracks both.

Slovakia visa appointments in the UK

Slovakia short-stay visas are submitted in person at BLS International, which lists two UK centres: London and Edinburgh. The Embassy of Slovakia in London decides every application; BLS only checks your file, takes biometrics and collects fees.

There is no Slovakia centre in Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff or Belfast. BLS’s UK site lists both centres without assigning regions to them; if you are unsure which you may use, ask BLS before booking.

London

The centre is at 20 St Andrew Street, London EC4A 3AG, near Chancery Lane and Farringdon stations. Submissions and passport collections run from 8:30 to 13:30, Monday to Friday.

Edinburgh

The centre is at 6 Dock Place, Suite 1A, First Floor Office, Edinburgh EH6 6LU, in Leith rather than the city centre, so allow time for the tram or bus. Submissions and collections run from 8:30 to 12:30, Monday to Friday. Edinburgh applications are also decided by the Embassy in London.

Note: The Embassy’s visa page has at times also named VFS Global. When we reviewed this page in October 2026, BLS International was publishing the live UK centre details, hours, checklists, fees and booking link for Slovakia. Its UK home page also showed an old notice about online booking being unavailable that appears to come from another country’s page. Check the Embassy page and BLS before you book in case anything changes.

How to book

1. Confirm Slovakia is your main destination and that your passport and UK status are valid long enough.
2. Complete the Schengen application form online in English, then print and sign it. Each child needs a separate form, signed by both parents.
3. Register on the BLS Slovakia booking system (linked from the BLS UK site) with an email you check daily.
4. Choose London or Edinburgh, a date and a time, adding family members so you attend together.
5. Print the appointment letter. Any changes or cancellations are made through the same official booking system.

Appointments are booked in your own name on the official system, and there is no charge for the booking itself; the service fee is paid at the centre.

Important: We do not book, hold or supply visa appointments, and nobody can legitimately sell you a BLS slot. We help you create your account and complete the booking correctly in your own name on the official system, and prepare your file so it is ready for the day.

Availability by season

Slovakia is a lower-volume destination than Spain or France, but two centres with morning-only hours means a limited number of slots each day. Demand usually rises before the summer holidays, around Easter and ahead of the December Christmas markets. If nothing suits, check again over several days rather than paying anyone who claims to have slots.

On the day

Arrive on time with your printed appointment letter and passport. BLS’s security rules admit applicants only, except a parent or guardian with a child under 18 and anyone assisting an elderly, ill or disabled applicant. Bags and electronic items such as laptops are not allowed in and the centre cannot store them, so travel light. Staff check your file, take fingerprints and a photo (unless you are under 12 or gave fingerprints for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months), collect the visa fee and service fee, and keep your passport. BLS’s UK site lists optional extras, such as courier return, SMS updates and a premium lounge, with prices on the site; they are conveniences only and have no effect on the Embassy’s decision.

Slovakia visa document checklist for UK residents

The Embassy of Slovakia London publishes separate checklists, through BLS, for tourism, family or friends visits and business. Two features decide many files: the €56-a-day funds rule and the invitation for private and business visits. Every date, address and name on your form must match your supporting documents.

Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years, be valid for at least 3 months beyond the end of the visa you request and have two blank pages; bring a copy of the photo page and copies of any Schengen visas from the last 3 years. The photo should be passport-size, meet ICAO standards and be no older than 3 months.

Travel insurance needs at least €30,000 of medical cover valid in every Schengen state for every day of the trip, including day trips to Vienna, Budapest or Kraków (see our travel insurance guide). The checklists ask for a return flight, ferry or train ticket. For tourism, the checklist asks for a fully paid hotel reservation for the whole stay in Slovakia, confirmed by the hotel or guesthouse.

The invitation is the item most UK applicants underestimate, and the Embassy’s checklists set out three cases:

• Family or friends visit: an invitation letter in Slovak with your host’s signature verified by a Slovak notary, plus copies of the host’s passport and Slovak ID card or residence permit. If the letter does not cover accommodation, add a fully paid booking.
• Business: a formal invitation from your Slovak business partner, with its signature verified by a Slovak notary, plus a hotel reservation for the whole stay.
• Nationals of Bangladesh, Belarus, Iran, Morocco, Pakistan and Vietnam: an invitation verified by the Slovak Foreign Police (cudzinecká polícia), whatever the purpose of the trip.

For a Foreign Police-verified invitation, your host (a Slovak citizen, a foreigner with Slovak residence or a Slovak company) applies in person, or through an authorised representative, at the police department for their place of residence, on the official form, with a fee of €50 per invited person under the Administrative Fees Act (no fee for a child under 16). Their supporting documents, including proof they can cover your stay and your accommodation, must be no older than 90 days, and the police decide within 15 days after the Ministry of Interior agrees. The verified invitation is valid for 90 days from issue and covers a stay of up to 90 days, so it must still be in date when you submit. Our invitation and sponsor letter guide explains what an invitation should contain.

Relationship documents issued outside the EU, such as a birth or marriage certificate, may need an apostille or legalisation, and the Embassy can ask for translations. A short cover letter tying itinerary, funds and return together helps.

Employed

An employer letter on headed paper confirming your role, salary and approved leave, plus 3 months of payslips whose net pay matches the credits on your statements.

Self-employed

The Embassy’s checklist asks for a recent letter on official headed paper from your accountant, bank or solicitor confirming your self-employment or business in the UK, showing the signatory’s name, position, contact details and UK registration number, plus 3 months of statements. See our self-employed guide.

Students

A letter from your school or university, ideally with term dates showing the trip falls in a break, and your own funds or a parent’s sponsorship letter with their statements. See our students guide.

Retired

Pension award letters and 3 months of statements showing the pension arriving and enough to meet €56 a day.

Sponsored

The sponsor’s signed letter, 3 months of their statements, proof of their identity and status, and evidence of your relationship. A host in Slovakia should use the invitation routes above instead.

Children

A separate form for each child signed by both parents or all guardians, the child’s original birth certificate with an apostille or legalisation, both parents’ passports, and a UK school certificate. See Schengen visas for children.

How much money do you need for a Slovakia visa?

Slovak law sets €56 per person per day of the stay (Ministry of Interior Decree No. 499/2011, made under the Act on the Residence of Foreigners). Border officers can also ask for proof of funds on arrival, so carry a copy of your evidence.

The Embassy’s checklists ask for 3 months of bank statements in your name showing activity and balance. Under the decree, a verified invitation in which your host undertakes to cover your costs can replace your own funds, and a stay that is already partly paid for is taken into account at the border.

Treat the figure as a floor. The Embassy looks at whether funds suit the length and purpose of the trip, so a balance that only just meets it, or a large unexplained deposit shortly before applying, attracts questions. Our guide to bank statements for a Schengen visa explains what officers look for.

Slovakia visa fees from the UK

The visa fee is €90 for adults, €45 for children aged 6 to 11 and free for under-6s. BLS lists the sterling amounts as £77 and £39, at the exchange rate set by the Embassy, plus a BLS service fee of £18 including VAT (checked October 2026).

Family members of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens covered by free movement rules pay no visa fee. BLS states that all fees are non-refundable and can change without notice. Our Schengen visa fee guide covers exemptions across all countries.

How long does a Slovakia visa take from the UK?

The Embassy must decide within 15 calendar days of your application, extendable to a maximum of 45 days in individual cases. The Embassy’s checklists say processing generally takes around 10 days.

You can apply up to 6 months before travel and no later than 15 calendar days before. In practice, the slowest step is often the invitation in Slovakia, not the visa decision.

BLS keeps your passport while the Embassy decides, so avoid other international travel in that window. Our processing time guide compares countries.

Slovakia visa types for UK residents

Most UK residents apply for a short-stay (type C) Schengen visa for tourism, a family visit or business. The purpose you select changes the evidence the Embassy expects.

Tourist. A fully paid hotel reservation for the whole stay and a day-by-day plan. Slovakia must be your main destination by length and purpose of stay, or, if none can be determined, your first point of entry. Bratislava is about an hour from Vienna and two and a half from Budapest, so many “Slovak” trips are really Austrian ones; our guide on which country to apply to covers edge cases.

Family or friends visit. An invitation in Slovak with your host’s notary-verified signature and copies of their passport and Slovak ID or residence permit, or a Foreign Police-verified invitation if your nationality requires one. See our family visit visa guide.

Business. A formal invitation from the Slovak business partner with a notary-verified signature, plus a letter from your UK employer. Slovakia’s car industry around Bratislava, Trnava, Nitra and Žilina generates many supplier and engineering visits; see our business visa guide.

Medical and spa stays. A letter from the clinic or spa, such as Piešťany, confirming dates and how costs are paid.

Culture, sport and short courses. Tickets, accreditation or the organiser’s letter; courses of up to 90 days fit a short-stay visa.

Students on holiday. UK students apply as tourists, with a letter from their school or university.

Stays longer than 90 days, for study, work or joining family, need a Slovak national (type D) visa or a residence permit, which follow a separate process.

Slovakia-specific tips

A few points regularly catch UK applicants out with Slovakia.

• Plan around morning-only hours. London closes at 13:30 and Edinburgh at 12:30, for submission and collection alike. Late trains mean a missed appointment.
• Get the right kind of invitation. A plain letter is not enough: for family and business visits the Embassy’s checklists ask for a notary-verified signature, and some nationalities need Foreign Police verification.
• Ask for the original. Your host receives the verified invitation in Slovakia and must post it to you; allow time for international post.
• Show the €56 sum. A one-line note in your cover letter, such as “7 days x €56 = €392”, saves the officer the calculation.
• Ask for the entries you need. If you will leave the Schengen area and come back during the trip, request a two-entry or multiple-entry visa; a single-entry visa cannot be reused.
• Count nights on twin-city trips. Vienna-Bratislava-Budapest itineraries are popular; apply where you sleep most.

Why Slovakia visas are refused (and how to avoid it)

Most Slovak refusals come from a few avoidable problems, usually the invitation, funds or the choice of country.

• Slovakia not being the main destination, typically more nights in Vienna, Budapest or Prague.
• A missing or unverified invitation, such as a plain letter instead of a notary-verified one, or no Foreign Police-verified invitation where your nationality requires it.
• Funds below €56 a day, or statements with unexplained deposits or no regular income.
• Doubtful UK residence or ties, such as permission ending soon after the trip or no clear job or studies to return to.
• Inconsistent documents, where the form, itinerary, invitation and cover letter give different dates or addresses.
• Insurance that falls short of €30,000 or misses days of the trip.

If you are refused, the standard EU form ticks the grounds. Under Slovakia’s Act on the Residence of Foreigners (section 16), you can appeal in writing to the Embassy in London within 15 days of receiving the decision (30 days for family members of EU citizens), in Slovak, explaining why the decision is wrong; the appeal does not suspend the refusal. The Embassy can grant the appeal itself; otherwise it forwards it within 5 days to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bratislava, which usually sends a written decision within 60 days. The consular fee for an appeal is €120, refunded if the appeal is granted; family members of EU citizens pay nothing. Where the problem was a missing or wrong invitation, a fresh, stronger application is often faster. Our refusal guide explains how to choose, and our pricing page covers refusal review and re-application support.