The amendment to Act No. 5/2014 Coll. on Employment Services brought about a number of changes in the area of employment of foreign nationals who are not citizens of an EU/EEA member country or Switzerland (hereinafter referred to as “foreigners”). The amendment partly responds to the pressure of Slovak employers to simplify the employment of foreigners as a result of the declining unemployment rate and lack of skilled labor.
The main changes introduced by the amendment include:
- reducing the reporting time for vacancies to the competent Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family from 30 to 20 working days;
- the competent Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family will grant consent to filling a vacant post by foreigners only to an employer who has not violated the prohibition of illegal employment in the two years preceding the foreigner’s application for temporary residence for the purpose of employment;
- simplification of conditions for employing foreigners in selected professions with a shortage of qualified labor force in the districts of the Slovak Republic where the average registered unemployment rate for the previous year was below 5%;
- the introduction of the so-called shortage occupation list to fill vacancies by foreigners under the accelerated regime. This list will be published and updated annually by the Central Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic on its website;
In 2017, according to the Central Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic, Slovak employers reported most vacancies for these positions: operator and installer of machinery and equipment, qualified worker and craftsman, auxiliary and unskilled worker.
The current list of shortage occupations is published on the following website and covers all Slovak regions except the Prešov region:
- a simplified regime for the employment of foreigners will apply only in relation to employers who employ less than 30% of foreigners from the total number of employees as at the date of submission of the foreigner’s application for temporary residence for the purpose of employment.
