A letter to UK nationals in Slovakia from Chargé d’Affaires Kimberly Gillingham
An important update about how Brexit will affect UK nationals in Slovakia from Chargé d’Affaires Kimberly Gillingham.
Dear UK nationals in Slovakia,
It was great to meet some of you in person at our public meetings in the spring when we expected Brexit to happen on 29 March and then on 12 April.
As you will know, Boris Johnson has succeeded Teresa May as Prime Minister. In his first address to Parliament, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October.
Whilst the UK government would prefer to leave with a deal, no deal remains a very real prospect. It is therefore essential that you register your residence with the Slovak Foreigners Police if you have not already done so. We would advise you to do this as soon as possible, as there is likely to be increased demand in the autumn as new international students arrive and the Brexit date gets nearer.
The Prime Minister gave a clear guarantee to EU nationals living in the UK, thanking them for their contribution to UK society, guaranteeing their right to live and remain in the UK, and reassuring them that their status will never be used as a bargaining chip. Like other British embassies across the EU, our team here have been working hard to ensure that our host countries reciprocate the UK’s offer in full and communicate these reassurances and actions to UK nationals across Europe.
The Slovak government passed it’s own ‘No Deal’ legislation in March to fully reciprocate the UK’s offer and allow UK residents to continue to live, work, study and do business in Slovakia, as long as they registered their residence before Brexit. You should by now have received a letter direct from the Slovak Foreigners Police. If you have not, please get in touch with your local Slovak Foreigners Police to register as soon as you can.
In addition, the Slovak No Deal legislation also provides for continuing current arrangements for reciprocal healthcare, pensions, recognition of qualifications and social security at least until the end of 2020. In the absence of a deal, this will provide some continuity until the longer-term arrangements beyond 2020 are agreed.
The Slovak No Deal Act also provides for recognition of UK issued driving licences in Slovakia in a no deal scenario. So there is no immediate need to exchange your driving licence for a Slovak one, but we recommend you consider doing so after 6 months of being resident in Slovakia. This is because, if you no longer have a UK address, you will not be able to renew your UK driving licence when it comes up for renewal. However, if you exchange your UK licence for a Slovak one, you will, in future, be able to exchange your Slovak licence for a UK one if you need to.
Please continue to check our Living in Slovakia Guide for the latest information and sign up to email alerts.
There is more detail and advice in the guide, but the key things for you now are:
- correctly register as a resident in Slovakia (if you have not already done so)
- check your passport is valid for travel (after Brexit, in the absence of a deal, you will need a certain amount of validity left on your passport to comply with Schengen rules when travelling)
- pets: depending on whether your pet has a UK or an EU pet passport, and whether you intend to travel with your pet after Brexit, there may be actions you need to take now (for example blood tests needing to be taken in advance of travel). Please check our Living in Slovakia Guide for more information.
The Living in Slovakia Guide is your first port of call for advice, but if you have any specific questions, there is a telephone line and email service. You can find details in the Contact Section of the British Embassy website and you can follow the Embassy on Facebook and Twitter.
We will continue to do everything we can to keep you updated. Protecting the rights of UK nationals in the EU is an absolute priority for the UK government.
Yours faithfully,
Kimberly Gillingham
Chargé d’Affaires
British Embassy
Bratislava
5 August 2019