If you host foreign guests in Slovakia, Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on Residence of Foreigners obliges you to report their stay to the Foreigners Police (Cudzinecká polícia) within 5 days of check-in — whether you rent out one apartment occasionally or run a hotel. Missing the deadline risks a fine of up to €3,300.
Who the duty applies to
Every accommodation provider — individuals and companies alike — who accommodates foreigners in Slovakia, regardless of legal form (trade licence, s. r. o., renting via Airbnb or Booking.com) and regardless of the number of units. It does not apply to Slovak citizens as guests.
EU/EEA citizens are a special case: in the standard short-stay regime, the guest themselves carries a separate duty to report their stay within 10 working days of arrival — that one is not the host’s job. For third-country nationals, the host’s reporting duty always applies.
Where the report is filed: slovensko.sk vs. portal.minv.sk
This is the most common source of confusion. The life situation “Reporting short-term stays of foreigners” is catalogued on the Central Government Portal (slovensko.sk) — that is the entry point where you find out what the service involves.
The actual electronic form is operated by the Ministry of Interior on portal.minv.sk. That is where the report is really filled in and submitted — not on slovensko.sk itself.
What you need before the first report
Electronic reporting cannot be done ad hoc. You need:
- A Slovak eID card with a chip and an activated qualified electronic signature (KEP).
- Prior registration as an accommodation provider (ubytovateľ) in the Ministry of Interior’s system — without it, you cannot reach the guest-reporting form at all, even with working eID and KEP.
Arrange both well before your first guest, not right before the deadline — provider registration is not instantaneous. If you are a foreign owner without a Slovak eID, treat this as a real project, not a formality.
Two ways to submit
- Manual electronic form — one guest at a time, via portal.minv.sk.
- Bulk XML import — for hosts who keep their guest records in software and want to file in batches.
No public schema (XSD) for the bulk import is published — unlike the Czech UbyPort, whose interface definition is public.
What the report must contain
- guest’s name and surname,
- travel document number,
- date of birth,
- nationality,
- start and end dates of the stay,
- purpose of stay,
- the foreigner’s signature.
Purpose of stay: a code list that is not published
The purpose of stay is selected from a code list that the Ministry of Interior does not publish publicly — it is only visible inside the portal after logging in. If you prepare reports in advance, expect to confirm the exact categories only at submission time.
The deadline: 5 days (not working days)
The Act (§113) sets the deadline at five days from the guest’s accommodation — plain calendar days. Beware: some secondary summaries incorrectly say “5 working days,” which optically extends the window. For a guest arriving just before a weekend or public holidays, the real filing window shrinks — the safest habit is to submit as soon as possible after check-in, ideally on arrival day.
Penalties
Failure to report, or late reporting, carries a fine of up to €3,300. The offence can be prosecuted within one year of the authority learning of it, and no later than three years after it occurred — the obligation does not quietly lapse a few weeks after the stay.
How Best Guest helps
No publicly documented automated reporting interface exists for Slovakia yet (unlike the Czech UbyPort, which has a public API). Best Guest therefore prepares ready-to-file documents from the data your guest fills in at online check-in — the completed report form and a digital guest register — ready for manual submission via portal.minv.sk within the statutory deadline. Submitting to the police is currently a manual step for the host; if an official interface becomes available, we plan to connect to it.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to report EU citizens as well?
In the standard short-stay regime, an EU/EEA citizen fulfils their own separate reporting duty toward the police within 10 working days of arrival — it is not the host's obligation. If you accommodate third-country nationals (outside the EU/EEA), the host's reporting duty always applies.
Is the 5-day deadline calendar days or working days?
Act No. 404/2011 Coll. (§113) and the official portals say "within five days of accommodation" — plain calendar days, not working days. Some secondary summaries incorrectly say "5 working days," which makes the window look longer than it is. If a guest checks in on Thursday, the weekend does not extend your deadline — submit as soon as possible after check-in, ideally on arrival day.
Where exactly is the report filed — slovensko.sk or portal.minv.sk?
The service is catalogued on the Central Government Portal (slovensko.sk), but the actual electronic form is operated by the Ministry of Interior on portal.minv.sk. In practice you look the service up via slovensko.sk, but you fill in and submit the report on the Ministry of Interior portal.
What do I need before I can file electronically?
A Slovak eID card with an activated qualified electronic signature (KEP), plus prior registration as an accommodation provider (ubytovateľ) in the Ministry of Interior's system. Without that registration you cannot reach the reporting form at all, even with a working eID and KEP. For foreign owners without Slovak eID, this is a genuine practical hurdle — plan for it well before your first guest.
What happens if I report late or not at all?
A fine of up to €3,300 per case. The offence can be prosecuted within one year of the authority learning about it, and up to three years after it occurred — so the obligation does not quietly expire a few weeks after the guest leaves.
Does Best Guest submit the report to the police automatically?
No public automated reporting interface exists for Slovakia yet (unlike Czechia's UbyPort API). Best Guest prepares ready-to-file documents — the completed report form and a digital guest register (kniha ubytovaných) — from the data your guest enters at online check-in, for manual submission via portal.minv.sk within the statutory deadline. If Slovakia publishes an official API in the future, the plan is to connect to it as soon as it is documented.
Sources
Verified against
Informational only
This page is provided for general information and is not legal or tax advice. Rates, deadlines and exemptions are set by law and municipal ordinances and can change — always verify current requirements with your municipality or a qualified advisor.