What changed in Slovakia

New unemployment benefit claims from 2026 taper down fast instead of paying a flat rate

Unemployment rights

Slovak pension contributions aggregate with Dutch ones, working across both countries does not reset your pension

Pension

A non-EU freelancer settling in Slovakia needs a self-employment residence permit built around a local trade licence

Residency routes

Crypto disposal income carries no health insurance levy, regardless of holding period

Crypto tax and legal status

Using crypto to pay for goods or services is tax-free up to 2,400 euros a year

Crypto tax and legal status

Crypto sold within 1 year is taxed at standard progressive rates, which may now reach 35 percent, not just 25

Crypto tax and legal status

Crypto held over 1 year is taxed at a flat 7 percent, one of the shortest qualifying holds in the EU

Crypto tax and legal status

A 2022 law change means a Slovak citizen no longer automatically loses citizenship by naturalising abroad, with conditions

Permanent residency and citizenship

Moving a company's tax residence or assets out of Slovakia can trigger an EU exit tax on unrealised gains

Leaving home: exit tax and ties

Taking profit out of a small Slovak company as a dividend costs about 16.3 percent combined, not 28 percent

Moving your company

A minimum tax now applies to a Slovak company even at a loss, and the top band jumped sharply for 2026

Moving your company

Habitually signing contracts or exercising management authority from Slovakia can create a permanent establishment

Permanent establishment risk

Running a Slovak company's real decisions from a Dutch kitchen table can drag its tax residence to the Netherlands

Moving your company

A foreign employer posting a worker to Slovakia must notify the National Labour Inspectorate before the posting starts

Employer compliance

The Slovak Labour Code sets mandatory minimum terms that can override a foreign employment contract's choice of law

Employment law

Employers now cover the first 14 days of an employee's sick leave, not 10

Sick leave

Public health insurance is mandatory once you live or work in Slovakia, and registration is due within 8 days

Healthcare coverage

EHIC covers medically necessary state healthcare for a temporary stay

Healthcare coverage

Self-employed minimum social insurance contributions rose sharply for 2026, and the holiday period is now 6 months not 12

Social security

Social insurance runs 9.4 percent employee and about 25.2 percent employer, capped at a higher 2026 ceiling

Social security

EU social security coordination keeps a posted or seconded worker on home coverage with an A1 certificate

Social security

A Dutch employee can telework from Slovakia up to 49.9 percent of their time and stay on Dutch social security

Social security

The Financial Transaction Tax catches a foreign entrepreneur with a Slovak bank account, but no longer catches sole traders

Personal income tax

A Slovak entity bearing the cost of your work makes you taxable from day one, regardless of the 183-day count

Personal income tax

Treaty relief keeps a short posting out of Slovak tax if presence stays under 183 days and the employer stays foreign

Personal income tax

The 60 percent lump-sum expense deduction, capped at 20,000 euros, needs no receipts and stacks with the 15 percent rate

Personal income tax

Self-employed people pay a flat 15 percent up to 100,000 euros of net taxable income, not the four-band employee rates

Personal income tax

Personal income tax gained two new higher bands from 1 January 2026, up to 35 percent

Personal income tax

Dividends to individuals are back to 7 percent for 2026, after a one-off 10 percent bump that only hit 2024 profits

Personal income tax

Corporate tax is a genuine three-tier system now, 10 percent up to 100,000 euros, not the old flat 21 percent

Personal income tax

If you are resident under both Dutch and Slovak law, the 1974 treaty's tie-breaker decides which one wins

Tax residency

A dwelling available for permanent use can make you a Slovak tax resident regardless of day count

Tax residency

Under 183 days with no permanent home in Slovakia, you should stay a non-resident for tax

Tax residency

183 days of habitual presence in a calendar year makes you a Slovak tax resident on worldwide income

Tax residency

Whether EU citizens still owe a 10-day report of stay to the Foreign Police is genuinely unclear right now

Local registrations

EU citizens staying past 3 months must register residence with the Foreign Police within 30 days after that point

Local registrations

Serving Slovak clients or signing local contracts without authorisation is unlawful employment

Right to work

Short-stay remote work for a genuinely foreign employer sits in a legal grey area, with no purpose-built safe harbour

Right to work

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals can work remotely from Slovakia without any permit

Right to work

The Single Permit is the standard route for an ordinary job offer, and it is discretionary

Immigration and visa

The EU Blue Card needs a salary of at least 1.5 times the average Slovak wage and a 1-year contract

Immigration and visa

Slovakia has no dedicated digital nomad or remote-work visa, unlike Czechia next door

Immigration and visa

Past 90 days a third-country national needs a residence permit, not just a longer visa

Immigration and visa

Under 90 days you either enter visa-free or you need a Schengen C visa, and which one depends on your passport

Immigration and visa

Free movement covers EU, EEA and Swiss nationals with no visa or work permit needed

Immigration and visa