Slovakia is the country that Ukrainian citizens are also considering moving to and starting a business. Today we will consider what organizational form is most favorable for foreign citizens, and what documents are required for the business registration in Slovakia. In addition, on the example of one of the Slovak banks, we will provide a list of documents required to open a business account.
The most popular business organizational forms for SMEs in Slovakia are the option of becoming private entrepreneurs or opening a limited liability company. Each of the above activities has its characteristics in the case of foreigners.
It should be noted that Ukrainians who have been granted temporary asylum (after February 24, 2022) and can stay in Slovakia based on the appropriate confirmation cannot open and run businesses there. Such Ukrainians have only access to the labor market [3].
If the citizens of Ukraine who are not the residents of Slovakia want to become the private entrepreneurs – they must have a residence permit. Thus, they can get a residence permit based on their businesses, but they can start them only with an existing document confirming their residence in Slovakia. To register the private entrepreneurship in Slovakia, they need to obtain a license. To do this, the Ukrainian citizens have to provide their passports and apostilled Ukrainian certificates with no criminal record. The next step is submitting documents for a residence permit, obtaining a card relating to the residence in Slovakia, passing a physical examination, making a registration of health insurance, and obtaining an extract from the Trade Register for further confirmation of activity and stay [2].
However, the recommended organizational form of business in Slovakia for foreigners is a limited liability company. There are no restrictions related to the nationality of the participants [4]. The maximum number of directors is 50 persons. In addition, each of them must contribute at least 750 euros [1]. The minimum authorized capital must contain – EUR 5,000 [4]. The essential documents to register a company in Slovakia are the passport data of founders, and directors, the charter, the founding agreement, the legal address, the certificate of no criminal record of the founder in Slovakia and Ukraine (an apostilled one), the bank proof of authorized capital, and the document on contributions to the authorized capital by all directors [1].
After that, the documents have to be notarized. Then the company should be registered in the Trade Register and the tax service [1].
Another important step is to open a business account in a Slovak bank. Today we will consider how to open a business account with Tatra banka.
To open a business account, the self-employed persons with permanent residence in Slovakia should present one of the following documents: the trade license certificate, the extract from the Trade Register from the non-public part (this document must not be older than 6 weeks), or the copy of the declaration of trade with marked delivery to the trade licensing office [5].
To open a business account for a limited liability company, the Ukrainian citizens should present the extract from the Commercial register (this document must not be older than 6 weeks) [6].
Moreover, Tatra banka accepts the documents proving business issued in electronic form with an electronic signature in the format PAdES (.pdf), ASiC-E (.asice, .sce), ASiC-S (.asics, .scs), .zep, or .xzep [5], [6].
For opening the individual banking accounts – the following documents are required by Tatra banca: a certificate of tolerated stay, a document containing a photo, and the following data: a name, a surname, date of birth, address of permanent residence, and citizenship [7].
Sources:
1. https://poradnuk.com.ua/kraini-svitu/europe/slovakia/biznes-u-slovachchyni.htm,
3. https://www.podnikajte.sk/zivnost/zalozenie-zivnosti-osoby-z-ukrajiny,
4. https://www.crowe.com/sk/news/presun-podnikania-z-ukrajiny-na-slovensko,
5. https://www.tatrabanka.sk/en/business/accounts-payments/self-employed-account/,
6. https://www.tatrabanka.sk/en/business/accounts-payments/tatra-business/,
