From temporary protection to residence: health insurance in Slovakia

The short answer

While you have temporary protection, the state pays for health care in the scope set by Act No. 580/2004 (§9h(2)(a), §9(8)). Temporary protection ends when you are granted temporary or permanent residence (Act No. 69/2026, §64(1)(d)). From then on you must be health insured: publicly if you work for an employer based in Slovakia or are self-employed, otherwise commercially, no later than 3 working days after collecting the residence card.

Step by step

1. ·Apply for temporary residence. Health insurance is not an attachment to the first application (Act No. 404/2011, §32(2)) and not a condition for the police to accept it (§32(1)).
2. ·Residence is granted. Temporary protection ends at that moment, and with it the care the state paid for.
3. ·Collect the card. No later than 3 working days after collecting the residence card you must be insured, and show it if the police check (§111(1)(d)).
4. ·Proof to the police. For residence for business, a special activity, research or family reunification, the proof goes to the Foreign Police within 30 days of collecting the card (§32(9)). If you are already insured when you apply, you can attach it to the application. For employment and study it is not handed in, but shown at a check.
5. ·Renewal. When renewing temporary residence you attach a document not older than 90 days, except residence for employment or study (§34(3)(c)).

Who is publicly insured and who needs commercial insurance

• ·Employee of an employer based in Slovakia earning at least the minimum wage: public insurance (Act No. 580/2004, §3(3)(a)).
• ·Self-employed (SZČO) with a residence permit: public insurance (§3(3)(b)).
• ·Company director (konateľ) without permanent residence: not publicly insured on that basis (§3(9)), needs commercial insurance.
• ·Family member without a job, student: needs commercial insurance.

Which commercial insurance is enough

The law asks only for a confirmation in your name that you are health insured in Slovakia, or that the cost of your medical care here is insured, and sets no minimum cover (Act No. 404/2011, §123). Urgent-care insurance is therefore enough: the Foreign Police accepts Union's Simple. Talk of "mandatory comprehensive" insurance is about how much care you want paid for, not a legal requirement.

Prices of Union poisťovňa as of October 2026, paid once for the whole period. Safety, with preventive check-ups, starts from €569.40 a year; Union sets the final price after a short health questionnaire.

Worth knowing

• ·Between the grant of residence and collecting the card you no longer have temporary protection, and the duty to be insured has not started yet. If you want to be covered in those days too, start the insurance on the day residence is granted.
• ·The deadline is 3 working days after collecting the card. Not meeting the duties is an offence with a fine of up to €1,600 (§118).
• ·You choose the start date, today at the earliest. With klido you can take out Simple on the day you collect the card, online in Ukrainian, Russian or English, in about 5 minutes.
• ·After you pay by card, Union e-mails the confirmation for the police, and it is also in your klido account.

More in our guide to health insurance for a residence permit and the Simple and Safety comparison.

Sources: Act No. 69/2026 Coll. on international protection, Act No. 404/2011 Coll. (Slov-Lex, version in force from 1 October 2026), Act No. 580/2004 Coll. on health insurance, Union poisťovňa's product documents. General information, not legal advice; the decision on your residence always rests with the police.