Starting a business in Slovakia: foreigner's guide (2026)

Under § 21 of the Commercial Code (Act 513/1991), foreign persons may conduct business in Slovakia on the same terms as Slovak nationals; 100% foreign shareholding in an s.r.o. is explicitly permitted with no equity caps. Shareholders need not be resident in Slovakia.

An s.r.o. requires a minimum share capital of €5,000 (each shareholder's contribution ≥ €750). At least 30% of each monetary contribution must be paid up before registration; if there is a sole founder, the full €5,000 must be deposited before filing. A bank confirmation of deposit is required.

1) Draft and notarise articles of association / founding deed; 2) Obtain a trade licence (živnostenské oprávnenie) from the District Trade Office, or confirm an exempt activity; 3) Open a Slovak bank account and deposit share capital; 4) Submit electronic application with qualified electronic signature (QES/eIDAS) to the Obchodný register; 5) Tax and social-insurance registration is triggered automatically by the court upon entry in the register.

Electronic filing via the Ministry of Justice portal carries a court fee of €150 (vs. €300 for paper), and the district court must register the company within 2 working days of a complete electronic submission. End-to-end including document preparation typically takes 5–15 business days.

Directors (konatelia) who are non-EU and non-OECD nationals must hold a valid Slovak residence permit before they can be registered as executive director. EU/OECD-national directors and all shareholders face no such restriction.

A new Act on the Commercial Register, effective 1 March 2026, will replace Act 530/2003, making electronic-only filing mandatory for virtually all standard procedures and further streamlining the register. The ORSR portal at orsr.sk is the single official access point.