1. Types of civil service

The civil service may employ permanent or temporary civil servants.

Permanent civil servants:

• open employment with the civil service;
• recruitment – by competition;
• probationary period (3 months).

Temporary civil servants:

• fixed-term employment with the civil service;
• recruitment – need not be by competition;
• used, for example, as cover for maternity leave or sick leave;
• probationary period (3 months). 

2. Eligibility to work for the civil service

The following persons may apply to work for the civil service:

• Slovak citizens;
• nationals of other EU Member States;
• nationals of states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area; or
• Swiss nationals.

Important:
Government Regulation No 114/2017 specifies those civil-service posts that can only be filled by Slovak citizens. According to that regulation, only Slovaks can be civil servants at places such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic or the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Slovak Republic, or where authorisation to come into contact with classified information is required.

3. Conditions of entry to the civil service

Citizens who apply in writing may be admitted to the civil service if they meet the following conditions:

• they are at least 18 years of age;
• they have full legal capacity;
• they are a person of integrity;
• they fulfil the qualification requirements;
• they are proficient in Slovak;
• they are successful and selected in a recruitment competition (if the position is to be filled by competition).

Integrity

Someone who has been convicted, by a final judgment, of an intentional crime and whose conviction has not been expunged is not regarded as a person of integrity.

Non-Slovaks prove their integrity

I. For the purpose of entering a recruitment competition, by submitting:

• a solemn declaration of integrity.

II. For the purpose of joining the civil service, by submitting:

• an extract from the register of criminal convictions;
• a document equivalent to an extract from the register of criminal convictions or a solemn declaration (if the country of which the citizen is a national does not issue extracts from the register of criminal convictions);
• a complete entry from the register of criminal convictions, if the civil-service position is for a manager. In this case, the criteria for meeting the requirement of integrity are more stringent.

Qualification requirements encompass:

• education;
• special qualifications under special regulations;
• the field of study, if this is set as a requirement by the relevant civil-service authority.

The fulfilment of the qualification requirements of education and the field of study is proved in the manner stipulated by the Civil Service Act and depends on the level of education required. Copies of the documents to be submitted are usually listed in the notice of competition. Alternatively, the relevant civil-service authority can be contacted.

Other requirements

Other legal requirements for a person to join the civil service (e.g. medical fitness, knowledge of a foreign language or professional experience) may also be laid down by special regulations or the civil-service authority.