Slovakia visa guideThe Slovakia business visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for meetings, conferences, training and business-related events, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. It does not allow paid work. You lodge the file in person at VFS Global or BLS International, which both have a centre in New Delhi, and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi decides, usually within 15 working days of receiving it.
The invitation carries the file. The Embassy wants a notarised letter from the Slovak company stating purpose, dates and itinerary, and first-time Schengen visitors also need an invitation verified by the Slovak Foreign Police.
Earliest slot we saw · Manually checked
Manually checked by LifesetRecent — verify before relying on it
Last manually checked: 13 November 2026 at 10:46 AM IST. Availability can change at any time.
- New Delhi
- No slots open
Tourist / short-stay appointments only. A manual observation of the portal at the time above, not a real-time feed. Slots move hour to hour and we never hold or sell them. All Slovakia centres & earliest dates
Do Indians need a visa for a business trip to Slovakia, and which one?
Yes. An Indian passport holder going to Slovakia for meetings, a conference, training or a business event needs a Schengen short-stay visa, type C, issued for business purposes. It is a sticker visa decided by the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi, not an e-visa, and the file is lodged in person in India.
The stay limit is the same as for any Schengen visa: at most 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across all 29 Schengen states. The Embassy decides the number of entries and the validity. Slovakia's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs says a Schengen visa can be issued with a validity of up to 5 years, but a first application usually gets a single-entry visa for the dates of the trip.
The purpose is narrow, and VFS Global's Slovakia page says so in writing: the visa is issued for business purposes only, and gainful professional activity needs a work permit even when the work is not paid. Negotiating a contract, attending a trade fair or sitting in a client's training room fits. Commissioning a machine on a factory floor, filling a vacancy or doing project work for a Slovak client does not.
Slovakia business visa in brief
- CategoryMeetings, conferences, training, business events
- Schengen type C, business purpose
- Maximum stay
- 90 days in any 180
- Decided by
- Embassy of the Slovak Republic, New Delhi
- Lodged atNew Delhi is nearest for north India
- VFS Global or BLS International
- Key documentNotarised; police-verified for first-time Schengen visitors
- Invitation from the Slovak company
- ProcessingPlus transit, plus any invitation verification
- 15 working days at the Embassy
Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Embassy in New Delhi, VFS Global and BLS International, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
At a New Delhi visa centre. The Embassy works with two partners in India, VFS Global and BLS International, and neither has a Slovakia centre in Punjab, Haryana or Chandigarh. Indian citizens may also apply in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai, but for a company in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Mohali or Gurugram, Delhi is the one to use. Wherever you lodge, the Embassy in New Delhi decides.
Two business-only points:
- Walk-ins at VFS. On 18 September 2026 VFS announced two walk-in slots each working day for the Business category at its Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore centres, given first come, first served. Useful when a meeting comes up at short notice, but arrive early.
- Online booking at BLS. BLS asks business travellers to schedule an online appointment for submitting their documents.
The service charge depends on the centre: ₹3,265 at VFS or ₹1,840 at BLS on 14 October 2026. The Embassy's announcement for residents of India strongly recommends BLS International.
You must attend yourself. The Embassy says the application must be submitted in person, not through an agent. You give ten fingerprints and a photo, unless your prints were taken for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months. Leave the last three working days of any month alone: VFS has given notice that Slovakia applications are not accepted on those days. To see how dates are opening up, check our Slovakia appointment availability page.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The common checklist is printed further down this page. A business file adds two things on top: proof from the Slovak side that you are expected, and proof from the Indian side that you are being sent.
From the Slovak company. The EU's harmonised list for India asks for an invitation from the inviting company or organisation and a cover letter from your employer. Both must confirm, at minimum, your identity, the purpose of the trip (meetings, conferences, training or business-related events) and the period and place of the stay. The Embassy's own checklist sets a higher bar:
- The invitation letter must be legalised by a notary public and state the purpose, duration and itinerary for the whole stay in the Schengen area. This applies to every applicant.
- If you have never been to the Schengen area before, the Slovak company must also send the official invitation form verified by the Slovak Foreign Police.
From the Indian side. What you add depends on who you are:
An employee sent by your company
- What the file needs
- An original letter from your company giving the reason for the stay in Slovakia, an official dispatch letter as proof of current employment, pay slips and your employment contract
A director, partner or proprietor
- What the file needs
- Company registration certificate with its GST number, business bank account statement, a barcode-verifiable income tax return, and your own letter on the company's letterhead
A conference delegate or speaker
- What the file needs
- The organiser's invitation, legalised by a notary, plus the official form verified by the Foreign Police if this is your first Schengen trip, and your employer's dispatch letter
Paid for by the Slovak side
- What the file needs
- A written undertaking to cover your costs, in the invitation itself or in a separate letter, which the Embassy's checklist accepts
Personal finances still matter. The harmonised list asks for your original bank statement for the last three months, stamped and signed, and the ITR acknowledgement for the last two assessment years. The Embassy's checklist asks for six months of statements and salary slips. When two official lists differ, give what the stricter one asks.
How the Slovak police verification works
The verified invitation is a Slovak procedure, so your host company handles it in Slovakia. According to the Slovak Ministry of Interior, a company with its registered office in Slovakia applies in person at the Foreign Police department for its registered office, on the official form. The application must state the inviting person's role in the company, the company's name, registered office and business activities, and the company's commitment to cover all costs of your stay and departure. The fee is €33 per invited person.
The police decide within 15 days, and the verified invitation is valid for 90 days from issue. The documents the company attaches must be no older than 90 days, and they must prove the purpose of the visit, for example business or other working relations with you, plus the company's ability to pay. Build this into your timeline: the verification comes first, and the visa application follows while the invitation is still valid.
How much is the Slovakia business visa fee?
Business applicants pay the standard Schengen fee of €90, which VFS and BLS both listed as ₹9,794 on 14 October 2026, plus the centre's service charge of ₹3,265 at VFS or ₹1,840 at BLS. The rupee amounts follow the monthly exchange rate, and none of it is refunded on refusal. If your host needs a police-verified invitation, the company pays the €33 verification fee in Slovakia. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
The Embassy normally takes 15 working days from the day it receives your file. VFS and BLS both add that days in transit between the centre and the Embassy are not counted. Slovakia's Ministry gives the outer limit: up to 45 calendar days where more documents are needed.
Work backwards from your meeting date:
- Invitation first. A notarised letter takes days; a police-verified invitation for a first-time visitor can take up to 15 days in Slovakia, and it then stays valid for 90 days.
- Apply early. The Ministry allows applications up to six months ahead and asks for at least 15 calendar days before travel. For a 15-working-day clock plus transit, aim for five to six weeks.
- Mind the calendar. The centres take applications on working days only, not on Slovak or Indian public holidays, and VFS takes no Slovakia files in the last three working days of a month.
Do not buy the air ticket first. The Embassy says there is no need to buy it until the visa is granted, and that the visa is issued to the dates on your booking.
Why do Slovakia business visas get refused for Indian applicants?
Business refusals come from the same EU list of reasons as any Schengen refusal. These are the four that hit business files hardest.
An invitation that does not meet the Embassy's standard
A plain email or an unsigned PDF is not what the Embassy asks for. It wants a notarised invitation stating purpose, duration and itinerary, and a police-verified form if you are new to Schengen. Without them the officer can find that the purpose and conditions of the stay were not justified.
A trip that looks like work
If the agenda reads like a job, such as installation, site supervision or several weeks at one client's plant, the officer may see gainful activity, which needs a work permit. Keep the programme to meetings, training, negotiations and events, and let the dispatch letter say you remain on your Indian employer's payroll.
Company papers that do not add up
GST registration, ITR, business bank statements and the letterhead should describe the same business. A turnover that does not match the statements, or a newly formed company with no trading history, invites doubts about whether the documents are reliable. Explain anything unusual in the cover letter.
No reason to come back
Reason 13 on the refusal form is reasonable doubt about your intention to leave before the visa expires. A business traveller answers it with a running company, a salaried post, a return date fixed by the next commitment in India, and earlier Schengen trips used correctly.
The full set of refusal grounds is explained on our Schengen refusal reasons page. A refusal can be appealed to the Embassy within 15 days of receiving it, in Slovak or with an official translation, against a fee of €80 that is refunded if the appeal succeeds.
Tips for a stronger business file
- Agenda. Attach a day-by-day programme with company names, addresses and meeting times. It should match the dates in the invitation, the dispatch letter, the flight booking and the insurance.
- Dispatch letter. On letterhead, signed by someone senior to you, giving your designation, the purpose, the dates, who bears the costs, and the date you resume work in India.
- Show the relationship. Purchase orders, invoices, a signed contract or a supplier agreement with the Slovak company show the visit is real. The Slovak police ask the inviting company for the same kind of proof.
- Accommodation. The Embassy lists confirmation of accommodation in Slovakia for business visitors. A hotel booking or the host's written confirmation works.
- Insurance. At least €30,000 of travel medical cover, valid in every Schengen state for the whole trip, from an insurer on the approved list that the Schengen consulates in India, Slovakia included, apply. VFS says other Indian policies are not accepted.
- Trips to neighbouring offices. If the programme includes Vienna or Budapest, list those days too. Slovakia must still be the main destination by days or by purpose.
- Frequent visits. If you travel often, ask in the cover letter for a multiple-entry visa and show why: a supply contract, regular board meetings, a project calendar.
Can I get a multiple-entry business visa for Slovakia?
Yes, if your history supports it. The Embassy says first-time travellers generally get single-entry visas, while those who documented and followed the visa rules on earlier trips, and can show a need for several entries, may get a multiple-entry visa. The EU's cascade rules for Indians help repeat travellers: after two Schengen visas obtained and lawfully used within the previous three years, a two-year multiple-entry visa can be issued, normally followed by a five-year one if your passport allows.
During those visas, each stay still counts towards 90 days in any 180. For other trips to the country, see the Slovakia tourist visa guide and the Slovakia country page.
Official sources
- VFS Global India: approved Schengen travel insurers list (applied by Slovakia)
- Visa for foreigners to enter the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
- Schengen Visa, Embassy of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi
- Invitation of a foreigner, Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
- VFS Global Slovakia India: business visa
- VFS Global Slovakia India: business category walk-ins
- VFS Global Slovakia India: non-submission days notice
- BLS International Slovakia India: business visa
- European Union adopts more favourable Schengen visa rules for Indians, EU Delegation to India
- Visa Code, consolidated text (EUR-Lex)
