Traveling to and from Bratislava

As Bratislava lays in the Central Europe, it is very easily accessible by all means of transport. Slovakia is a member of Schengen Area and European Economic Area, which guarantees that if you are from the country, that is a part of these areas, you can travel to Bratislava with your valid ID or passport only.

There are no border barriers, passport or customs controls and these countries have a common visa politics. People can cross the border wherever they want without control, unless it is a protected area above the second level of nature protection.

How far is Bratislava from ...

Amsterdam

986

Kuala Lumpur

9,356

Quebec city

6,255

Athens

1,252

Lisbon

2,351

Reykjavik

2,929

Beijing

7,424

Ljubljana

305

Riga

1,086

Belgrade

453

London

1,289

Rio de Janeiro

8,900

Berlin

553

Los Angeles

9,866

Rome

785

Bern

737

Luxembourg

822

Sarajevo

488

Brussels

967

Madrid

1,860

Skopje

764

Buenos Aires

11,867

Mexico city

10,212

Sofia

481

Bucharest

804

Minsk

971

Stockholm

774

Budapest

161

Monaco

894

Sydney

15,940

Copenhagen

893

Moscow

1,633

Tallinn

839

Dubai

4,189

New York

6,854

Tokyo

5,657

Dublin

1,735

Oslo

1,372

Vienna

55

Edmonton

7,798

Paris

1,089

Vilnius

572

Helsinki

1,429

Perth

13,214

Warsaw

330

Kiev

1,004

Prague

291

Zagreb

171

North Pole

2,894

South Pole

9,555

Mount Everest

3,904

Moon

384,400

Mars

55 - 401 mil.

Sun

~149,6 mil.

Furthest point on Earth from Bratislava is in South Pacific Ocean (-48.147914, -162.864160)

20,015

Distances are in km and measured by airline distance.

Visa requirements

Note: We highly recommend you to go through the rules on the official Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic website. Following paragraphs in this guide are just a summary paraphrasing and citing the official website.

Slovakia is a part of The Schengen area since 2009, so there is a free movement of persons, goods, services and capital across the member states. People may freely travel around this area without any border checks at internal borders of Schengen Member States. In fact, the internal borders were abolished and border checks at Schengen external borders have been reinforced in order to safeguard the security of Member States. The joint border check rules and effective oversight on the external borders aim at preventing illegal migration, drug trafficking and other illegal activities. The Schengen Member States also apply a uniform visa policy regime.

So if you are traveling from any of the EU countries to Bratislava, or you have already obtained visa in these countries, you do not need to have separate visa to enter Slovakia. These countries include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

In case you are a citizen of non European Union country, but you have visa for entering one of these countries you can also enter Slovakia, because of the free transit within the Schengen area. Otherwise we highly recommend you to check the visa conditions in advance. In case of visa obligations, please contact your embassy or find further information about visa requirements at Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic official website.

Generally, you would need visa to enter Schengen area, if you are from: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (North), Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Midway Islands, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Christopher and Nevisno, Saint Helena and Dependencies, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Western Samoa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe or other, not listed non-EU countries.

How to get visa

If visa is required for you to enter Slovakia you have to apply for uniform Schengen Visa, which allows its holder to enter any of the Schengen Area Member States (see list of states above), which Slovakia is a part of. The visa may be issued for one or more countries. Foreign nationals who are obliged to visa requirement and want to enter the Schengen area with Slovakia as a target destination must fill the visa application with the component Slovak embassies and consulates general abroad. The visa allows the foreigner to transit through or to stay in the Schengen area for the period of validity which is specified at the visa. The length of stay and expiry date is defined on the visa sticker as well. The co-operation the Schengen Member States ensure a uniform visa, valid for all Schengen countries.

What type of visa do you need?

The type of visa you need depends on the length and purpose of your visit. To find out the particular type you need, contact the competent embassy or consulate general.

Types of visas currently available:

  • Type C Schengen visa: entry visa (short stay - usually applicable for most of the travelers) - the visa entitles its holder to enter and stay in the Schengen area for not more than a total of 90 days within a six-month period subsequent to the date of the first entry. This visa may be issued for one or several entries (single entry and multiple entry visa).

  • National visa type D (long-stay) - national (long-stay) visa may be issued in relation to the granted residence permit or in connection with Slovakia's commitments under international treaties or for the benefit of the Slovak Republic. It is allowed for long-term visa holders to travel to other member states (outside the frontier of the state who issued the visa), however the total of stay cannot exceed 90 days in any six month period.

  • Type A Schengen visa: airport transit visa - you can stay in the international transit area at the airport without any visa while waiting for a connecting flight with no problems or restrictions. This kind of visa allows you only to transit through the airport's international transit area. However, some nationalities are required to have a valid visa, even if they do not leave the international transit area. In a case of more information needed, contact your embassy in Slovakia.

How to apply for visa?

The visa application is submitted on an official application form at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic accredited for the country where the applicant resides or the country of his citizenship. The visa application must be submitted in person and it should not be submitted earlier than 3 months prior to the planned trip to Slovakia.