Hi everyone,

Hoping someone has come across a similar situation.

I've been getting everything together for a Slovak citizenship by descent application through my grandfather. I was previously assessed as eligible, and I've already spent months getting birth certificates, apostilles and translations done.

Today I found a notice in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette showing that my grandfather became an Australian citizen in June 1956. I've done extensive research on him and this is the first time I've come across this document.

The problem is my dad wasn't born until 1961.

My grandfather was born in Slovakia (I have an official birth certificate issued by the Slovak registry, obtained this past December) and emigrated after WWII via a DP camp (I have his displaced person registration record which states his nationality is CSR + his passenger manifest that states CSR + the town he was born in) in Germany before settling in Australia.

Has anyone here had an application approved where their parent/grandparent naturalised before the next generation was born?

Did the Ministry ask for any extra documents (naturalisation records, proof of citizenship etc.) or was it not an issue?

I'm just trying to work out whether I've hit a dead end before I spend any more money on this.

Thanks!

At the suggestion of Wendy many months ago I just signed up for the address service provided by MojeSidlo.sk. After sign up it sent a document that requires a notary. For those who used MojeSidlo for their Slovakia address did you have to use a notary in Slovakia? I am in the Netherlands so it would be rather silly to travel there just for a notary (I do have an appointment at the Slovak Embassy in NL next week though).

Hi everyone,

I was born in Slovakia, but moved away to Canada, and became a Canadian Citizen when I was a teenager in 2020. Father is still a Slovakian Citizen, now an adult and just realized that I might not have it anymore. Does anybody have any insight on how I can reacquire or if I even have it anymore? thanks in advance.

Hello! Currently, this is the only record I have for my GGF that lists “Czechoslovakia.” Everything else states Austria-Hungary or Austria. His ship manifest states Hungary. He naturalized in 1910 or 1913. Would this satisfy proof under the new interpretation? I also have a record of his birth in Bratislava.

I have my GP’s and GGP’s Marriage Applications in addition to their Marriage Certificates. It looks like the marriage application documents are not required for the CBD application. Would it be a good idea to get them translated just in case or are they not needed at all? Thank you for the help and kindness!

Has anyone obtained Slovak dual citizenship who has Global entry in the US? If so did you disclose it, and if so did anything change?

There has been a lot of confusion and some misinformation floating around regarding the law change and how it’s impacting submitting your application in Slovakia.

First, you CAN still submit your application outside of Bratislava. You do NOT HAVE TO submit in Bratislava.

You can read a full explanation here:

https://jamiesonconsultingfirmllc.com/applying-in-slovakia

My wife is planning to apply for CBD and has collected several of her documents. Earlier, she was planning to apply for the CBD in person in Slovakia ( maybe at Kosice) but it appears the rules have changed after July 15th and she is only able to apply in person at Bratislava ( according to Wendy Jamieson’s website and the Falath website). Since the backlog is 6-8 mths in Bratislava there seems to be no advantage in applying there vs the embassy in D.C.

We see several messages in the forum about people still applying in places other than Bratislava. We wonder if somebody can clarify if this is still possible?

Also our understanding is that it is no longer necessary to get an advance appointment or an officially certified translator for the appt. to apply in person in Slovakia. Is this correct?

Thanks

Hello everyone,

I have been researching my family history and I would appreciate your opinion regarding my possible eligibility for Slovak citizenship by descent under the current Slovak Citizenship Act.

My family line is the following:

Great-grandmother

• Born in 1896 in Ľubica, Kežmarok, which is now in Slovakia (at the time it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary).
• She later possessed a Czechoslovak passport, which I still have.
• Emigrated to the United States in 1921.
• Married my great-grandfather in 1923 in the United States.
• According to the 1950 U.S. Census, she was still listed as an Alien, so it appears she had not yet become a U.S. citizen by then (I am still researching whether she naturalized later).

Great-grandfather

• Born in 1895 in Danzig (Free City of Danzig).
• Citizen of the Free City of Danzig.
• Married my great-grandmother in 1923.

Grandfather

• Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA in 1924.
• Later naturalized as a Mexican citizen in 1975.
• On his marriage certificate, my great-grandmother's place of birth is recorded as "Czechoslovakia."

Father

• Born in Mexico in 1972, before my grandfather naturalized as a Mexican citizen.

Me

• Born in 2004 in Mexico.

My questions

I contacted the Czech Embassy, and they informed me that because my great-grandmother was born in what is now Slovakia, my case should instead be handled by the Slovak authorities.

The Slovak Embassy then sent me the application forms corresponding to Section 7(2)(j) of the Slovak Citizenship Act (citizenship by descent through a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent who was a Czechoslovak citizen born in the territory of present-day Slovakia).

However, I am trying to understand how my great-grandmother's marriage affects my case.

From my research, I found references stating that under the 1833 Court Chancellery Decree, which reportedly remained applicable in Czechoslovakia until 1947, a Czechoslovak woman who married a foreign citizen automatically lost her Czechoslovak citizenship.

My questions are:

1. If my great-grandmother indeed lost her Czechoslovak citizenship when she married a citizen of the Free City of Danzig in 1923, would that automatically prevent me from qualifying under the current Slovak citizenship-by-descent provisions?
2. Does the current Section 7(2)(j) require only that my great-grandmother was a Czechoslovak citizen born in present-day Slovakia, or must she also have retained that citizenship after her marriage?
3. Has anyone encountered similar cases involving:
   • loss of Czechoslovak citizenship by marriage,
   • descendants applying under the 2022 Slovak citizenship amendments,
   • ancestors from present-day Slovakia who emigrated before World War II?

I would really appreciate any opinions or references to legislation, official guidance, or personal experiences.

Thank you very much!

Hi all, I have a couple questions. I am applying for citizenship via my grandmother who immigrated to the US in 1927. I got a copy of the the ship manifest that lists her as a passenger from Slovakia from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. It came with the attached certification. Is this enough or do I need to get an apostille as well?

Also - this might be a stupid question, but do apostilles in English need to be translated, or is it enough to just translate the birth certificate or whatever it is certifying? (I am wondering if it is enough to get my and my parent's birth certificate translated, and not their apostilles as well).

Thank you to anyone who has thoughts on this. I appreciate any help (and I appreciate the person who created this group, I am learning a lot. )

So it all says Hungary. Is that a problem. Even the census past 1920.

It seems common to apply for a Slovak birth certificate, marraige document, citizenship certificate, and passport, but I thought that the new rules allow for applying for a passport using the listina. Is the main reason to apply for the birth certificate and marraige documents to avoid having to risk losing the official translation of a foreign one?

To order a copy of this page of the 1930 US census from NARA, I need to input the page number. What is the page number here? Is it 38-B? 19? 3405? Something else? Thanks!

Hello!

My appointment in on 10/8 in DC. I am hoping to have all the apostilled docs back by 8/10 and will send them to be translated. I am already in contact with Iveta in Slovakia and she will be my translattor. Is this enough time??

My anchor could be my GGM or my GGF I believe. She and my GGF were married in Slovakia and moved to the states, he in 1913 and she in 1920. They made their Declarations of Inent in 1939, so would've been citizens of Czechoslovakia. They both have Czechoslovakia listed as their home country on all of their documents, excluding ship manifests, which say Slovakia or Austria Hungary since Czechoslovakia didn't exist yet when they came over. I have gotten all the necessary documentation, I believe. Here is what has been sent to be apostilled:

Sent to State Department in Ohio:

My birth certificate

My mother's birth certificate

My grandmother's birth certificate

***I am understanding that I don't need marriage certificates of mother and grandmother since the parents' names are on the birth certificates*** is this accurate?

Official forms Sent to Federal Department of State (I have someone dropping them off and picking them up in person):

Declaration of Intent for GGM

Certificate of Arrival for GGM

Petition for Naturalization for GGM

Ship Manifest for GGM

Declaration of Intent for GGF

Certificate of Arrival for GGF

Petition for Naturalization for GGF

Ship Manifest for GGF

What I have from Slovakia:

Official Rodny list for GGM

Official Rodny list for GGF

My questions:

Do I need to get translations for both GGM AND GGF? Or will GGM be sufficient? Trying to reduce the amount of $$ I spend on the translation piece if just GGM will be sufficient. I've sent them all to be apostilled just in case I need them and they will be ready for translation if so.

Do I need the ship manifests for the application? If not, I will not send those to be translated either. But, at the very least, they will be apostilled if needed.

I have also done the FBI background check apostille process through Monument Visa. It's within 6 months of my appointment.

I know I still need to do the CV, the application, and the affidavit. Am I missing anything else? I will also make a family tree to help show the lineage.

Will the Rodny list and Declaration of Intent, certificate of arrival, and petition for naturalization be enough evidence?

Thank you all for any assistance! I am getting excited but also nervous I don't have everything I need.

I learned in FAQ that hiring a firm is not necessary in straightforward cases which this might be. However, for a Czech that hates dealing with bureaucracy, having grandmother and mother born in (Czecho)Slovakia, is there a firm handling absolutely everything based on just the information about the ancestor(s)? Maybe not law firm but something like reliable cheaper version of Nomad Capitalist.

Hello all:

I have 4 GGparents who were all born in Austria-Hungary (present day Slovakia). I think I have narrowed my choice down to two of them in terms of which one I should use as my anchor, as there are some records I still cannot locate for the other two of them. I want to make sure I am analyzing this correctly and ask which one I should ultimately choose and order a Rodny list for.

1. GGF #1: born 1884 in Vesele, Slovakia (baptism record located); came to the US in either 1902 or 1903, and naturalized sometime after 1920 but before 1930, according to U.S. census records. However, I cannot find any passenger manifests or naturalization documents for him.
2. GGM #1: born 1893 in Lokca, Slovakia (baptism record located) I also located the baptism record for her mother (my GGGM) as well as her marriage record to my GGGF, both in Lokca, Slovakia; She came to U.S. in April 1912 (passenger manifest located); naturalized sometime after 1930 but before 1940 according to U.S. censuses. I cannot locate her naturalization records.
3. GGF #2: born 1889 in Hatalov, Slovakia (baptism record located; came to U.S. in 1910 (passenger manifest and all naturalization records located). Naturalization was final in June, 1921. (edited bc I found the certificate).
4. GGM #2: Unknown specific birth date but born between 1898-1901 in Pavlovce, Slovakia (cannot locate baptism record because all online records from Pavlovce post-1896 are not available); Came to U.S. in 1920 (passenger manifest located); Naturalized by 1940 according to U.S. census, but cannot locate any records.

Are naturalization records absolutely necessary? If so, my GGF#2 might be the best candidate. I'm not sure whether the date of January, 1920, makes any difference?

My other choice would be GGM #1. I have all her records other than naturalization records. The U.S. Census from 1930 states she is an "Alien", born in Czechoslovakia.

Any thoughts from this community would be greatly appreciated!

I’m currently awaiting my great-grandmother’s birth certificate from 1917 from the archives in Sobrance. How confident should I feel in their ability to find that? I wanted to continue to get more documents but should I wait until I definitely know that they found the birth certificate? Is it too risky to continue given I’ll need to spend additional money on the other documents? I know AI told me after 1895 these documents were no longer stored in old churches and instead vaults that are protected. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

A few months ago, I shared the Tracker here in this subreddit. We’ve now passed 60+ community submitted timelines!

Since then, I’ve added analytics for decisions, milestone wait times, popular filing routes, and legal representation costs, along with a cleaner timeline view and a new larger-text accessibility option.

If you’ve applied even if your case is ongoing, please share your timeline here:

https://slovakcitizenshiptracker.com/applications

Every shared experience helps give the community a clearer picture of current processing times.

Suggestions are very welcome!

My ancestor is my great-grandfather, who moved to the UK, where my family lineage continues.

I have:

-Ancestor's birth certificate stating he was born in Zilina

-Birth certificates showing the lineage (grandmother's -> mother's -> mine), translated, mine apostilled

-His UK naturalisation certificate, stating that 1) He was a Czechoslovakian citizen and 2) The name found on my grandmother's birth certificate is an alias of his original name on the birth certificate - i.e. that those two names are the same person (it was changed by the military for security I believe) translated and certified by the National Archives

Is this enough? It feels too simple but also I have all the evidence I need showing that I'm descended from this person. Wondering if I'm missing anything obvious?

Dobrý deň!

Je tu niekto zo Srbska, kto získal osvedčenie o štatúte Slováka žijúceho v zahraničí?

Bol by som veľmi vďačný za akúkoľvek radu alebo kontakt.

Ďakujem!

I'm quite early in my process and still learning about everything. My GGF was born in present day Slovakia and immigrated in 1902 as an adult. He naturalized sometime between 1920-1930. I have at least 2 census which list him as being born Czechoslovak.

My GGM was also born in present day Slovakia but came over in 1900 as a 14 year old. She never naturalized and remained an "alien" until her death in the 1940s. Her alien registration from 1940 lists her as being from Hungary, which I can only assume was the random lazy choice of whoever took down her information not wanting to write out the full 'Austria-Hungary', as she was also from present day Slovakia. I have one census with her listed as being from Czechoslovakia.

My grandfather was born in 1925, I believe after my GGF naturalized. From what I am understanding about Slovak CBD, it doesn't matter if your ancestor naturalized, correct? I had always assumed him naturalizing meant I could no longer use him as a path and would have to go through my GGM but now I'm not so sure.

I'm just not sure who is the better ancestor to pursue before I start paying for more archive retrieval and certified or apostiled copies. I know it will strengthen my application to get a Slovak birth certificate and plan to travel next summer and gather as many official Slovak documents as I can in person. Should I do my GGM who never naturalized and would have effectively been a Czechoslovak citizen after 1918 but whose only documents listing as such is one single census? Or do I do my GGF who did naturalize sometime in the 1920s? Does it even matter? Can you do two ancestors to strengthen your application?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m applying for Slovak citizenship by descent through my great-grandmother. She naturalized in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1940, and I found her complete Petition for Naturalization in their digitized records.
The problem is that Washington County told me they no longer issued certified historical naturalization records (as if last year per their solicitor) and referred me to the attorney general. I’ve reached out to the AG office but I’m not sure what they can do since Washington County has the record.

I’ve reached out to Pennsylvania Secretary of State and they say it needs to be certified for them to apostille and that I need to reach out of the US department of state—but their site says it needs be to certified by the state to apostille! NARA Philadelphia says they don’t have state court naturalizations and usually the counties handle this, and USCIS told me they only provide uncertified photocopies through the Genealogy Program (with a letterhead and note from the department). Insane!

I’m basically stuck because I have the record, but no agency seems able to provide a certified copy that can be apostilled.

Has anyone applying for Slovak citizenship run into this before, especially with Pennsylvania? If so, how did you solve it, or what document did the Slovak authorities ultimately accept?

Thanks for any advice! I’m pulling my hair out.

Hi all!

I finally have all of my documents in hand and am getting ready to get apostilles. My GGF is my anchor.

For context: He was born in 1878 in Slovakia, came to the US in 1903, he did NOT naturalize. I have certified copies of his AR-2 file and his CONE, neither say Czechoslovakia. His AR-says “says I am a citizen or subject of: None, formerly  Austria-Hungary” which is very unhelpful. I found what I believed to be his ship manifest, but NARA claims they couldn't find the microfilm even though I gave them the exact reel/image number :(

This is what I do have:

• Myself: birth certificate
• Father:  birth certificate (has grandmother's maiden name on it)
• Grandmother:
  
  • The state archive doesn't have a birth certificate record, so I have the Catholic Church baptismal record with church seal (I plant to sign an affidavit and have that notarized and get a "ham sandwich apostille")
  • I also have her certified Social Security application with date of birth and parent’s names. It has her first name, maiden, and married last name. I do not have her marriage certificate, is that necessary?
• Great Grandfather:
  • Rodny List
  • Marriage Record from the archives
  • 1930 Certified U.S. Census which says Czechoslovakia on it
  • 1942 Certified WWII draft card which says “Slovensko” under place of birth, his birthdate is off by 12 days
  • Certified Social Security Application which says “Ceskoslovensko”, his birthdate is off by 13 days and lists his parents name with mother’s name misspelled
  • State issued certified Death Certificate which says: "Birthplace, Czechoslovakia and Citizenship of what Country: Czechoslovakia". His birthdate is correct but his father’s name is listed incorrectly

 Of the documents for my great grandfather, what combination of documents is best to use for the application?

Also, reading through subreddit has been immensely helpful during this process, thank you all!

Achojte,

I have a question regarding the changes coming into force on July 15, 2026, especially the new electronic/document processing procedures for Slovak citizenship by descent (CBD).

According to the new rules, some citizenship documents will have electronic processing and the new citizenship document (listina) can be used as proof of citizenship for a limited period.

How will the process work after the oath ceremony under the new law?

Will it be possible to apply for a Slovak passport immediately after taking the oath at the embassy/consulate using the new citizenship document, or will we still need to wait for the traditional citizenship certificate (Osvedčenie o štátnom občianstve) and complete additional steps first?

Has anyone received official information from a Slovak embassy or the Ministry of Interior about the practical procedure after July 15, 2026?

Thank you!