Slovakia's care homes are short of staff and Slovakia's nurse-recognition rules are among the strictest in Central Europe: a Philippine nurse becomes a Slovak nurse only after a supplementary examination held in Slovak. Caregivers are the realistic route; nurses are a two-year project; a government-to-government programme does not exist. This page says which is which so that a provider plans the right one.
Slovak social-service providers employ caregivers on temporary residence for employment like any other worker — vacancy notified twenty working days before filing, the shortage-list exemption only where the regional list includes care occupations (on the Q4 2026 kraj lists we checked — Trnava, Žilina, Košice — caregiver codes 5321/5322 do not appear, so the labour-market test runs; nurse code 2221 is listed in Žilina and Košice), a €250 fee, a decision within sixty days (thirty on the shortage track), the visa in Jakarta. Slovak social-services law requires an accredited caregiver course for the role; where the Philippine TESDA Caregiving qualification is not accepted as equivalent, the course is completed in Slovakia in the first months, and we select caregivers whose training and experience make that a formality. Slovak is not a permit condition but is the condition of the work: we recommend A2 taught in Manila before departure and B1 in the first year, financed by the employer, and we say so before a brief is costed.
A Slovak employer hires a Filipino on a temporary residence permit for the purpose of employment under § 23 of Act 404/2011: the employer notifies the vacancy to the labour office (ÚPSVaR) at least 20 working days before the residence application is filed, the labour office issues a confirmation that the vacancy may be filled by a third-country national — without a labour-market test when the job is a shortage occupation in the region on the quarterly ÚPSVaR list and the employer employs fewer than 45 % third-country nationals — and the Foreign Police decide on the residence within 60 days of a complete application — 30 days where the job is on the kraj shortage list and the employer meets the statutory condition (§ 33(8) Act 404/2011; 90 days is the general period for other residence purposes) (fee €250; renewal €140; residence card €10 or €39 for the two-day service). Since 15 July 2026 the permit is a single document for stay and work, the decision deadline runs from a complete application, the national visa issued for collecting the permit is valid 120 days, and a worker who loses the job has three months (six after two years' residence) to find another. The point most employers miss: a Filipino does not file in Manila. Residents of the Philippines apply for the Slovak national visa in person at the Slovak Embassy in Jakarta, which decides in five to seven working days; the Czech Embassy in Manila represents Slovakia for short-stay Schengen visas only.
A nurse trained outside the EU practises in Slovakia only after the Ministry of Education recognises the qualification through a supplementary examination — a theoretical and practical examination conducted in Slovak at a Slovak university or secondary health school, applied for at least thirty days before the examination date — followed by registration with the professional chamber. A Filipino BSN nurse with a PRC licence therefore needs professional Slovak before the examination; the realistic plan is eighteen to thirty months from recruitment to independent practice, with the nurse employed as a caregiver or health-care assistant in the meantime where the provider's structure allows. We run this route for providers who commit to the language programme and the timeline; we do not present a Filipino nurse as a Slovak nurse on arrival.
There is no Slovakia–Philippines agreement on health workers and no government-to-government care programme; the 2025 agreements on Filipino caregivers that circulated in the Slovak press concern Slovenia. On 28 September 2026 the DMW and the Slovak Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family signed a Joint Communiqué establishing a Labour Consultation Mechanism (Secretary Cacdac × Ambassador Koterec) — a consultation framework, not a recruitment programme; it changes no permit or recognition rule. Slovak providers recruit under the general rules through a DMW-licensed agency with MWO Vienna accreditation, and the Philippine side is the same as for any other occupation.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in Vienna, which has covered Slovakia since October 2024, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no applicant pays for an interview, a trade test or a place on a shortlist. Your company is the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the residence of aliens and Act No. 5/2004 Coll. on employment services as amended (Acts 151/2025 and 128/2026), the quarterly ÚPSVaR shortage list, the Slovak consular practice for Philippine residents and Philippine DMW rules.
Only after recognition through a supplementary examination held in Slovak and chamber registration — realistically eighteen to thirty months. Caregivers are the route that works in months.
Slovak law requires an accredited caregiver course; where the TESDA qualification is not accepted as equivalent, the course is completed in Slovakia in the first months.
No. Reports of such an agreement concern Slovenia. Slovak providers recruit under the general rules.
Not for the permit; for the work, yes in practice, and for nursing recognition by law. We recommend A2 before departure and B1 in the first year.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.