Slovak A2 language exam — frequently asked questions

What is the Slovak A2 language exam needed for?

It is a condition for being granted long-term residence, i.e. EU long-term resident status. For that application the foreigners police require proof of Slovak at CEFR level A2. The obligation was introduced by Act No. 160/2024 Coll. and has applied since 15 July 2025.

Source: Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the residence of foreigners — slov-lex.sk · Long-term residence — IOM Migration Information Centre

Do I need the exam for permanent residence, temporary residence, work or study?

No. The Act attaches the language exam to long-term residence and to nothing else. Permanent residence, temporary residence (work, business, study, family reunification) and temporary protection carry no language condition at all. We flag this deliberately: several commercial pages advertise the exam as a requirement for permanent or temporary residence, or for work or study, and that is simply not true. Before you pay for an exam, check whether your application actually requires it.

Source: Act No. 404/2011 Coll. — slov-lex.sk

Since when does this apply, and what changes on 15 July 2026?

The obligation has applied since 15 July 2025. The amendment in force from 15 July 2026 (Act No. 128/2026 Coll.) only relaxes it: the exam may be taken at a language school or at a public university, the level required becomes "at least A2" (so a higher-level certificate counts upwards), and the certificate may be older than 90 days.

Source: Changes in the amendment to the Residence Act — IOM MIC · Act No. 404/2011 Coll. — slov-lex.sk

What score do I need to pass?

At least 70 %. The guidance issued by the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic on 27 October 2025, under § 54(4) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll., states literally: "A candidate passes the language exam if, within the assessment of the written and the oral exam, they obtain at least 70 % of the total number of points that can be obtained." So the 70 % is measured across both parts together. Grading uses the four-grade scale of Decree No. 321/2008 Coll.: 100–90 excellent, 89–80 very good, 79–70 good, 69–0 fail. Some centres — the state language school in Bratislava among them — apply a stricter house rule and require 70 % in the written part and 70 % in the oral part separately. That is their own arrangement rather than the wording of the guidance, so always confirm the rules with the centre you register at.

Source: Ministry guidance of 27 October 2025 — minedu.sk · Decree No. 321/2008 Coll. — slov-lex.sk

Is the oral part compulsory, and what happens if I fail the written part?

The oral part is compulsory — the Ministry guidance prescribes both forms of the exam, written and oral. The order is sequential: only candidates who pass the written part go on to the oral one. If you fail the written part you do not sit the oral part and the exam is failed as a whole.

Source: Ministry guidance of 27 October 2025 — minedu.sk

What does the exam consist of?

Slovakia has no single national exam paper. The Ministry guidance sets out who may examine, which skills are tested and the 70 % threshold — but not the number of tasks, the distribution of points or the timings, so centres genuinely differ. Our sample tests therefore follow the published model test of Studia Academica Slovaca (Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava), which has four modules:

• Reading comprehension and grammar — 5 tasks, 25 points, 30 minutes (grammar is part of this module; there is no separate grammar module)
• Listening comprehension — 4 tasks, 25 points, 25 minutes
• Writing — 2 tasks, 20 points, 30 minutes (50–60 and 70–80 words)
• Speaking (oral part) — not published in the model test; centre descriptions point to a communicative situation plus a picture description

Source: Standardised A2–C1 testing — SAS, Comenius University · A2 model test (PDF)

How long does the exam take?

There is no single national timing and centres differ widely — we found written parts ranging from 60 to 120 minutes and oral parts from a few minutes to twice 20 minutes. Your exact schedule comes with the invitation from the centre where you sit the exam. In practice, plan for a whole day: the written part is marked by two independent markers and the oral part follows the same day for those who progressed.

How much does the exam cost?

Each school sets its own fee (Decree No. 321/2008 Coll. speaks of a fee determined by the head of the language school), so there is no single national price. Published prices currently run from roughly 100 to 180 euros, with 100 euros charged by the state language school. Confirm the fee with the centre directly — it changes every school year, and some centres add a surcharge for an individual or earlier date.

Source: Decree No. 321/2008 Coll. — slov-lex.sk

Where can I sit the exam?

At a language school meeting the three conditions in the Ministry guidance: it is entered in the network of schools and school facilities (municipal, regional, private and church language schools all qualify), it teaches Slovak as a foreign language to foreigners in the current school year, and its teachers meet the qualification requirements of Act No. 138/2019 Coll. and Decree No. 173/2023 Coll. A separate authorisation to run state language exams is not required under the guidance — the Ministry publishes certificate templates for schools that do not hold one. Exams are held in Bratislava as well as in Košice, Nitra, Žilina, Poprad, Banská Bystrica and other towns. From 15 July 2026 a public university is added as a possible venue.

Source: Ministry guidance of 27 October 2025 — minedu.sk · Language-school education — minedu.sk

How do I register?

Registration goes directly through the individual school — an online form or an e-shop order, with the fee paid in advance. You then receive an invitation with the time, the place and the documents to bring. There are no national exam sessions: each school publishes its own rolling calendar, and places per date are limited, so register early. Candidates aged 15 to 18 need a parent or guardian to sign the application; the guardian waits outside the exam room.

Who is exempt from the exam?

Under § 52(7) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll., the foreigners police grant long-term residence without a passed language exam if the applicant:

• was under 14 at the date of application (there is no upper age exemption — a seventy-year-old applicant is still obliged to sit it)
• holds temporary residence as a Slovak living abroad
• obtained lower secondary education at a school teaching in Slovak (with no time limit on this route)
• studied for at least two school years at a Slovak-medium primary or secondary school, or for at least two academic years in a Slovak-language university programme — and not more than five years have passed since

Source: Act No. 404/2011 Coll. — slov-lex.sk · Long-term residence — IOM Migration Information Centre

Is there a medical exemption?

The Ministry of the Interior may waive the requirement to submit proof of Slovak if the applicant cannot meet it because of a permanent adverse physical or mental health condition. This is a discretionary decision of the Ministry, not an automatic entitlement, so do not count on it in advance and check the procedure with the foreigners police.

Source: Act No. 404/2011 Coll. — slov-lex.sk

Does this affect EU citizens and people under temporary protection?

Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland and their family members hold a right of residence under free-movement rules, do not apply for long-term residence under the Residence Act, and are therefore never obliged. People under temporary protection are not obliged while they hold that status; the obligation can arise later if they move onto a residence track and reach the conditions for long-term residence.

Will a certificate from another exam, or from Czech, be accepted?

From 15 July 2026 the Act requires a level of "at least A2", so proof of a higher level of Slovak counts upwards. We found no provision recognising a Czech-language certificate, or one in any other language, as a substitute — do not rely on it, and have your specific document confirmed by the foreigners police in advance. A course-attendance confirmation does not replace the exam; only the exam certificate is accepted.

Source: Act No. 404/2011 Coll. — slov-lex.sk

What does the certificate look like and how long is it valid?

The certificate is issued on a template published by the Ministry of Education. It carries a single assessment field — one word from the four-grade scale (excellent, very good, good, fail) — the CEFR level and a reference to § 17a(2) of Act No. 245/2008 Coll. The official certificate does not report percentages per skill; some schools offer a more detailed report as an extra. Its validity is not time-limited, and from 15 July 2026 it may expressly be submitted even if it is older than 90 days.

Source: Ministry guidance and certificate templates — minedu.sk

What if I fail?

If you fail the written part you do not progress to the oral one and must register for a new date. If you pass the written part but fail the oral one, some centres let you repeat the oral part alone at a later date, paying the full fee again — but check the retake rules with your centre, as they differ. The Act sets no limit on the number of attempts.

What are the pass rates and how many people sit the exam?

Neither pass rates nor candidate numbers are published. The data exists — the Ministry guidance requires schools to record the number of candidates and the numbers of successful and unsuccessful ones for each sitting — but nobody publishes it, so we do not estimate it either. For a sense of the size of the affected group: 31,498 people held long-term residence on 31 December 2025, 23 % more than a year earlier, and around 6,400 long-term residence decisions were issued in 2025, a figure that includes renewals as well as first grants.

Source: Border and Foreign Police statistical yearbooks — minv.sk

What about citizenship — is it the same exam?

No. For a citizenship application, § 7(1)(j) of Act No. 40/1993 Coll. requires knowledge of Slovak and general knowledge about Slovakia to be verified in an interview at the district office. No CEFR level is specified, no model paper or pass mark is published, and our materials therefore do not prepare you for that interview.

Source: Act No. 40/1993 Coll. on citizenship — slov-lex.sk · Granting of Slovak citizenship — minv.sk

How should I prepare?

The most effective way is to practise each part in its real format: reading with grammar, listening, writing and speaking. This site offers free sample tests built on the structure of the SAS model test, plus writing and speaking exercises with AI feedback that shows you what is missing from your answer. The AI assessment is a practice aid, not an official exam result.

Why do the figures about this exam differ from site to site?

Because there is no single national exam paper. The Ministry of Education guidance of 27 October 2025 settles three things: which school may examine, which skills are tested, and that passing requires at least 70 % of the total points available. It does not set the number of tasks, the distribution of points, the length of the exam or the word counts — each centre decides those itself. That is why published descriptions differ on timing (we found written parts from 60 to 120 minutes) and on fees (roughly 100 to 180 euros). What binds you is always what the centre you register with publishes. Our sample tests follow the SAS model test of Comenius University, and we say so openly so you know exactly what you are practising.

Is the exam hard? What trips people up most?

We will not quote pass rates — they are not published and we are not going to invent them. Schools are required by the guidance to record the numbers of successful and unsuccessful candidates for each sitting, but nobody publishes that data. Three things can be named honestly. First, 70 % is a high bar, and it is measured across the written and the oral part together, so an average around half is not enough. Second, the order: if you fail the written part you do not sit the oral part at all. Third, the oral part is what people prepare for least, even though it is compulsory and has no published model test — all we have is the Ministry’s specification of skills and the descriptions individual centres give.

When should I sit the exam relative to filing my application?

Before you file. The certificate has no expiry date, and from 15 July 2026 it may expressly be submitted even if it is older than 90 days, so sitting the exam early costs you nothing. Dates, on the other hand, are published on a rolling basis and places per date are limited, so leaving it late is the only real risk. Bear in mind too that if you fail you register for a new date and pay the fee again.

Does the AI feedback on this site replace the real exam?

No. Your written and spoken answers here are assessed by an AI system so that you can see what is missing and what to fix — it is a practice aid, never an official result. The exam is administered, and the certificate issued, by a language school, not by us. Likewise, our sample tests are not official papers: they are built on the structure of the published SAS model test of Comenius University so that you can rehearse the format.