Coronavirus: Current information

All classes have been cancelled until further notice. In-person classes have changed to on-line and distance-learning means.

Organisation of the Summer term 2019/2020

Due to the situation with COVID-19 in Europe and the world, the rector of Comenius University has adopted the following regulations:

- Remote education will end on May 31st, 2020 at the latest (individual faculties may have different end dates, for more information contact the respective faculty officers)

- The exam period ends on July 4th, 2020 (remote online exams)

- Resits will take place from August 17th to August 31st 2020.

Only international students are allowed to stay at our dormitories. Please avoid unnecessary contact and follow the instructions of dormitory management. When at the dormitory, follow hygiene rules and behave in a responsible manner.

Always wear a protective mask/scarf/respirator covering your mouth and nose when going outside.

Wash your hands frequently with with soap and water  or with an alcohol-based hand rub.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.

Maintain at least 1 meter (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early.

Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance.

Regulation valid from April  6, 2020 (Monday) from 7.00 AM:       

If you have the right of entry or if you have a residence permit of Slovak Republic  and you wish to entry Slovak Republic, before you approach the border you need to register  via this on-line form: https://navraty.mzv.sk/?lang=en

After entering Slovak Republic you will be placed into a state quarantine center as close as possible to your place of residence. You will stay in this center until you are tested on COVID-19. After the test (if it is negative) you must stay in the home quarantine for another 14 days.

This regulation does not apply to:

- pregnant women;

- people with limited ability of orientation and/or movement;

- people with chronic respiratory disease, psychiatric diseases, with heart or blood-vessel diseases, with metabolic disorders, with epilepsy, with mental disorder, with serious diseases that require continuing time-repetitive injection treatment, handicapped people or people with other severe health disorders who subsequently and without delay delivers the proof of his/her diagnosis by his/her doctor;

- people over 75 years of age;

- people with diplomatic privileges and immunity valid for Slovak Republic;

and closely related people to above mentioned who are accompanying them when crossing the border of Slovak Republic. These people are ordered to stay in a home quarantine for 14 days.

Current restrictive measures in relation to the COVID-19:

From 13th March 2020 the ban to enter the territory of the Slovak Republic is applicable to all foreign nationals except for the following categories:

- Foreign nationals residing in the Slovak Republic based on the residence permit in accordance with the Act No. 404/2011 Coll on Residence of Foreigners and Amendment and Supplementation of Certain Acts;

The residence permit in accordance with the Act No. 404/2011 Coll. includes also:

  registered stay of the EU citizen and his/her family member;

  residence of the personnel of the diplomatic missions accredited in the Slovak Republic;

- Close relatives (spouse, minor child, parent of a minor child) of the citizen of the Slovak Republic;

- Foreign nationals employed in the Slovak Republic regularly travelling to the territory of the Slovak Republic for the work purposes (Confirmation from the employer must be presented at the border.);

- Holders of the local border traffic permit entering the territory of the Slovak Republic through the border between the Slovak Republic and Ukraine. 

- Diplomatic personnel of diplomatic missions.

If you would like to travel back to your home country, currently the only way is to use the help of your Embassy. Foreign embassies organize repatriations of their citizens by plane or by bus. Please have in mind that there may be some restrictions regarding the amount and/or weight of your luggage. Ask for details at your Embassy.

Free public transport for students will be cancelled until schools are re-open.

International railway and bus transport is cancelled. International flights are cancelled. Railway transport within Slovakia follows Saturday time schedule.

The only open shops in shopping malls will be supermarkets, drugstores and pharmacies.

Some shops (only small shops, not big ones like Obi, Hornbach etc.) are open: optics, bicycle shops, notaries, textile shops, paint shops, hardware stores, computer and telecommunications services, key services, garden shops. Please follow guides and restrictions set by shops – limitation of number of people in the shops, distance between customers).

Please do not go shopping between 09.00 and 12:00 – these hours are reserved for elderly people (over 65 years).

All shops will be closed on Sundays.

When standing in the queue, people are required to stand at least 2 meters from each other, both indoor and outdoor.

Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic - 0917 222 682, novykoronavirusuvzsr.sk  

Regional Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in Bratislava      0917 426 075

Regional Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in Žilina               0905 342 812

Regional Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in Banská Bystrica          0918 659 580

Regional Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in Nitra               0948 495 915

Regional Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in Trnava            0905 903 053

Regional Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in Trenčín           0911 763 203

Regional Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in Košice             0918 389 841

Regional Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in Prešov            0911 908 823

The expiration of temporary, permanent or tolerated stays of foreign citizens should be extended. Every stranger who has legally entered Slovak Republic should be able to reside in Slovakia one month after the end of the crisis situation (The crisis situation is currently on and no dates about its cancellation are set as yet). Time limits for the granting or renewal of the residence of foreigners in Slovakia will also be extended. During a crisis situation, the enforcement of the decision on administrative deportation should also be deferred. 

Regulation for foreign students and employees of Comenius University and their family members about the application for residence permit in the Slovak Republic and prolongation of residence permit in the Slovak Republic  during the limitation of hours of attendance of the Foreign Police Office.

Limitations of the hours of attendance  of the Foreign Police Office  are relevant for all applications except the following:

1. Citizens of third countries can  submit applications for residence permit renewal
2. Citizens of third countries can submit applications for permanent residence for an unlimited period of time (§ 46 of the Law about the residence of foreigners)
3. Other applications may be submitted only after the authorization from the director of the RHCP (Border and Foreign Police in Bratislava, Banská Bystrica or Prešov).

In the 3rd case, the applicant has to call the director of the corresponding police directory who has to approve of the application.

Contacts:

RHCP Bratislava – plk. PhDr. Jozef Jaško, num.: +421-9610-46630; cell.: +421908 712 833; email: jozef.jaskominv.sk

RHCP Banská Bystrica – plk. Ing. Jozef Masnica, num.: +421-96160-2580 ; cell.: +421907848696; email: jozef.masnicaminv.sk

RHCP Prešov – pplk. Mgr. Marek Šafár, num: +421- 96180 – 6100; cell.: +421917 619 890; email: marek.safarminv.sk

Residence registration of EU citizens and their family members is not possible for now. The right of abode is automatic, based on the law and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. These citizens can come to the Foreign Police Office for registration of residence as soon as the preventive measures  are cancelled. They will not be penalized for failing in their duty of registration of residence during the time of the preventive measures, according to the Law about the residence of foreigners, § 66 or § 70.

For foreigners with short-term residence (up to 90 days) who cannot leave the country because of the current situation, the procedure is as follows:

If the person has visa for a period of time shorter than 90 days, they can ask for prolongation (max. 90 days) at a corresponding Foreign Police Office. If the visa for 90 days is already granted and they still cannot leave the country, the person has to come to a Foreign Police Office immediately after expiration. They will receive a Declaration about administrative banishment,  without the ban on entering the country, with a 30-day time limit for leaving the country. During these 30 days they can stay in the Slovak Republic (they will be in the regime of staying in the Slovak Republic according to the Law about the residence of foreigners, § 61a). If the situation doesn’t change until the expiration of the 30-day  period, on the 30th day they should go to the same Foreign Police Office again and fill in the application  for prolongation of the time limit for leaving the country.  This limit will be prolonged according to the contemporary situation in the Slovak Republic, in the EU and in their country of origin (can be prolonged by several months). The same procedure with the Declaration about administrative  banishment will be applied also to visa-free foreigners 90 days after entering the Slovak Republic.

This is not valid for students (or employees of Comenius University) who are holders of the Certificate of a Slovak living abroad and made an application  for a temporary residence  according to the Law about the residence of foreigners, § 29. In this case, they can be in the Slovak Republic  until their application is resolved (or longer if the residence is granted).

You can come to the Foreign Police Office without any former telephonic or email communication but you have to obey the current hygienic measure: face mask or any other form of face protection.

Please do not spread unconfirmed information – there are many false articles and hoaxes at Facebook, Instagram etc. Before spreading the information, please double check it´s reliability at main well-known news portals. If the information appears at some small unknown portals and nowhere else, it is likely that this information is false or incomplete.

Besides well-known news portal you can check the information here:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

https://factcheck.afp.com/

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Wearing a protective face mask is obligatory outside one's home, including in the streets.

Measuring temperature is obligatory at the entrance to hospitals, factories, etc. (using a digital contactless thermometer measuring temperature on the forehead).

All sport events, cultural events, masses, and other social events are cancelled until further notice.

Official national website on Covid-19 (in Slovak, English, Hungarian language): https://www.korona.gov.sk/en/

World Health Organisation: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

World Health Organisation advice for the public: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

Corona cases in Slovakia (graphs, in Slovak language): https://www.health.gov.sk/Clanok?covid-19-grafy