An English-speaking attorney specialising in immigration and corporate law reviews your request and gives you a written recommendation: whether and when to move from a sole trader licence (živnosť) to an s.r.o., what to do with your živnosť, and how to keep your current status.

It suits you if you trade under a živnosť on a business residence permit and are considering moving all or part of your business into an s.r.o.

Why plan the move

For a foreign national on a business residence permit, the move changes more than taxes and contributions. Your public health insurance rests on the živnosť, and so does the basis on which you renew your residence permit. In its first tax period a company pays no minimum tax, so when you renew as its director (konateľ) you may have no paid tax to show for that period. And the move itself must be reported to the Foreign Police (cudzinecká polícia) straight away, not at your next renewal.

Read more in our article on moving from a živnosť to an s.r.o. and watch the Lawvia podcast episode (in Russian with English subtitles).

What is included

• a review of your documents and questions before the call;
• an online call with the attorney, up to 30 minutes;
• a written recommendation and, if the move makes sense, a plan with dates.

What the attorney will cover

• whether to move all of your business into an s.r.o., part of it, or nothing for now, given your turnover, expenses and contributions;
• when to set up the company around your residence permit renewal date, and on what basis to renew next time;
• how the move affects relatives who hold residence permits for family reunification (zlúčenie rodiny) with you;
• what to do with your živnosť: keep some of its activities, suspend it or close it, and how that affects public health insurance, including your children's;
• who should be the shareholders and the director if you will have business partners in the company;
• which notifications of the move are required, including to the Foreign Police, and when to file them;
• which registration documents to prepare in advance, such as the director's criminal record certificate.

How it works

1. Pay for the consultation.
2. A Lawvia specialist gets in touch, arranges a time for your call with the attorney and asks for the details and documents needed.
3. The attorney reviews your documents in advance and then discusses the move with you online.
4. Within three working days of the call, you receive a written recommendation and, if the move makes sense, a plan with dates.
5. If the move makes sense, an invoice for the transition package comes with the plan.

What you will need

• details of your residence permit: its purpose and expiry date;
• your živnosť's identification number (IČO);
• your živnosť's income and expenses for last year, ideally your tax return;
• what the company will do, whether it will have business partners and what turnover you expect;
• your family: which relatives, such as your spouse or children, hold residence permits for family reunification with you;
• your current health insurance and that of your family members: commercial or public, and if public, with which insurer (VšZP, Dôvera or Union).

Price

The consultation costs €149. If the move makes sense, we handle it end to end, and as a package it costs less than the services bought separately:

In the package, the attorney prepares the company documents for your case and files the application for registration, and under a power of attorney files every notification the law requires on your behalf. Our partners provide the registered office address.

You pay in steps: €149 for the consultation now, and the remaining €839 once you have the plan and decide to go ahead. The package can be paid in instalments, usually two payments of 50%; we agree the terms individually. If the attorney advises against the move, you pay only €149 for the consultation.

Prices are for a company with one shareholder who is also the director. In other cases, the s.r.o. formation costs €890 and the package €1,088. If you have your own registered office address, the package is €99 less.

The consultation is online and in English; you can also communicate in Slovak or Russian. To set up the company, you only need to come in person to sign the documents.

For the duration of the move, we recommend adding Guardian Shield: letters from the Foreign Police about your case go to the attorney, and you receive scans with explanations. €259 for 12 months.

Guarantee

If it turns out the service is not right for your case, we will tell you before any work starts and offer a suitable alternative or refund your money.

Lawvia is not a government authority. Residence permit decisions are made by the Foreign Police, and entries in the Commercial Register are made by the registry court or by a notary acting as registrar. We provide professional support through partner attorneys registered with the Slovak Bar Association.

Questions? Write to us at questions@lawvia.sk