The child allowance is a state social benefit through which the state provides support to eligible individuals for the upbringing and maintenance of an unprovided-for child. The supplement to the child allowance is a state social benefit provided by the state to the eligible person in addition to the child allowance for the upbringing and maintenance of an unprovided-for child, for which a tax bonus cannot be claimed according to a special regulation.

The allowance is paid monthly, up to the child reaching 25 years of age, provided the condition of being unprovided-for is met.

An unprovided-for child, for the purposes of the child allowance, is considered a child who: a) is consistently preparing for a profession through full-time study at a secondary or tertiary educational institution, b) cannot consistently prepare for a profession through study or engage in gainful activity due to illness or injury, c) is exempted from the obligation to attend school, d) is educated in a primary school for students with health disabilities, or e) based on an assessment of a child’s long-term unfavorable health condition, is incapable of consistent preparation for a profession or engaging in gainful activity, but only up to the child’s legal adulthood.

An unprovided-for child, for the purposes of the child allowance, does not include a child: a) entitled to a disability pension, or b) who has obtained tertiary education of the second degree.

The supplement to the child allowance is paid monthly alongside the child allowance.

Eligible Person The eligible person entitled to claim the child allowance includes:

parent of an unprovided-for child, a parent to whom the child has been entrusted for personal care based on a court decision, an individual to whom an unprovided-for child is entrusted for substitute care replacing parental care based on a legally binding court decision, an unprovided-for adult child in the absence of the child’s parent, an unprovided-for adult child with adjusted maintenance obligations from parents, an unprovided-for adult child entrusted for substitute care replacing parental care until reaching adulthood, an unprovided-for adult child who has entered into marriage, an unprovided-for adult child whose marriage has ended, a minor parent granted parental rights and obligations.

If multiple eligible persons meet the conditions outlined by this law, the child allowance for the same child belongs to only one of them, based on their agreement.

If a court assigns a minor child to alternating personal care of both parents or if a court approves a parental agreement, the allowance and supplement to the allowance will be paid to the eligible person who was receiving the allowance and supplement before the assignment of the minor child to alternating personal care of both parents or before the approval of the parental agreement, unless the parents of the minor child agree in writing on a change of the eligible person.

If the parents to whom the child has been entrusted for alternating personal care agree in writing on the alternating receipt of the allowance and supplement, each parent can claim the entitlement, but for a minimum period of six consecutive calendar months.

Eligible Person for Supplement Claim The eligible person entitled to claim the supplement to the child allowance includes:

parent of an unprovided-for child or an individual to whom an unprovided-for child is entrusted for substitute care replacing parental care based on a legally binding court decision. If multiple eligible persons meet the conditions outlined by this law, the supplement to the child allowance for the same child belongs to the eligible person entitled to the child allowance.

Conditions for Entitlement Conditions for entitlement to the child allowance are:

the care of the eligible person for an unprovided-for child, permanent or temporary residence of the eligible person (applies to foreigners) in the territory of the Slovak Republic or is a person according to regulations of the European Parliament and Council regulating the coordination of social security systems within the EU, The entitlement to the allowance does not arise if: the unprovided-for child receives care in a facility for social and legal child protection or in a special educational facility due to a court decision on institutional care, interim measure, or decision on imposing protective education or educational measures, the unprovided-for child is in detention or serving a custodial sentence, the eligible person and the unprovided-for child reside in a state that is not a member state of the European Union, a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation, and during their stay in this state, the eligible person is not publicly insured for health in the Slovak Republic.

The supplement to the child allowance is provided for meeting the following conditions:

fulfillment of the conditions for entitlement to the allowance, receiving old-age pension, early old-age pension, disability pension due to a decrease in the ability to engage in gainful activity by more than 70% according to a special regulation, length-of-service pension according to a special regulation, after reaching the age required for entitlement to an old-age pension according to a special regulation or receiving a pension of the same type abroad by the entitled person and another natural person who can claim a tax bonus according to §33 of Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on income tax (second parent, second substitute parent, or spouse of the parent who is not the parent of the unprovided-for child, if they live with the unprovided-for child in the household), not engaging in gainful activity by the entitled person and another natural person who can claim a tax bonus according to §33 of Act No. 595/2003 Coll. (second parent, second substitute parent, or spouse of the parent who is not the parent of the unprovided-for child, if they live with the unprovided-for child in the household), non-acknowledgment of a tax bonus for the unprovided-for child for which the eligible person claimed entitlement to the child allowance.

Fulfillment of the conditions for entitlement to the supplement to the allowance is monitored for the eligible person and simultaneously for another natural person who can claim the tax bonus, i.e., for the second parent, second substitute parent, or the parent’s spouse, who is not the parent of the unprovided-for child, if they live with the unprovided-for child in the household.

Request for Allowance An eligible individual can claim a child allowance by submitting a written request at the labor, social affairs, and family office corresponding to their permanent or temporary residence (applies to foreigners only). The eligible person can also file an electronic request, signed with a qualified electronic signature.

The supplement to the allowance is claimed by submitting a written request at the labor, social affairs, and family office that disburses the child allowance.

The application form for the allowance is available at the labor, social affairs, and family offices or can be downloaded in .pdf format. You can also apply for the allowance electronically (requires an electronic ID card – eID and a qualified electronic signature).

Claim Process The entitlement to a child allowance is determined through administrative proceedings according to Act No. 71/1967 Coll. on Administrative Proceedings, at the labor, social affairs, and family office where the claim was made.

No written decision is issued for the approval of the child allowance.

A written decision in the allowance process is obligatory in case of:

Rejection of the allowance request due to the non-fulfillment of legal conditions by the eligible person. Suspension and resumption of allowance payment. Reduction, withdrawal, or refund of the allowance. Upon the child reaching 25 years old or acquiring higher education of the second degree, the labor, social affairs, and family office do not issue a decision to withdraw the child allowance.

Allowance Amounts The child allowance is set at €60.

The supplement to the allowance is €30.

The child allowance increases by €110 for the calendar month in which an underprivileged child first attends the first year of primary school.

Payment of Child Allowance The labor, social affairs, and family office pay the allowance to the eligible person who qualifies and fulfills the entitlement conditions. The allowance is disbursed for the entire calendar month, even if the entitlement conditions were only met for part of the month. The same child receives the allowance only once per calendar month.

Payment Regulations:

It’s disbursed monthly in arrears, no later than the end of the following calendar month after the one in which the eligible person met the allowance conditions. The allowance is credited to the individual’s bank account or a branch of a foreign bank authorized to operate in the territory of the Slovak Republic, or upon the request of the eligible person, the allowance is paid in cash. If an eligible person requests a change in the payment method, the labor, social affairs, and family office are obliged to comply. The allowance is not paid to states that are not EU member states, contracting parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation.

Suspension of Allowance Payment The labor, social affairs, and family office decide to suspend the allowance payment to the eligible person if:

There is a reason to investigate whether the eligible person still meets the entitlement conditions. The eligible person failed to fulfill obligations as stipulated by the law (did not report decisive facts for the entitlement, amount, or payment) or Another EU member state is responsible for providing the allowance or similar family benefit.

The labor, social affairs, and family office:

Stop the allowance payment starting from the calendar month following the one for which the allowance was already paid. Issue a decision to resume the allowance payment from the calendar month following the one in which the eligible person demonstrated that the reasons for the payment suspension ceased. Also issue a decision to compensate for the period of suspended payment if the entitlement conditions were met during this time.

If there is a change in the eligible person within a month, the allowance will be paid to the person who fulfilled the conditions at the end of that particular calendar month. The person meeting the conditions must apply for the allowance and supplement by submitting a new request at the end of the respective month.

If there is a change in the permanent or temporary residence of the eligible person (applies to foreigners only) during a month, the new labor, social affairs, and family office will pay the allowance at the earliest in the calendar month following the one in which the change of residence was reported to this labor, social affairs, and family office.

If the eligible person passes away after claiming the allowance, and the entitlement conditions were met on the day of their death, the allowance will be paid to another eligible person or the municipality where the underprivileged child has a permanent or temporary residence (applies to foreigners).

If the eligible person does not meet the entitlement conditions or fails to prove decisive facts for assessing the entitlement, the labor, social affairs, and family office will issue a decision rejecting the application.

Special Recipient If the eligible person does not use the child allowance for its intended purpose and this is not provided through a special recipient, the labor, social affairs, and family office, either on their initiative or upon the initiative of another legal or natural person, will issue a decision to stop the allowance payment to the eligible person and redirect the allowance to:

Another eligible person, or The institution for social care of children and social guardianship or a special educational institution where the underprivileged child is placed. If the reason for the payment to another entity ceases, the labor, social affairs, and family office will decide to stop the payment to the other entity and resume the payment to the eligible person.

Special Recipient The labor, social affairs, and family office decide on designating a special recipient of the allowance if: a) From a written notification from the school director, it appears that the eligible person does not ensure proper attendance of compulsory schooling for the underprivileged child. b) It is discovered that the eligible person does not use the allowance for its intended purpose. c) According to the notification from the competent authority pursuant to Act No. 372/1990 Coll. on Offenses as amended, the underprivileged child to whom the eligible person is receiving the allowance and supplement has committed an offense; this applies even if the underprivileged child had not reached the age of 15 at the time of the offense and for this reason, the competent authority postponed the matter or terminated the offense proceedings. d) A disciplinary measure has been imposed on the underprivileged child or the parent of the underprivileged child, or e) The allowance and supplement are paid to an eligible person who is a beneficiary of material need assistance and contributions to material need assistance or is a natural person who is jointly assessed and provided with material need assistance and contributions to material need assistance through a special recipient.

The special recipient of the allowance and supplement according to points a) to d) is the municipality where the eligible person has a permanent or temporary residence, or if justified, another person.

The payer designates a special recipient according to point c) for a period of three consecutive calendar months. If the underprivileged child does not commit another offense within three consecutive calendar months following the calendar month in which the payer decided to designate a special recipient according to point c), the payer decides to release the special recipient of the allowance and supplement.

If the underprivileged child commits an offense again during the designation of the special recipient according to point c), the payer decides to withdraw the allowance and supplement for this underprivileged child. The entitlement to the allowance and supplement may arise for this underprivileged child at the earliest after three consecutive calendar months following the withdrawal of the allowance and supplement, during which the underprivileged child did not commit an offense.

When determining the specific recipient of the allowance and allowance supplement according to letters a), b), d), or e), if an underage unprovided-for child commits an offense, the payer decides on the withdrawal of the allowance and allowance supplement for this underage unprovided-for child. The entitlement to the allowance and allowance supplement for the underage unprovided-for child may arise at the earliest:

a) after the expiration of three consecutive calendar months from the withdrawal of the allowance and allowance supplement, during which the underage unprovided-for child did not commit an offense, or b) from the calendar month in which the underage unprovided-for child starts systematically preparing for a profession before reaching legal adulthood.

The payer decides on the release of the specific recipient of the allowance and allowance supplement determined according to: a) letter a), if the eligible person ensures proper fulfillment of the compulsory school attendance of the unprovided-for child, but only after the expiration of three consecutive calendar months from the determination of the specific recipient, b) letter b), if the reasons for its determination have ceased, c) letter d) after evaluating and revoking the educational measure if it fulfilled its purpose.

If the eligible person does not use the child allowance for the intended purpose, the labor office, social affairs, and family office, on its initiative or upon the initiative of another legal or natural person, issues a decision to suspend the payment of the allowance to the eligible person and to redirect the allowance to:

another eligible person, the municipality where the unprovided-for child has permanent or temporary residence (applies to foreigners), or a social service facility where the unprovided-for child is placed.

Responsibilities of the eligible person: The eligible person claiming the allowance is obliged to:

prove decisive facts influencing the entitlement, amount, and payment of the allowance, within 8 days, notify in writing any changes in decisive facts influencing the entitlement to the allowance or submit information about these changes to the relevant labor, social affairs, and family office in writing (in person or by mail) or through the electronic service of the General Agenda, signed with a qualified electronic signature. The 8-day period starts from the first day following the day when the change occurred. ensure the fulfillment of the purpose of the allowance. The eligible person is not obliged to prove facts that are known to the payer from the performance of their other activities, e.g., actions related to other family benefits or assistance in material need.

Membership of the Slovak Republic in the EU is an important factor affecting the entitlement, payment, and amount of the child allowance depending on the place (state) of employment of the applicant and their spouse. The recipient of the allowance is obliged to notify the payer within the legally prescribed period of any change in the state of employment of the parent or spouse within the EU. The eligible person – a parent of an unprovided-for child, a parent to whom the child has been entrusted for personal care based on a court decision, a person to whom the unprovided-for child has been entrusted for substitute care replacing parental care based on a legally binding court decision, or a minor parent who has been granted parental rights and obligations, is obliged to, after the unprovided-for child reaches the age of three years, notify the payer in writing or through electronic means with a qualified electronic signature of how and where the care for this unprovided-for child will be provided until the start of compulsory school attendance, during the entitlement to the allowance and allowance supplement. The obligation according to the preceding sentence does not apply in cases where care for the unprovided-for child is provided by the parent of the unprovided-for child or a person to whom the unprovided-for child has been entrusted for substitute care based on a court decision and if this person receives maternity or parental benefits.

Termination of entitlement: An applicant can retroactively claim entitlement to the allowance for a maximum period of six months.