Back in 2023, the citizenship by descent was adopted as a new regime. Naturally, it took while until things settled a bit, and practice of some kind emerged. Here are some basic findings from the last couple of months:
- Residence is not effectively required for those applicants whose ancestors left Czechoslovakia after 1918. They are granted pro-forma residence permit only for the purposes of the procedure. However, for those whose ancestors left prior to 1918, this does not apply. It is unclear why. There is no legal basis for this distinction (read: this could be litigated).
- The authorities seem to place rather high requirements on the evidence for the citizenship of ancestors. For those who can be found in the 1930 census, the evidentiary situation seems simpler. There is no legal basis for this high bar (read: this could be litigated).
- The authorities accepting the applications differs for different types of routes. The application for citizenship by descent can be filed at embassies, or in Slovakia. The Slovak Living Abroad Certificate (SLAC) can be temporarily submitted only at embassies.