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Reader question: What are the rules for commuting between Austria and Slovakia?

Many people cross the Austrian-Slovakian border for work. Here's a look at the latest rules that apply.

Published: 17 January 2022 15:40 CET
A Slovak police officer checks the papers of travelers crossing the Bratislava-Berg border crossing between Austria and Slovakia during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic on June 4, 2020.
A Slovak police officer checks documents at the AUstrian border. Photo: Joe Klamar/AFP

What are the rules for travel between Austria and neighbour Slovakia for cross-border commuters at the moment?

Entry to Slovakia from Austria

People who are fully vaccinated against Covid can enter Slovakia from Austria for any reason, without needing to quarantine or present a negative test result — although you need to do a pre-travel registration. Note that proof of recovery is not accepted for entry.

If you are a commuter, you also have the option to enter Slovakia with a negative PCR test result no older than seven days (but not an antigen test) even if you are not fully vaccinated. Slovakia considers you to be a commuter if you have permanent or temporary residence in Austria (or another EU country) and work in Slovakia, or vice versa, or if you live less than 100 km from the Slovak border regardless of your purpose of travel.

Austrian or Slovak PCR tests are accepted, but it’s recommended to have the result in either English or Slovak.

If you are entering Slovakia using a PCR test rather than proof of vaccination, you will need proof from your employer that you are a cross-border commuter in case you are asked to show this.

You also need to register on the Slovak government website before you travel using the eHranica registration form. If you are fully vaccinated, you only need to register on this website once every six months (choose the option “I am a fully vaccinated person and I have proof of this”).

If you are a cross-border commuter entering with a PCR test you need to register every month (choose the option “I am not a vaccinated person”; then under the heading “I have an exemption from home isolation, choose the option “I have an exception that requires a negative PCR test result not older than 7 days”, and under Additional entry conditions choose the option “I have a certificate stating that I have an employment relationship, a similar employment relationship…”).

Only a very few kinds of workers are exempt from this registration, primarily transport employees such as bus or truck drivers.

Entry to Austria from Slovakia

People who regularly commute to Austria either for work, study, or for family purposes have a special exception to the general travel rules. If you travel between the two countries at least once per month for one of these reasons, you can enter Austria as long as you have proof of 3G (full vaccination, recent recovery from Covid-19, or a negative PCR test).

Regular commuters may use either a PCR or antigen test. If you cannot meet the 3G criteria, you need to fill out Austria’s pre-travel clearance form before travel and enter quarantine on arrival.

You also need to have proof of your reason to travel in case this is requested. This could include confirmation from your employer that you need to commute for work, for example.

For non-commuters entering Austria from Slovakia, as with most EU/EEA countries, the 2G+ rule applies.

This means that in order to enter Austria from Slovakia, as a general rule you need proof of full vaccination (two doses, or one dose if you got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) or medical proof of recovery from Covid-19 within the last 180 days.

As well as this, you also need either proof of a booster dose or a negative PCR test. If you have had a full course of the vaccination and have also recovered from Covid in the last 180 days, you do not need a booster or negative test.

Useful Links

The Slovak government’s Covid information portal

Austria’s Chamber of Commerce has a page (in German) to stay updated on the situation for commuters

The Chamber of Commerce has also created a draft confirmation of employment letter in German, Slovak and English. Download it here

Austria’s entry rules are summarised by the Austrian Health Ministry

The portal to register your travel to Slovakia, if needed, is called eHranica and an English-language version is available here.

The Slovak regulation which sets out the exemption for commuters (in Slovak)

The information in this article was correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication, but The Local cannot provide legal advice and we recommend confirming information with official authorities before you travel.

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For members

EES PASSPORT CHECKS

How will the new app for Europe’s EES border system work?

With Europe set to introduce its new Entry/Exit biometric border system (EES) in the autumn there has been much talk about the importance of a new app designed to help avoid delays. But how will it work and when will it be ready?

Published: 7 May 2024 10:29 CEST
How will the new app for Europe's EES border system work?

When it comes into force the EU’s new digital border system known as EES will register the millions of annual entries and exits of non-EU citizens travelling to the EU/Schengen area, which will cover 29 European countries.

Under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), non-EU residents who do not require a visa will have to register their biometric data in a database that will also capture each time they cross an external Schengen border.

Passports will no longer be manually stamped, but will be scanned. However, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard when the non-EU traveller first crosses in to the EU/Schengen area.

Naturally there are concerns the extra time needed for this initial registration will cause long queues and tailbacks at the border.

To help alleviate those likely queues and prevent the subsequent frustration felt by travellers the EU is developing a new smartphone app.

READ ALSO: What will the EES passport system mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The importance of having a working app was summed up by Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of the EU border agency Frontex in a recent interview.

“Initially, the challenge with the EES will come down to the fact that travellers arriving in Europe will have to have their biographic and biometric data registered in the system – border guards will have to register four of their fingerprints and their facial image. This process will take time, and every second really matters at border crossing points – nobody wants to be stuck in a lengthy queue after a long trip.”

But there is confusion around what the app will actually be able to do, if it will help avoid delays and importantly when will it be available?

So here’s what we know so far.

Who is developing the app?

The EU border agency Frontex is currently developing the app. More precisely, Frontex is developing the back-end part of the app, which will be made available to Schengen countries.

“Frontex is currently developing a prototype of an app that will help speed up this process and allow travellers to share some of the information in advance. This is something we are working on to support the member states, although there is no legal requirement for us to do so,” Uku Särekanno said in the interview.

Will the 29 EES countries be forced to use the app?

No, it is understood that Frontex will make the app available on a voluntary basis. Each government will then decide if, when and where to use it, and develop the front-end part based on its own needs.

This point emerged at a meeting of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, which is carrying out an inquiry on how EES will impact the UK.

What data will be registered via the app?

The Local asked the European Commission about this. A spokesperson however, said the Commission was not “in a position to disclose further information at this stage” but that travellers’ personal data “will be processed in compliance with the high data security and data protection standards set by EU legislation.”

According to the blog by Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP the Frontex app will collect passengers’ name, date of birth, passport number, planned destination and length of stay, reason for travelling, the amount of cash they carry, the availability of a credit card and of a travel health insurance. The app could also allow to take facial images. It will then generate a QR code that travellers can present at border control.

This, however, does not change the fact that fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing into the Schengen area.

So given the need to register finger prints and facial images with a border guard, the question is how and if the app will help avoid those border queues?

When is the app going to be available?

The answer to perhaps the most important question is still unclear.

The Commissions spokesperson told The Local that the app “will be made available for Schengen countries as from the Entry/Exit System start of operations.” The planned launch date is currently October 6th, but there have been several delays in the past and may be another one.

The UK parliamentary committee heard that the prototype of the app should have been ready for EU member states in spring. Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for Transport, said the app will not be available for testing until August “at best” and that the app will not be ready in time for October. The committee previously stated that the app might even be delayed until summer 2025.

Frontex’s Särekanno said in his interview: “Our aim is to have it ready by the end of the summer, so it can then be gradually integrated into national systems starting from early autumn”.

READ ALSO: How do the EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Can the system be launched if the app is not ready?

Yes. The European Commission told The Local that “the availability of the mobile application is not a condition for the Entry/Exit System entry into operation or functioning of the system. The app is only a tool for pre-registration of certain types of data and the system can operate without this pre-registration.”

In addition, “the integration of this app at national level is to be decided by each Schengen country on a voluntary basis – as there is no legal obligation to make use of the app.”

And the UK’s transport under secretary Guy Opperman sounded a note of caution saying the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

When the app will be in use, will it be mandatory for travellers?

There is no indication that the app will become mandatory for those non-EU travellers who need to register for EES. But there will probably be advantages in using it, such as getting access to faster lanes.

As a reminder, non-EU citizens who are resident in the EU are excluded from the EES, as are those with dual nationality for a country using EES. Irish nationals are also exempt even though Ireland will not be using EES because it is not in the Schengen area.

Has the app been tested anywhere yet?

Frontex says the prototype of the app will be tested at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, in Sweden. Matthias Monroy’s website said it was tested last year at Munich Airport in Germany, as well as in Bulgaria and Gibraltar.

According to the German Federal Police, the blog reports, passengers were satisfied and felt “prepared for border control”.

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