Since the beginning of 2026, Slovakia has allowed national visas for eligible third-country bus and international HGV drivers to be issued for the duration of their employment, up to a maximum of one year. Previously, the visas were limited to 180 days.
Up to 5,000 such national visas can be issued during 2026, according to Slovakia’s Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. Eligible workers can come from a specified group of countries including Ukraine, Serbia, Georgia, India, the Philippines, Nepal, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, among others.
The government said the previous six-month period had proved insufficient both for employers and for stabilising the workforce. The longer period is intended to give foreign workers more time to adapt and complete professional training while reducing staff turnover.
Several months into the new regime, however, logistics companies describe the effect as gradual rather than transformative.
“Following the amendment to the regulation, we are seeing a slight increase in third-country drivers at some carriers. The employees are performing their work normally and as expected,” said Stanislav Michalička of Slovakia’s Association of Logistics and Freight Forwarding (ZLZ SR).
According to the association, the measure has helped some carriers, but the industry’s recruitment difficulties extend well beyond HGV drivers.
A year gives drivers time to settle in
For employers recruiting internationally, the extension from six months to a year is particularly significant because bringing a driver into an operation involves more than simply filling an empty cab. Jozef Ševčík, who heads the Slovak operation of Raben Logistics, said drivers need time to learn company processes and technologies and become fully integrated into their teams.
“That cannot be achieved in a few months. A one-year visa makes sense not only for drivers, but also for us as logistics companies investing in their training.”
Raben Logistics Slovakia has not yet increased its own number of third-country drivers because it had previously responded to the shortage by recruiting Slovak drivers. Ševčík said, however, that the company would consider workers from third countries in future recruitment.
The underlying demographic problem remains. Experienced drivers are retiring while relatively few younger workers are entering the profession, according to Ševčík. Training costs are another barrier, with obtaining the necessary driving and professional qualifications requiring an investment running into thousands of euros.
The shortage does not stop at the cab
Logistics companies are also struggling to recruit for other operational roles. ZLZ SR reports shortages of warehouse workers, dispatchers and forklift drivers, while Raben says it is experiencing similar difficulties across operational positions.
Foreign recruitment can help particularly in manual jobs where knowledge of Slovak is less important. Pickers, warehouse workers, HGV drivers and forklift operators are among the positions that companies believe could increasingly be filled by workers from abroad.
That solution carries additional costs. Employers recruiting through agencies face higher expenditure, while direct recruitment abroad involves more bureaucracy and longer training and integration periods.
The sector is therefore calling for a more predictable long-term migration framework rather than relying solely on short-term recruitment measures. Among the proposals highlighted by Raben are a smoother route from a national visa to temporary residence and faster recognition of foreign qualifications and driving licences.
There has already been a further regulatory change in this direction. Since July 2026, Slovakia’s employment legislation includes provisions covering third-country nationals moving from a national visa towards temporary residence for employment, provided they remain in the same job.
