So it all says Hungary. Is that a problem. Even the census past 1920.

To order a copy of this page of the 1930 US census from NARA, I need to input the page number. What is the page number here? Is it 38-B? 19? 3405? Something else? Thanks!

It seems common to apply for a Slovak birth certificate, marraige document, citizenship certificate, and passport, but I thought that the new rules allow for applying for a passport using the listina. Is the main reason to apply for the birth certificate and marraige documents to avoid having to risk losing the official translation of a foreign one?

Hello!

My appointment in on 10/8 in DC. I am hoping to have all the apostilled docs back by 8/10 and will send them to be translated. I am already in contact with Iveta in Slovakia and she will be my translattor. Is this enough time??

My anchor could be my GGM or my GGF I believe. She and my GGF were married in Slovakia and moved to the states, he in 1913 and she in 1920. They made their Declarations of Inent in 1939, so would've been citizens of Czechoslovakia. They both have Czechoslovakia listed as their home country on all of their documents, excluding ship manifests, which say Slovakia or Austria Hungary since Czechoslovakia didn't exist yet when they came over. I have gotten all the necessary documentation, I believe. Here is what has been sent to be apostilled:

Sent to State Department in Ohio:

My birth certificate

My mother's birth certificate

My grandmother's birth certificate

***I am understanding that I don't need marriage certificates of mother and grandmother since the parents' names are on the birth certificates*** is this accurate?

Official forms Sent to Federal Department of State (I have someone dropping them off and picking them up in person):

Declaration of Intent for GGM

Certificate of Arrival for GGM

Petition for Naturalization for GGM

Ship Manifest for GGM

Declaration of Intent for GGF

Certificate of Arrival for GGF

Petition for Naturalization for GGF

Ship Manifest for GGF

What I have from Slovakia:

Official Rodny list for GGM

Official Rodny list for GGF

My questions:

Do I need to get translations for both GGM AND GGF? Or will GGM be sufficient? Trying to reduce the amount of $$ I spend on the translation piece if just GGM will be sufficient. I've sent them all to be apostilled just in case I need them and they will be ready for translation if so.

Do I need the ship manifests for the application? If not, I will not send those to be translated either. But, at the very least, they will be apostilled if needed.

I have also done the FBI background check apostille process through Monument Visa. It's within 6 months of my appointment.

I know I still need to do the CV, the application, and the affidavit. Am I missing anything else? I will also make a family tree to help show the lineage.

Will the Rodny list and Declaration of Intent, certificate of arrival, and petition for naturalization be enough evidence?

Thank you all for any assistance! I am getting excited but also nervous I don't have everything I need.

I learned in FAQ that hiring a firm is not necessary in straightforward cases which this might be. However, for a Czech that hates dealing with bureaucracy, having grandmother and mother born in (Czecho)Slovakia, is there a firm handling absolutely everything based on just the information about the ancestor(s)? Maybe not law firm but something like reliable cheaper version of Nomad Capitalist.

I’m currently awaiting my great-grandmother’s birth certificate from 1917 from the archives in Sobrance. How confident should I feel in their ability to find that? I wanted to continue to get more documents but should I wait until I definitely know that they found the birth certificate? Is it too risky to continue given I’ll need to spend additional money on the other documents? I know AI told me after 1895 these documents were no longer stored in old churches and instead vaults that are protected. Thanks.

Hello all:

I have 4 GGparents who were all born in Austria-Hungary (present day Slovakia). I think I have narrowed my choice down to two of them in terms of which one I should use as my anchor, as there are some records I still cannot locate for the other two of them. I want to make sure I am analyzing this correctly and ask which one I should ultimately choose and order a Rodny list for.

1. GGF #1: born 1884 in Vesele, Slovakia (baptism record located); came to the US in either 1902 or 1903, and naturalized sometime after 1920 but before 1930, according to U.S. census records. However, I cannot find any passenger manifests or naturalization documents for him.
2. GGM #1: born 1893 in Lokca, Slovakia (baptism record located) I also located the baptism record for her mother (my GGGM) as well as her marriage record to my GGGF, both in Lokca, Slovakia; She came to U.S. in April 1912 (passenger manifest located); naturalized sometime after 1930 but before 1940 according to U.S. censuses. I cannot locate her naturalization records.
3. GGF #2: born 1889 in Hatalov, Slovakia (baptism record located; came to U.S. in 1910 (passenger manifest and all naturalization records located). Naturalization was final in June, 1921. (edited bc I found the certificate).
4. GGM #2: Unknown specific birth date but born between 1898-1901 in Pavlovce, Slovakia (cannot locate baptism record because all online records from Pavlovce post-1896 are not available); Came to U.S. in 1920 (passenger manifest located); Naturalized by 1940 according to U.S. census, but cannot locate any records.

Are naturalization records absolutely necessary? If so, my GGF#2 might be the best candidate. I'm not sure whether the date of January, 1920, makes any difference?

My other choice would be GGM #1. I have all her records other than naturalization records. The U.S. Census from 1930 states she is an "Alien", born in Czechoslovakia.

Any thoughts from this community would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone,

A few months ago, I shared the Tracker here in this subreddit. We’ve now passed 60+ community submitted timelines!

Since then, I’ve added analytics for decisions, milestone wait times, popular filing routes, and legal representation costs, along with a cleaner timeline view and a new larger-text accessibility option.

If you’ve applied even if your case is ongoing, please share your timeline here:

https://slovakcitizenshiptracker.com/applications

Every shared experience helps give the community a clearer picture of current processing times.

Suggestions are very welcome!

My ancestor is my great-grandfather, who moved to the UK, where my family lineage continues.

I have:

-Ancestor's birth certificate stating he was born in Zilina

-Birth certificates showing the lineage (grandmother's -> mother's -> mine), translated, mine apostilled

-His UK naturalisation certificate, stating that 1) He was a Czechoslovakian citizen and 2) The name found on my grandmother's birth certificate is an alias of his original name on the birth certificate - i.e. that those two names are the same person (it was changed by the military for security I believe) translated and certified by the National Archives

Is this enough? It feels too simple but also I have all the evidence I need showing that I'm descended from this person. Wondering if I'm missing anything obvious?

Dobrý deň!

Je tu niekto zo Srbska, kto získal osvedčenie o štatúte Slováka žijúceho v zahraničí?

Bol by som veľmi vďačný za akúkoľvek radu alebo kontakt.

Ďakujem!

I'm quite early in my process and still learning about everything. My GGF was born in present day Slovakia and immigrated in 1902 as an adult. He naturalized sometime between 1920-1930. I have at least 2 census which list him as being born Czechoslovak.

My GGM was also born in present day Slovakia but came over in 1900 as a 14 year old. She never naturalized and remained an "alien" until her death in the 1940s. Her alien registration from 1940 lists her as being from Hungary, which I can only assume was the random lazy choice of whoever took down her information not wanting to write out the full 'Austria-Hungary', as she was also from present day Slovakia. I have one census with her listed as being from Czechoslovakia.

My grandfather was born in 1925, I believe after my GGF naturalized. From what I am understanding about Slovak CBD, it doesn't matter if your ancestor naturalized, correct? I had always assumed him naturalizing meant I could no longer use him as a path and would have to go through my GGM but now I'm not so sure.

I'm just not sure who is the better ancestor to pursue before I start paying for more archive retrieval and certified or apostiled copies. I know it will strengthen my application to get a Slovak birth certificate and plan to travel next summer and gather as many official Slovak documents as I can in person. Should I do my GGM who never naturalized and would have effectively been a Czechoslovak citizen after 1918 but whose only documents listing as such is one single census? Or do I do my GGF who did naturalize sometime in the 1920s? Does it even matter? Can you do two ancestors to strengthen your application?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m applying for Slovak citizenship by descent through my great-grandmother. She naturalized in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1940, and I found her complete Petition for Naturalization in their digitized records.
The problem is that Washington County told me they no longer issued certified historical naturalization records (as if last year per their solicitor) and referred me to the attorney general. I’ve reached out to the AG office but I’m not sure what they can do since Washington County has the record.

I’ve reached out to Pennsylvania Secretary of State and they say it needs to be certified for them to apostille and that I need to reach out of the US department of state—but their site says it needs be to certified by the state to apostille! NARA Philadelphia says they don’t have state court naturalizations and usually the counties handle this, and USCIS told me they only provide uncertified photocopies through the Genealogy Program (with a letterhead and note from the department). Insane!

I’m basically stuck because I have the record, but no agency seems able to provide a certified copy that can be apostilled.

Has anyone applying for Slovak citizenship run into this before, especially with Pennsylvania? If so, how did you solve it, or what document did the Slovak authorities ultimately accept?

Thanks for any advice! I’m pulling my hair out.

Hi all!

I finally have all of my documents in hand and am getting ready to get apostilles. My GGF is my anchor.

For context: He was born in 1878 in Slovakia, came to the US in 1903, he did NOT naturalize. I have certified copies of his AR-2 file and his CONE, neither say Czechoslovakia. His AR-says “says I am a citizen or subject of: None, formerly  Austria-Hungary” which is very unhelpful. I found what I believed to be his ship manifest, but NARA claims they couldn't find the microfilm even though I gave them the exact reel/image number :(

This is what I do have:

• Myself: birth certificate
• Father:  birth certificate (has grandmother's maiden name on it)
• Grandmother:
  
  • The state archive doesn't have a birth certificate record, so I have the Catholic Church baptismal record with church seal (I plant to sign an affidavit and have that notarized and get a "ham sandwich apostille")
  • I also have her certified Social Security application with date of birth and parent’s names. It has her first name, maiden, and married last name. I do not have her marriage certificate, is that necessary?
• Great Grandfather:
  • Rodny List
  • Marriage Record from the archives
  • 1930 Certified U.S. Census which says Czechoslovakia on it
  • 1942 Certified WWII draft card which says “Slovensko” under place of birth, his birthdate is off by 12 days
  • Certified Social Security Application which says “Ceskoslovensko”, his birthdate is off by 13 days and lists his parents name with mother’s name misspelled
  • State issued certified Death Certificate which says: "Birthplace, Czechoslovakia and Citizenship of what Country: Czechoslovakia". His birthdate is correct but his father’s name is listed incorrectly

 Of the documents for my great grandfather, what combination of documents is best to use for the application?

Also, reading through subreddit has been immensely helpful during this process, thank you all!

Achojte,

I have a question regarding the changes coming into force on July 15, 2026, especially the new electronic/document processing procedures for Slovak citizenship by descent (CBD).

According to the new rules, some citizenship documents will have electronic processing and the new citizenship document (listina) can be used as proof of citizenship for a limited period.

How will the process work after the oath ceremony under the new law?

Will it be possible to apply for a Slovak passport immediately after taking the oath at the embassy/consulate using the new citizenship document, or will we still need to wait for the traditional citizenship certificate (Osvedčenie o štátnom občianstve) and complete additional steps first?

Has anyone received official information from a Slovak embassy or the Ministry of Interior about the practical procedure after July 15, 2026?

Thank you!

Hello! I wonder if anyone else has had an experience similar to mine, how you handled it, and any suggestions or advice you may have. I have some questions, specifically regarding names changes/misspellings and an incorrect DOB on a birth certificate (!). I am not requesting legal advice, just any experience or knowledge held by others.

My anchor relative for my CBD application is my Slovakia-born great-grandfather, my US-PA born grandmother, my US-PA born father, my Ohio-born self and my Ohio-born 11-year old son.

I’ve collected certified copies of the following documents and was preparing to send them off to be apostilled and request an appointment with the Consulate in New York (with the understanding that I will then need to have them officially translated and get my FBI background check, apostille, and translation):

-          My great-grandfather’s 1894 rodny list/birth certificate from Slovakia, his 1914 PA marriage license, his 1931 petition for citizenship from the Westmoreland County, PA Prothonotary’s office naming his birthplace as Czecho Slovak, 1931 oath of allegiance from the same naming Czecho Slovak Republic as the country he renounced citizenship from, and his 1959 PA death certificate.

-          My grandmother (his mother’s) 1922 PA birth certificate*, her 1939 PA first marriage license to my grandfather, my grandfather’s 1944 PA death certificate, her 1945 Maryland second marriage license and letter from the county stating they did not collect long-form info at that time, and her 1967 PA death certificate.

-          My dad’s 1944 PA birth certificate, his 1973 Ohio marriage license to my mom, and his 2024 Ohio death certificate

-          My 1973 birth certificate from Ohio and my 2012 long-form marriage license from Ohio

-          My 11 year old son’s 2014 birth certificate from Ohio

Great-grandfather was born Michal, immigrated as Mihaly, was married and applied for citizenship as Mike, and died as Michael. It sounds like this is not uncommon. Do I need to worry about this? More importantly, his last name is incorrectly spelled (one additional letter) on his daughter’s (my grandmother’s) birth certificate.

My grandmother’s PA birth certificate also misspells her last name at birth, same as her dad’s, AND it has the wrong birthdate! She was born 10.03.1922 and the BC was filed 10.04.1922. However, the birthdate was recorded on the BC as 09.03.1922. I submitted a written request to PA Vital Statistics to ask that they check the original record to determine whether this was a mistake made at the time of the record or at the time of the issuance of BC to me. It was recorded all those years ago as 09.03.1922. However, his naturalization petition lists her DOB as October 3 (no year), and her death certificate also has her DOB as 10.03.1922.

This is on top of her being married twice, so having name changes at the time of each marriage.

I drew up a quick affidavit of one and the same that addressed both his and her name issues and the DOB, signed it, and had it notarized.

However, I am now wondering if this will be sufficient? Do I really need to go through the process of getting an amended birth certificate from the State of Pennsylvania? Because my grandmother has been deceased since 1967, the PA form clearly states that a directive court order is required. Plus, I will need to get a duplicate copy of my great-grandfather’s birth certificate to amend his name, have it apostilled, and then translated to English, also clearly outlined on their form. And you know OF COURSE I only ordered one for my application packet, which in retrospect was a mistake. And I believe anything I sent to PA Vital Statistics has to be a certified copy and won’t be sent back to me. This sounds expensive and time consuming.

If you have questions, please let me know; I’d be happy to provide more information. And if I have misunderstood anything at all, please correct me! Again, I appreciate any information or advice you can share!

hi friends, has anyone had luck finding proof of citizenship for family that left in 1921? mine left right after the 1921 census was taken. not sure if I might be running into a brick wall pursuing the process further. I have everything but proof of citizenship (i.e. censusn records). is there anything besides personal documents or census information that would suffice (such as marriage certificate in Czechoslovakia maybe?)? my great-grandfather was estranged and I do not believe any family members would have a passport or other personal docs from him.

Hi all! My dad just pointed out the other day that I can do CBD for my GGF. For my GGF I have images, but still need to request official copies, so I am early on. I found his baptism records this morning, so I am excited as that was a missing piece.

• Immigration: He first immigrated to the US before 1900, married my great-grandmother in Wilkes-Barre, PA in May 1900, went back to Slovakia for a visit, and officially returned to the US in November 1904 on the S.S. Phoenicia (traveling with his younger brother, Pal).
• US Records: On his 1930 US Declaration of Intention, he explicitly listed his country of birth as Czechoslovakia, nationality as Czechoslovak, and race as Slovak. He died in 1933, I think before becoming a citizen. The 1920 and 1930 US census show he is not naturalized.

I also successfully located his original handwritten May 3, 1872 birth/baptism entry in the Michalovce Roman Catholic parish book.

I am curious about two things:

1) Has anyone had issues with the variations in spellings, as there are several variations in these documents for his last name?

2) I have two teenagers, that I would hope could be able to get the citizenship if I get my CBD. Has anyone applied for theirs and their minor children at the same time?

Any other advice would be appreciated!

Hi All, I spoke to my brother who has an appt in DC in Feb, and wtih he new law changes coming this week we were thinking of both applying together in SK as like a family. His kids and my kid attached as well and we would both fly there. I have all of my documents except the FBI for both which we can get quickly. As I was adopted, he has the line of family that I cannot get and we are hoping to use them for both of us as they are the same. He has them all apostilled and getting translated now.

Can this work with us together using the same documents?That would be GGF who is the anchor from SK, GF, and our mom and their marriage license. That would be awesome if we can share them as they are the same.

Interestingly, the PA BC for our GF indicated that he was born in Austria which is news to us. No one knows anything about that. Will that be OK and he was still issued a PA BC and it is apositilled.

Tx for any insights. We plan to go there just before Christmas in Dec.

Ancestor 1: my GGF

Documents we have:

- Rodny List

- 1920 naturalization documents stating "Austria-Hungary"

-1920 census listing "Slovakia", not Czechoslovakia as place of birth and "Al" for Alien

- possibly a domovsky pravo, but with his immigration year as 1905, one regional archive I've solicited for it says they don't have it, waiting on other archives to get back on this

Documents we don't have:

- CS passport

- any census beyond the US 1920 one

Ancestor 2: my GGGM

Documents we can obtain:

-Rodny List

-1930, 1940 US censuses listing alien status and citizenship as "Czechoslovakia"

GGGM never naturalized. If we go her route, my mother would apply, ideally be accepted with this documentation, and then my brother and I would be able to apply through our mother.

If we go the GGF Route, would it be plausible to use the legal argument of his being born in modern day Slovakia and having lived after 1918, and for him to have even emigrated in 1905, he would have needed to domovsky pravo? Along with the previously listed documents? Going this route is preferable only because we already have the documentation and because I will be moving to central Europe for some time, making the timeline more crunched.

Thoughts?

So I'm a dual citizen US and Slovak (by birth). My wife recently got her green card and now we're trying to apply for Slovak citizenship. I'm going to be calling the embassy to ask them, but I'm wondering if anyone has gone through this situation?

For the application appointment, do I need to submit copies of documents with and without the apostille? For example, a copy of my birth certificate and also a copy of my birth certificate with the apostille? Thank you for the help!

I'm hoping someone who's been through the Slovak citizenship by descent process can share their experience.

Using hypothetical names...

My mother's legal birth name is Rosa, and both her birth certificate and U.S. passport say Rosa.

However, she's gone by Rose and has never gone by Rosa. Her marriage certificate says Rose, and my sister's birth certificate lists our mother as Rose instead of Rosa.

I had the same issue on my own birth certificate, but I amended it, so it now matches my mother's legal name (Rosa).

My sister never amended hers.

Should she amend her birth certificate before applying for Slovak citizenship by descent, or is that generally unnecessary as long as the rest of the documentation clearly shows Rosa and Rose are the same person?

I'm looking for firsthand experiences from anyone who had a similar name discrepancy in their lineage documents. Did the Ministry accept it, ask for additional documentation, or require an amendment?