Frequently Asked Questions

No. The NSP funds short mobility stays — one or two semesters for master's students, and one to ten months for PhD students and researchers. It is not a degree programme scholarship. If you want a full-funded degree at a Slovak university, you need either the ODA Government Scholarship (32 countries, Slovak language only), the Talented Students programme (SAT 1100+ required), or a bilateral scholarship through your home country's ministry.

You cannot apply for the ODA full-degree grant. Your remaining options are: the NSP (open to all countries, short mobility), the Talented Students programme (open worldwide for full degrees, requires SAT score of 1100 or higher taken after January 2021), or bilateral scholarships if your country has an intergovernmental agreement with Slovakia — check with your national academic exchange authority for the latter.

No. NSP is not open to Bachelor's-level students. The minimum level is Master's (with at least 2.5 years of university study completed outside Slovakia). Bachelor's students who want to study in Slovakia must look at other routes — their own university's exchange agreements, the Talented Students programme, or the ODA scholarship if their country is on the eligible list.

No. Every degree funded by the ODA Government Scholarship is taught in Slovak only. Applicants who do not speak Slovak begin with a mandatory 10-month preparatory language course, which is covered by the scholarship. After that course, their full degree — whether Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD — is conducted entirely in Slovak. There are no English-medium ODA programmes.

It depends on how long. The NSP rule is that you must not have spent more than 12 months in Slovakia in the 36 months prior to the application deadline. If you lived or studied in Slovakia for more than a year within the last three years, you are not eligible. Stays under 12 months within that window do not disqualify you.

No. Both the NSP and ODA scholarship selections are based entirely on written documents. There is no interview, no telephone screening, and no in-person assessment. The committee evaluates your motivation letter, programme of stay or research proposal, recommendation letters, academic records, and the acceptance letter from your host institution. This is your entire case — what you write is all they see.

Check your spam or junk folder first — the activation email from scholarships.sk is frequently filtered. If it is not there after 30 minutes, contact the NSP helpdesk at [email protected] with your registered email address and the date of registration. Do not register multiple accounts — duplicate registrations complicate your application record.

For the ODA portal at vladnestipendia.sk — no, it has not broken. The "New Application" button only appears during the official application window, which typically opens around March 23–25 and closes May 25. Outside those dates, the link does not exist and there is no way to start an application. This is intentional, not a technical fault. For the NSP portal, applications can be started before the deadline and the portal is accessible year-round.

No. The NSP explicitly prohibits receipt alongside Erasmus+, Visegrad Fund grants, CEEPUS, and other publicly funded Slovak mobility scholarships. If your Erasmus+ period overlaps with the proposed NSP stay, you cannot apply. You must wait until the other programme has ended and there is no date overlap before submitting an NSP application.

ODA results are announced after July 15 each year. Check your portal account directly — do not rely only on email notification, which has been delayed or missed in some cycles. NSP results are communicated separately for Round 1 (spring/summer) and Round 2 (winter). SAIA notifies applicants by email and through the portal.

Not directly. The monthly stipend is intended to cover living costs. Most Slovak public universities do not charge tuition to EU students, and for non-EU NSP holders, the tuition situation depends on each university's policy and whether the host institution has agreed to waive fees as part of the exchange arrangement. Confirm tuition arrangements with your host institution's International Relations Office before applying — this is not automatic.

No. Neither the NSP nor the ODA scholarship guarantees a dormitory place. You can request dormitory accommodation from your host university, and many students receive it — but availability varies by institution and by the time of year you arrive. If no dormitory place is available, you must find and fund private accommodation from your monthly stipend. In Bratislava, a room in a shared flat costs €300–500 per month, which is a significant portion of the NSP master's stipend of €620.

Yes — but you must actively register. NSP holders from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland who are not covered by another health scheme are entitled to Slovak public health insurance. This does not happen automatically. You must register with a Slovak health insurance company within 3 working days of receiving your residence permit card. If you miss this window, you are technically uninsured until you register, which creates both practical and administrative problems.

Yes, in most cases. International students in Slovakia are generally permitted to work without a separate work permit during their studies, though there are hour and contract-type restrictions depending on your visa category and nationality. EU citizens have full work rights. Non-EU students should check the current rules with the Slovak Foreign Police or their host university's international office, as the specifics depend on your residence permit type.

The scholarship is revoked. It is not reassigned to another applicant from the waiting list. You lose the scholarship entirely and would need to fund any continuation of studies independently. The ODA programme has clear academic requirements — maintaining satisfactory progress is a condition of continued funding. This applies to the NSP as well: if you fail to meet the academic conditions agreed with your host institution, the scholarship can be terminated.

Yes. A rejection does not make you permanently ineligible, and previous rejections are not considered in future cycles. Many successful NSP recipients were rejected at least once before being accepted. The key is understanding why the application did not succeed — usually a weak motivation letter, a generic acceptance letter, or an underdeveloped research plan — and addressing those specific weaknesses in the next cycle. Each application is evaluated fresh.

Yes. Non-EU citizens must register with the Slovak Foreign Police within 3 working days of arrival. This is a legal requirement that applies regardless of your scholarship status. If you are staying in university accommodation, the university's international office often assists with this process. If you are in private accommodation, you must do it yourself at the nearest Foreign Police department. Failure to register within the required window is a violation of your residence conditions.