Duties of the hotels related to accommodation of foreigners

Duties of the hotels related to accommodation of foreigners

20. júl 2016  

The accommodation providers have several duties under the Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on Residence of Foreigners in connection with accommodation of foreigners. The accommodation provider is a legal entity or a natural person – entrepreneur who provides accommodation on the basis of a contract on accommodation.

The accommodation provider is obliged to verify the identity of a foreigner, specify the nationality and date of birth of the foreigner in the book of guests and also ensure the official form to report the residence of the foreigner is filled in and deliver it to the police department within five days following the date of accommodation. The delivery of the form can be done personally, by post or since 15 January 2016 using electronic service made to this end via the portal of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic: https://portal.minv.sk/.

The portal provides an online entry and cancellation in the book of guests. For this purpose, it is necessary to have an electronic ID card with a chip activated and a verified electronic signature. The accommodation provider must register in the agenda of residence notification in advance. Even if the accommodation provider uses the electronic service, he still has an obligation to ensure the official form to report the residence of the foreigner is filled in, keep them for two years and provide their originals on request.

In line with the Act on Residence of Foreigners, the accommodation provider is further obliged to allow the police department to enter all premises of the accommodation facility in order to control the fulfilment of duties set out by the Act.

If an accommodation provider breaches the above duties, an administrative offense is committed for which a fine of up to 3 300 EUR may be imposed. The fine may be imposed within one year as of the date the police department becomes aware of the breach of the duty, but not later than within three years as of the date the breach of the duty occurred. In determination of the fine amount, materiality, time of duration and consequences of an illegal action shall be taken into account with the potential recurring breach of the duty or if more than one duty were breached.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Jana Šmihulová Jakabovičová, attorney at law, located in Liptovský Mikuláš.