Kosice: A Guide for Foreigners

To the nearest major crossing Vyšné Nemecké — Uzhhorod is about 90 km via the E50 road through Michalovce, approximately two and a half hours, considering the border queue.

This is the main practical advantage of Košice over Bratislava, from which the same crossing is almost 500 km away. Official sources do not publish the exact mileage to the border, so we write 'about 90 km' instead of a precise figure.

At the police department for foreigners — Trieda SNP 35, phone +421 961 931 208.

Important: registration for dočasné útočisko (temporary protection) and the application for a document are officially tied to Thursdays, and Thursday is the shortest day, until 2:00 PM. This is the only schedule for all Slovak departments, published on minv.sk. The department also serves Košice-surroundings, Gelnica, and Spišská Nová Ves, so it's crowded on Thursdays — arrive in the morning.

As of July 25, 2026, listings on nehnutelnosti.sk asked for €500–€800 for a 1-bedroom (typically €600–€700) and €600–€1,300 for a 2-bedroom (typically €700–€900).

There is a local peculiarity that makes comparisons with other cities misleading: most Košice listings already include utilities ('vrátane energií'). This means €600 here and €600 in Bratislava are different amounts. The first thing to ask the landlord is whether utilities are included in the price.

These are prices in listings, not statistics of concluded contracts.

Honest answer: there is no separate official figure for the city. Statistics are published by region — in the Kosice region, the average salary is €1,629 gross for Q2 2025.

At the same time, the region showed the largest growth among all regions of Slovakia: +13.3% nominally and +8.8% really. Kosice, as the regional center, pulls the region up, meaning the actual figure in the city itself is higher than the regional one — but by how much, no one officially counts.

Salaries by profession can be found in our salary directory.

To the emergency room of the university hospital — it is open 24/7 at both locations: Trieda SNP 1 and Rastislavova 43.

Be prepared for a wait: the queue there is based on the severity of the condition, not the time of arrival. A mild case will wait a long time and may be redirected to an outpatient clinic. In case of a life threat, call 155 (ambulance) or 112.

Do not go to UNLP with a child: pediatric emergency care in Kosice is a separate institution, and we have not confirmed its schedule.

Not at the magistrate's office. Kosice is divided into 22 city parts, and address registration, vital records (Matrika), and minor municipal matters are handled at the úrad (office) of your city part — at your residential address.

The magistrate's office at Trieda SNP 48/A is responsible for city-wide matters: the social department, the building authority, the cashier. Wednesday is a long day there, until 6:00 PM.

It depends on which of the city's two markets suits you.

Metallurgy and manufacturing — U. S. Steel with almost 9,000 employees — hires people without high language requirements, and this is a traditional entry point for newcomers.

IT and shared services — Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions and the rest of the cluster — pay significantly more, but English or German is required there; Slovak is often not mandatory.

The starting point for registration is ÚPSVaR at Staničné námestie 9 (closed on Thursdays). Current offers are in the jobs section.