How much does a dormitory cost in Slovakia and how to get a place

A place in a triple room in the dormitory of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice costs €63 per month. In Bratislava's ŠD Dolnozemská dormitory, a bed in a double room costs up to €160.

Prices, however, are less reliable than a calendar. The dormitory does not activate automatically after enrollment. The application is submitted separately, in the system of your university (vysoká škola, university) and within a narrow summer window. Those who are late end up on a list like the one Žilina University published this year: 113 students without a place.

How much does a dormitory place cost

A place in a double or triple room in a state dormitory costs from €63 to €160 per month. You pay for the place, not the room: your roommate pays the same, which is why a triple room is cheaper than a double. Universities review prices before the academic year, so check the effective date next to the amount.

Read the top two rows with caution. The price lists for Mlyny UK and Družba UK on dormitory websites are dated January 1, 2024; the university has not published newer ones, so the amount in the contract may differ. TUKE, on the other hand, has already posted the price list for September 1, 2026.

The difference within one university is almost always due to the depth of renovation. At STU, a double room in ŠD Nikosa Belojanisa costs €88.90–92.80 depending on the room, while all 448 double rooms in ŠD Jura Hronca are priced the same — €113.40. The most expensive places at the University of Economics are in ŠD Dolnozemská, €145–160; next in price is ŠD Starohájska 4 at €137 — the same dormitory where the ministry allocated €3.5 million for facade insulation, windows, roof, and new elevators. Both dormitories in Petržalka are being renovated by the university through ministry competitions: four EUBA projects received almost €15 million together.

Find your university’s page in the catalog of Slovak universities: the needed section is called ubytovanie (accommodation) or internát (dormitory).

What is included in the price and what extra payments are required

The monthly fee includes all types of energy except electricity for registered devices, bed linen with regular replacement, internet, cleaning of common areas and kitchen with study rooms — this is how it is formulated in the price list of Žilina University. Above this amount, there will be at least one one-time payment, each university has its own.

• At TUKE, this is a reservation fee of €150. It is paid only by those whose application status is AKCEPTOVANÁ (accepted); the money must be on the account by August 15, 2026, and counts toward the first payment. If not moved in by September 30 — the fee is non-refundable.

• The same price list includes a separate line for a deposit of €300 for students with permanent residence outside Slovakia. This applies to anyone who keeps registration (permanent address) in Ukraine.

• Comenius University splits the deposit into two parts. First, an advance (preddavok na kauciu) of €50 to the rectorate’s account, then the deposit (kaucia) of €100 to the dormitory’s account.

• Žilina University adds a local tax for residence — for full-time students who are 26 years or older. Only those who registered temporary residence in the dormitory are exempt.

Late payment also has a cost. TUKE charges €6 for each started month of delay, and early termination of residence at the student's initiative costs 40% of the price for each shortened month. Smaller fees in the same price list: lost key €5, damaged fire extinguisher €50.

Why prices rise is clear from the budget: the Ministry of Education allocated almost €160 million from the Recovery Plan to 14 state universities, of which €63 million is directly for dormitories.

When and where to submit an application

There is no single nationwide dormitory application. Each university runs its own system: Comenius University and University of Economics use AIS2, TUKE and Prešov University use MAIS, and Žilina University accepts signed applications by e-mail or mail. For most universities, the window for 2026/2027 closed on July 31.

The procedure is similar everywhere:

1. Find the accommodation section and the current schedule on your university’s website (dates change every year).

2. Submit your application in the university system during your window. Applications outside the window are not accepted at all.

3. Bring documents for extra points to the student office — about orphanhood, disability, membership in the academic senate. At Comenius University, they accepted these until July 10.

4. Wait for the ranking and check your points — you have a few days, not weeks, to appeal.

5. Pay the reservation fee or deposit on time. Non-payment cancels the place already given to you.

6. Choose a room on your day, sign the contract, and move in.

Students of the University of Economics submitted applications as early as March — the newly admitted have a separate summer window.

By what criteria places are allocated

Places are allocated by points, and each university has its own scale: 700 points at Comenius University and 130 at TUKE are awarded for the same thing — academic success. The better you study and the farther you live, the higher you are in the ranking. For a student with Ukrainian registration (permanent address), the second criterion is decisive, and it is calculated differently everywhere.

Comenius University awards up to 700 points for academic success by the formula ((3.0 − weighted average grade) / 2) × 700. An average of 1.0 is all 700 points, 3.0 or worse is zero. The social situation adds up to 100 points linked to the size of the social scholarship: for 2026/2027 the minimum is €10, maximum €395.

TUKE counts academic success up to 130 points, and distance up to 100, at 1 point per kilometer by Google Maps from Letná 1/9 in Košice or Bauerova 1 in Prešov. First-year bachelor students get 70 points flat, graduating years 30, academic senate membership another 50. Penalties are more serious: unfinished previous studies or excessive duration deduct 2,000 points.

University of Economics first divides all into three priority groups: students with special needs and full orphans, then those whose permanent residence is more than 50 km from Bratislava, then the rest — except those registered in Bratislava itself. Inside the group, points are counted, and there is a line directly about us: a student with permanent residence abroad gets up to 100 points for distance. Registration in Uzhhorod and Kharkiv gives the same result. Additionally, 100 points for one-sided orphanhood, 20 for social scholarship, and 5 for unpaid blood donation.

Žilina University does not make a ranking for first-year bachelor students at all: if permanent residence is more than 50 km from Žilina, the place is given automatically.

What are the real chances to get a place

Chances depend more on the city than on the university. Bratislava dormitories have the largest bed capacity: Mlyny UK has about 6,500 places, Družba UK about 2,400 more, STU has 5,295 beds in six dormitories. In Košice, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University offers 1,755 places, in Žilina UZ Veľký Diel — 2,330.

The clearest proof of shortage is Žilina University: it published a list “Nepridelené ubytovanie z dôvodu nedostatku ubytovacích kapacít” (Unallocated accommodation due to lack of capacity) for 2026/2027 with 113 students. We analyzed the ratio of applications to beds in Bratislava separately here.

The first to be left without a place are those registered in the city of their university — University of Economics explicitly excludes Bratislava residents from the third group. Next are those who interrupted studies or did not pay for them. Disciplinary punishment also pushes to the end of the list. But newcomers are protected: University of Economics divides free capacity in half — half for first-year bachelor and master students, half for other students.

What to do if you did not get a place

After refusal, most universities open an appeal window. At University of Economics, the application can be renewed in AIS from August 24 to 27, the decision is published on August 28. Prešov University accepts appeals from first-year students until July 26, from upper years until May 3, and gives time for additional submission until September 9. TUKE offers prístelka — an extra bed in a room for €60 per month until a regular bed frees up.

At the same time, look at the market. Private facilities called “dormitories” in ads are legally most often ubytovňa — budget hotel-type accommodation without student status and without university rules. The second way is to rent a room or apartment; many students cover the difference by working a few hours a week.

What you definitely should not do is pay intermediaries in advance. On August 11, 2025, Prešov University issued a separate warning: outsiders unrelated to the university offered students without a place to “arrange” accommodation for prepayment. The only legal way is through the accommodation office, with registration in MAIS and payment according to the price list.

What rules apply in the dormitory

You sign the house rules together with the accommodation contract, and they are detailed by the hour. Night quiet hours in University of Economics dormitories are from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Guests are allowed from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., maximum two at a time, with registration in the visitor book and a photo ID, and with the consent of roommates. Leaving a guest overnight is allowed only with permission from the accommodation office and for an extra fee — otherwise a fine and loss of guest privileges.

Smoking is prohibited in all premises, including electronic cigarettes — according to zákon č. 377/2004 Z. z. on protection of non-smokers. Next on the list: alcohol, animals, houseplants, heating devices not on the allowed list, throwing things out of windows, and transferring the entrance card to another person.

Violations have their price. At Prešov University, losing a room key costs €40, resident ID card €15, opening a room with a “master” key €10, overnight stay of a stranger €20, eviction €40. Not returning the room after moving out is charged €5 per day.

Is insurance required to move in

At TUKE — yes. From September 1, 2025, all foreign students living in dormitories of this university must have valid medical insurance for the entire period of residence, and Ukrainian tourist policies are not accepted here. We analyzed conditions and prices in a separate article about student insurance.

The second thing without which the process stalls is the student card. Žilina University shows the assigned block and room number only in the e-Vzdelávanie system, and you can enter it only with an issued and activated ISIC card.

If you enrolled this summer, do two things today. Check your university’s schedule: at Prešov University, additional submission is open until September 9. And check if you have unpaid fees: at TUKE the reservation fee must be credited by August 15, and Žilina University expects money for half of September and October–December by September 14.