Coming to Slovakia with new documents and figuring out on your own where to take a certificate about housing, how to enroll a child in school, or why the cudzinecká polícia (foreign police) requires an additional tlačivo (form), can exhaust even an optimist. When international organizations gradually ended their massive support after 2022, Slovak cities faced a choice: leave the newcomers alone with bureaucracy or take matters into their own hands. The result was a widespread network of integration centers Bezpečný bod (Safe Point), which, according to Sme.sk, today helps foreigners in eight Slovak cities.
From tents to a “single window” system
At the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, when flows of people needed immediate help, temporary centers like Blue Dots appeared. Later, the crisis phase turned into everyday reality. Tens of thousands of people live in Slovakia who came here for work, study, or seeking safety.
That is why the Association of Slovak Towns united key municipal institutions. In eight cities — Bratislava (LOOM), Nitra (COMIN), Trnava (ConnecTT), Žilina (Žilinský maják), Košice, Prešov, Michalovce, and Banská Bystrica — contact points operate where several issues can be solved at once. Services include:
Assistance with authorities: help communicating with foreign police or arranging state benefits.
Social and legal counseling: guidance on the labor market, support in finding housing, and enrolling children in educational institutions.
Language courses and community events: opportunities to overcome language barriers and build contacts in the new environment.
Network of centers in Slovak cities
Currently, the “Bezpečné body” (Safe Points) centers operate in key regions of the country:
Bratislava: Bezpečný bod LOOM (Česká 267/2 street). Reception is by appointment at phone
+421 903 497 189or email[email protected].Nitra: Bezpečný bod COMIN (Cintorínska 5 street, phone
+421 911 055 889).Trnava: Bezpečný bod ConnecTT (Františkánska 3 and Trhová 3 streets).
Žilina: Bezpečný bod Žilinský maják (Horný Val 24 street, phone
+421 917 393 616).Košice: Foreigners Support Center (Hlavná 68 street, phone
+421 908 365 995).Prešov: Client Center for Foreigners (Slovenská 3279/40 street, phone
+421 918 230 137).Michalovce: Integration Center (Športová 31 and Námestie osloboditeľov 82 streets).
Numbers that speak for themselves
The effectiveness of these centers is based on the “all under one roof” approach, saving time for both clients and officials. The COMIN contact point in Nitra alone served over 4,000 clients in 2025 and provided them with more than 21,000 individual consultations.
Similar data is shown by other cities, where demand for consultations does not decrease even years after the arrival of the first wave of refugees.
What will happen to the centers after funding ends?
Although cities have managed to build a functional and responsive system, the entire network faces a financial issue. The short-term project “Integration 2” with approximately 9 million euros allocated from European sources and the state budget does not guarantee long-term stability. Local governments provide full services and integrate foreigners who work here and pay taxes, but the cities themselves do not receive an adequate share of personal income tax (DPFO) from these residents.
The real discussion about systemic and sustainable funding is postponed by the state until 2027. Until permanent rules are established, experts advise using the centers’ opportunities to the fullest. If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what to do with documents, visiting the local center in each regional city is the fastest way to a solution.
