Alex Sodeman

Among the most often asked questions about Slovakia concerns its currency. Slovakia has been quite unwilling to join the euro money. The government is working on designing a new financial arrangement and is expected to complete it by the end of 2004. At the moment the only legal currency that can be utilised in Slovakia is that the Euro. However, the government doesn't see this as an issue since it is estimated that ten percent of its gross domestic product comes from the selling of oil and other all-natural resources.

Besides this reluctance to put in the euro zone, Slovakia also has a issue with non-European Union tourists. The visa regulations for people from the EU and other nations necessitates visa processing time intervals for taxpayers of slovenia. In practice this means a very long wait between when you travel to another country and when your visa is approved. In recent years the government has embraced a policy of visa-free travel. It follows that taxpayers of slovenia are allowed to travel to the other country without the need of a visa. This visa free travel coverage is available to citizens of all member countries of the European Union (EU), except Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, and the Uk.

To ease visa processing for citizens of slovenia, and also to facilitate the accession of all EU citizens, the government is currently offering a 3 pronged approach to address these citizens' concerns. To begin with, the government will be introducing a multi-entry travel approval type for citizens of slovenia who wish to travel to another country in the future. The intention of this form is to make sure that citizens of the EU have easier access to their own country of destination by allowing them multiple entry journey authorization.

Second, the government is also introducing a visa waiver for all taxpayers of slovenia traveling to the other european country. This will enable visa processing for slovenian taxpayers on a case by case basis. Presently there is no visa requirement for citizens of slovenia travelling to another country.