1.1.

Entry and residence by EEA citizens or Swiss nationals and their family members

For the first three months after entry, an EEA citizen or Swiss national may reside in the
Republic of Slovenia without registering residence; however, if the period of residence
exceeds three months, he/she must register the residence (i.e. submit an application for the
issue of a residence registration certificate) at the administrative unit in the region where
he/she resides before the expiry of the authorised three-month residence period. An EEA
citizen or Swiss national may apply for a residence registration certificate immediately after
entering the Republic of Slovenia.

1.1.1.Residence registration certificate

An EEA citizen or Swiss national may apply for a certificate immediately after entering the
Republic of Slovenia or before the expiry of the authorised three-month residence period. The
application for a certificate should be submitted at the administrative unit in the region where
he/she resides. An EEA citizen or Swiss national may be issued a residence registration
certificate if he/she has a valid personal identity card or passport and, in accordance with the
purpose of residence in the Republic of Slovenia:

 For employment or work purposes: a document issued by the employer attesting the
intention to employ the EEA citizen or Swiss national concerned, or evidence of
employment or work if the EEA citizen or Swiss national concerned is already
employed and works;
 For the purposes of working as a self-employed person or performing services: a
document attesting that the EEA citizen or Swiss national concerned is a self-
employed person or provider of services;
 For the purposes of studies or other forms of education: a document attesting
acceptance by an educational institution for the purposes of studies or other forms of
education, sufficient funds (whereby, when establishing them, the personal
circumstances of the EEA citizen or Swiss national shall be considered and whereby
they must be greater than the threshold below which financial social assistance is
granted in accordance with the Act regulating social security), and appropriate health
insurance; the student’s statement of having sufficient funds shall be regarded as
appropriate evidence;
 For the purposes of family reunification or other reasons: sufficient funds (whereby,
when establishing them, the personal circumstances of the EEA citizen or Swiss
national and his/her family member shall be considered and whereby they must be
greater than the threshold below which financial social assistance is granted in
accordance with the Act regulating social security), and appropriate health insurance.

The administrative unit shall issue the residence registration certificate, valid for five years or
for the duration of the intended period of residence in the Republic of Slovenia if the latter is
less than five years, to an EEA citizen or Swiss national who fulfils the conditions for issuing
the certificate. At the request of the EEA citizen or Swiss national, the residence registration
certificate may be extended under the same conditions as it was issued.

1.1.2.Permanent residence permit

A permit for permanent residence for an unlimited period of time may be issued to an EEA
citizen or Swiss national who has legally resided in the Republic of Slovenia uninterruptedly
for five years on the basis of a residence registration certificate, a certificate attesting to the
filing of an application for the issuing or renewal of a residence registration certificate, or a
valid personal identity card or passport, and if there are no reasonable grounds for the
suspicion that his/her residence in the Republic of Slovenia might pose a serious and actual
threat to public order and safety or the international relations of the Republic of Slovenia. The
relevant authority for accepting the application and issuing a permanent residence permit to an
EEA citizen or Swiss national is the administrative unit in the region where he/she resides.

1.1.3.Family reunification

A more convenient regime for entering and residing in the Republic of Slovenia applies to
family members of an EEA citizen or Swiss national and to family members of a Slovenian
national (hereinafter: family member) who may be nationals of other EEA Member States or
Switzerland or third-country nationals than to other third-country nationals.

A family member who is not a national of an EEA Member State or Switzerland may, for the
purposes of family reunification with an EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian national, enter the
Republic of Slovenia with a valid passport containing a visa issued by a relevant authority of
the Republic of Slovenia or another Contracting Party to the Convention implementing the
Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 unless he/she is a national of a country which does not
require a visa to enter the Republic of Slovenia, or a valid passport and residence permit
issued by another Contracting Party to the Convention implementing the Schengen
Agreement of 14 June 1985. If the family member is a national of a country allowing entry
into the Republic of Slovenia with another document (personal identity card), he/she may
enter with a valid personal identity card.

A family member who enters the Republic of Slovenia with a valid personal identity card,
passport, passport and residence permit or passport and visa may reside on the territory of the
Republic of Slovenia (if provided for by the visa or residence permit validity) without a
residence permit for three months from the date of entering the country. Family members are:

 A spouse or registered partner;

 Children up to the age of 21;
 Children of the spouse, a registered partner or partner with whom the EEA citizen or
Swiss or Slovenian national has cohabited for a longer period of time, up to the age
of 21;
 Children over the age of 21 and ancestors whom the EEA citizen or Swiss or
Slovenian national is obliged to maintain in accordance with the legislation of the
country whose national he/she is, or whom he/she actually maintains;
 Children over the age of 21 and ancestors of the spouse, a registered partner or
partner with whom the EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian national has cohabited for
a longer period of time whom the spouse, registered partner or partner with whom
the EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian national has cohabited for a longer period of
time is obliged to maintain in accordance with the legislation of the country whose
national he/she is, or whom he/she actually maintains;
  Ancestors of the EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian national until he/she reaches the
age of 21.

A person who has resided with the EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian national in another EU
Member State as a member of the household, or whom the EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian
national is obliged to maintain in accordance with the legislation of the country whose
national he/she is, or whom he/she actually maintains, or whom the EEA citizen or Swiss or
Slovenian national personally provides care for due to his/her health condition, or a partner
with whom the EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian national has cohabited for a longer period
of time, may also be considered a family member.

1.1.4.Temporary residence permit for family members

A family member who is not a national of an EEA Member State or Switzerland and wishes
to extend his/her stay on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia for the purposes of family
reunification with an EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian national must apply for a temporary
residence permit for a family member at the administrative unit in the region where he/she
resides before the expiry of the authorised residence period. The application for the permit
may be filed by the family member in person, his/her legal representative, or the EEA citizen
or Swiss or Slovenian national with whom the family member is reuniting.

A temporary residence permit may be issued to a family member who is a third-country

national if:

 He/she is a family member of an EEA citizen or Swiss national who resides in the
Republic of Slovenia on the basis of a residence registration certificate or permanent
residence permit, or a Slovenian national with the residence registered in the
Republic of Slovenia;
 He/she has a valid personal identity card or passport;
 He/she has sufficient funds, whereby, when establishing them, the personal
circumstances of the family member and the EEA citizen or Swiss or Slovenian
national shall be considered, and whereby they must be greater than the threshold
below which financial social assistance is granted in accordance with the Act
regulating social security;
 He/she has appropriate health insurance covering at least emergency healthcare in the
Republic of Slovenia;
 He/she entered the Republic of Slovenia in accordance with the provisions of the
Aliens Act;
 It is not established that the marriage was concluded or the partnership was registered
exclusively for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit;
 There are no reasons to refuse the permit due to a serious and actual threat to public
order and safety or the international relations of the Republic of Slovenia, or the
suspicion that his/her residence in the country will be associated with the
commission of terrorist or other violent acts, illegal intelligence activities, drug
production and trafficking or the commission of other criminal acts; or if during the
procedure of issuing a first-residence permit, it is established that he/she is infected
with an infectious disease with epidemic potential laid down in the international
 health rules of the World Health Organisation, or an infectious disease which could
pose a threat to the health of people and which requires the prescribed measures to be
adopted pursuant to the Act governing infectious diseases; or if it is established in the
Republic of Slovenia that he/she is acting contrary to the provisions regulating
employment and work, or contrary to the provisions on the prevention of illegal work
and employment;
 He/she is in possession of an original certificate of no criminal record and its
authenticated translation into Slovenian, if he/she is an adult.

A family member of a national of another EEA Member State or Switzerland may be issued a
temporary residence permit with the same period of validity as the residence registration
certificate of the EEA citizen or Swiss national. A family member of a Slovenian national or a
family member of an EEA citizen or Swiss national with a permanent residence permit may
be issued a temporary residence permit with a validity of five years. The temporary residence
permit of the family member may be extended under the same conditions as those applicable
to the issuing of the permit. An application to extend the permit must be submitted before the
expiry of the permit to the administrative unit in the region where the family member resides.

1.1.5.Permanent residence permit for family members

A permit for permanent residence for an unlimited period of time may be issued to a family
member who is an EEA citizen or Swiss national and who has legally resided in the Republic
of Slovenia uninterruptedly for five years on the basis of a residence registration certificate if
there are no reasonable grounds for the suspicion that he/she might pose a threat to public
order or the international relations of the Republic of Slovenia.

An EEA citizen or Swiss national who is a family member of a Slovenian national or an EEA
citizen or Swiss national or a third-country national who already has a permit for permanent
residence in the Republic of Slovenia may be issued a permanent residence permit after
having legally resided in the Republic of Slovenia uninterruptedly for two years.

A permit for permanent residence for an unlimited period of time may also be issued to a
family member who is a third-country national if he/she has legally resided in the Republic of
Slovenia uninterruptedly for five years on the basis of a temporary residence permit, and if
he/she fulfils the conditions for issuing a temporary residence permit for a family member laid
down in the Aliens Act. A permanent residence permit may also be issued to a family member
of an EEA citizen or Swiss national who already has a permit for permanent residence in the
Republic of Slovenia and to a family member of a Slovenian national after two years of
uninterrupted legal residence in the Republic of Slovenia.

For more information, please contact:

Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia
Migration and Integration Directorate
Migration Department
Phone: +386 1 428 44 94