Acquisition of Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by Origin
In the Republic of Slovenia, the "ius sanguinis" principle, or acquisition of citizenship by origin, is in force, which means that a child shall follow the citizenship of his parents notwithstanding the place of birth.
The Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act shall distinguish several types of acquisition of citizenship by origin:
•automatic acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia,
•acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by consent,
•acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by adoption.
A person shall obtain citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by origin if, at the time of his/her birth, at least one parent is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia and the child is born in the Republic of Slovenia.
A child born in a foreign country and who has one parent who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the child’s birth, shall obtain citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia only on the basis of consent for citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia.
For adoption, the adoptee shall acquire citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by adoption under the same conditions that apply for the acquisition of citizenship by origin.
a) automatic acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia
A child shall obtain citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by origin in the following cases:
- if, at the time of his/her birth, both parents are citizens of the Republic of Slovenia;
- if, at the time of his/her birth, one parent is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia and the child is born in the Republic of Slovenia;
- if, at the time of his/her birth, one parent is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia and the other parent is unknown or of unknown citizenship or stateless and the child is born in a foreign country.
If a child is born in the Republic of Slovenia, the citizenship registration procedure shall be carried out ex officio.
If a child is born abroad, the citizenship registration procedure shall be carried out ex officio only in the case that a mutual information agreement on births of citizens of other signatory states at its territory is concluded with the state of the child's birth. If there is no such convention or the state does not implement it, the child's citizenship shall be registered at the parents' request. The deadline for the submission of such request is not stipulated.
b) acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by consent
Parents should register a child before the age of 18 years.
A child born in a foreign country to one parent who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the child’s birth, with the other being a foreign citizen, shall obtain citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by origin, as long as the child is registered as a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia before the age of 18 years.
In this case of acquisition of citizenship by origin, the child shall not obtain citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia automatically by birth, but through a necessary special declaration of will of the parent who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia.
The declaration on registration shall be submitted to the competent authority of the Republic of Slovenia abroad authorised for performing consular matters, to an administrative unit or to the Ministry responsible for the interior.
A person between the age of 18 and 36 years shall register him/herself.
A child born in a foreign country to one parent who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia at the time of the child’s birth, with the other being a foreign citizen, and who was not registered for citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by his parents before the age of 18, shall acquire citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by origin if he/she registers for citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia prior to reaching the age of 36 years.
The declaration for registration shall be submitted to the competent authority of the Republic of Slovenia abroad authorised for performing consular matters, to an administrative unit or to the Ministry responsible for the interior.
c) acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by adoption
An adoptive child (alien) shall acquire citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia by origin or by consent if at least one of the adoptive parents is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia and if, under the regulations of the country of which the adoptive parent is a citizen, through the adoption, the same relationship is established between the adoptive parent and the adoptee as that of a parent and a child (full adoption).