The first residence permit
The first residence permit may be issued for the following reasons or purposes of residence:
- employment or work, research work, seasonal employment, cross-border provision of services with seconded workers, daily migrant worker;
- family reunification;
- studies, education, specialisation or professional training and acquisition of practical skills, participation in international volunteer exchange programmes and other programmes that do not fall under the system of formal education;
- other legitimate reasons defined by law, international acts or international principles and customs (for instance, receiving a Slovenian pension, real estate ownership, hospital care, guardianship, receiving benefit payment);
- Slovenian origin up to the third generation in direct descent.
A first residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia may be issued only as a temporary residence permit. The application for the issue of a first temporary residence permit is submitted to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad, or in exceptional cases (see below – Specific cases in the issuing procedures of the residence permit) to the competent administrative unit in the country.
The conditions for the acquisition of a first residence permit are the following:
- valid passport (whose expiry date exceeds the intended period of stay in the Republic of Slovenia by at least three months);
- appropriate health insurance;
- sufficient means of subsistence (at least in the amount of the basic amount of minimum monthly income in the Republic of Slovenia);
- fulfilment of one of the reasons or purposes for which the temporary residence permit may be issued (employment or work, studies, etc).
If you would like to continue residing in the Republic of Slovenia for the purpose of employment or work, seasonal employment, cross-border provision of services as seconded worker or daily migrant worker, you should have a valid work permit in order to obtain a residence permit. The Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia or its regional units are responsible for the issue of a work permit (the administrative unit verifies, ex officio, the existence of a work permit).
If you would like to obtain a residence permit for the purpose of research work, you should have a concluded agreement on the secondment with a research organisation from the Republic of Slovenia.
If you would like to obtain the residence permit for the purpose of studies, you must provide evidence from an education institution of the admission to studies or another form of education; if you would like to reside in the Republic of Slovenia for the purpose of family reunification, you must prove the existence of the relationship.
Besides the evidence on the fulfilment of the indicated conditions, to the application for a residence permit, you must also submit an extract from the judicial record of the home country that is not older than three months (if the home country issues such extracts). In accordance with the Aliens Act, an application for the issue of a residence permit may be rejected if there are serious reasons for suspicion that you may pose a threat to public order and security and international relations of the Republic of Slovenia, or if there is a suspicion that your stay will be associated with the performance of terrorist and other violent activities, illegal intelligence activities, drug possession and trafficking, or any other criminal activities.
Provided that all conditions for the issue of the first temporary residence permit are fulfilled and provided that there no reasons why your permit should not be issued (for instance, threat to public order, security and international relations, failure to respect the legal order of the Republic of Slovenia, etc), the administrative unit shall issue the permit and send it to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad, from where it will be served to you.
Specific cases in the issuing procedures of a residence permit:
• family reunification
If you would like to obtain a temporary residence permit for members of your immediate family, you may do this if you reside in the Republic of Slovenia on the basis of a permanent residence permit, or if you have been residing in the Republic of Slovenia for the last year on the basis of a temporary residence permit issued with the validity of at least one year (the one-year validity period for a temporary residence permit includes the period of residence in the country on the basis of the certificate on the submitted application for renewal or issue of further temporary residence permit). An application for the issue of a permit may be submitted to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad or to the administrative unit in the area of residence of your family member after entry into the Republic of Slovenia.
If you have a temporary residence permit issued for the purpose of research work, immediate reunification with family members is enabled. Immediate family reunification is also enabled in the case of it being in the interest of the Republic of Slovenia. The interest is expressed by the competent Slovenian ministry with its opinion (for instance, the Ministry of the Economy for foreign economists, the Ministry of Culture for cultural professionals, etc).
Immediate family members include:
- spouse,
- juvenile (upon the completion of 18th year of age) unmarried children of an alien, juvenile unmarried children of a spouse,
- parents of a juvenile alien, adult unmarried children and parents of an alien or spouse who, under the law of the state, are maintained by an alien or spouse who is a citizen of that state.
The administrative unit may, exceptionally and at its own discretion, deem other close relatives to be immediate family members if there are any special circumstances in favour of reuniting the family in the Republic of Slovenia.
If you intend to reside in the Republic of Slovenia for the purpose of seasonal work or cross-border provision of services with seconded workers for the period of up to one year, you don't have the right to family reunification with immediate family members.
• employment and work or seasonal work
You or your employer may apply for the issue of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of employment or work or for a temporary residence permit for the purpose of performance of seasonal work. You should submit your application to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad; your employer may also submit an application to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad or to the administrative unit on your behalf.
• cross-border provision of services with seconded workers
You or the legal representative of one of the contracting parties may apply for the issue of the temporary residence permit for the purpose of cross-border provision of services with seconded workers. You may submit your application to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad, while the legal representative of one of the contracting parties may also submit an application for the issue of the first permit to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad or to the administrative unit on your behalf.
• research work
You or the research organisation from the Republic of Slovenia with which you have concluded an agreement on secondment may apply for the issue of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of research work. An application for the issue of a first temporary residence permit may be submitted to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad; the research organisation may also submit an application for the issue of a permit to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad or to the administrative unit on your behalf.
When another natural or legal person applied for the issue of your first temporary residence permit, the permit shall be served by personal delivery or to your legal representative; namely, at the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia abroad. In other words, in these cases, you should obtain your residence permit prior to entry into the Republic of Slovenia.
• long-term resident
The exception of the rule stating that you must obtain your first residence permit prior to entry into the Republic of Slovenia shall apply only if you have long-term resident status in another EU Member State, while your family members have a residence permit.
On the basis of a residence permit issued in another EU Member State, the long-term resident and his/her immediate family members may reside in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia for three months from the day of entry into the country or until the expiry of the validity of the permit, if this period is shorter.
If you would like to reside in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia for a longer period, prior to the expiry of your residence permit, you must apply at an administrative unit for the issue of a temporary residence permit for you and your family members. However, you may also apply for the issue of a temporary residence permit for you and your immediate family members prior to entry into the Republic of Slovenia. In this case, the application should be submitted to the diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Slovenia in the EU Member State in which you have long-term resident status.