Living & Traveling in Slovenia

Residence/Work Permits

U.S. citizens in possession of a valid US passport do not need a visa for airport transit or for tourist or business trips up to 90 days' duration. U.S. Legal Permanent Residents (green card holders) are treated under Slovene law according to their passport citizenship, and should check with the Slovene authorities to see if they require a visa to enter Slovenia. 

All persons who wish to stay in Slovenia for more than 90 days are required to obtain a residence permit.

Residence Permits

Immigrants must obtain a temporary residence permit from a Slovene consular mission abroad prior to entering the country. The first residence permit cannot be issued in Slovenia, but the initial permit can be renewed while in Slovenia. These temporary residence permits are issued on the basis of employment, studies, family relationships, and Slovene heritage. 

To obtain the first temporary residence permit, you must write to the nearest Slovene Embassy or Consulate, enclosing a required fee, your passport, and documents that support your request for a permit on one of the bases listed above. Be sure to note in your letter where in Slovenia you intend to reside, as all of these documents will be sent for review and approval to the Administrative Unit covering that area. The Administrative Unit will issue the initial temporary residence permit and send it back to the Slovene Embassy or Consulate, where the applicant will receive it. There are no requirements to speak the language or to demonstrate knowledge of the history or culture in order to obtain a temporary residence permit.

Temporary residence permits usually are valid for one year, and must be renewed before they expire at the local Administrative Unit. After five years of living in Slovenia on temporary residence permits, an immigrant can apply for a permanent residence permit. 
 
Aliens of Slovene descent and those who are close family members of an alien already in possession of Slovene permanent residency can obtain permanent residency under an expedited procedure. There are no requirements to speak the language or to demonstrate knowledge of the history or culture in order to obtain a permanent residence permit. 

For more information:

The United States Embassy does not endorse any of the companies included in the list below. This list is provided for informational purposes only.

• Employment Service of Slovenia
• Guide to Living and Working in Slovenia
• Zaposlitev.net job board and recruitment agency
• Moje Delo recruitment agency
• Government of Slovenia web portal page on work and employment
• Slovene Ministry of Interior web page on residence permits

Birth in Slovenia

If your family welcomes a new baby while you are in Slovenia, you should know that birth on Slovene soil is not sufficient to confer citizenship -- a child born in Slovenia to foreign parents does not acquire Slovene citizenship at birth. If either parent is an American citizen, then that child likely is an American and must be registered at the Embassy. If that child remains a legal resident of Slovenia and actually lives in the country until age 18, then that child may apply for Slovene citizenship. If either parent naturalizes as a Slovene before the child turns 18, then the child can also naturalize as a Slovene citizen at that time.

Naturalizing as a Slovene Citizen

Immigrants to Slovenia must live in the country for ten years to be eligible for citizenship. Immigrants of Slovene descent and those who are married to Slovenes are eligible for expedited naturalization. Spouses of Slovene citizens must live in Slovenia for three years before being eligible for citizenship. Applicants for Slovene citizenship must pass a Slovene language test administered by the University of Ljubljana.

Any child born to at least one Slovene parent is a Slovene citizen upon birth, whether born in Slovenia or abroad. There are no generational limits or residency requirements in order for a Slovene parent to transmit Slovene citizenship to a child born outside of Slovenia. A person may claim Slovene citizenship if he can prove that at least one grandparent was a Slovene citizen, even if the intervening generation was never documented as a Slovene citizen. All claims must be backed with documentary evidence, which is checked against the database records of the central registrar. There are significant populations of Slovenes living in the United States, the United Kingdom, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Australia, and Argentina.

For questions about Dual Citizenship, please click here.