Work permit and residence permit in Slovenia

The number of people who want to obtain a chance to work in Slovenia has been growing because of the immigration crisis and the rapidly improving economic situation. Foreign persons desiring to pursue work experience in Slovenia do not need a work permit if they are EU nationals.
Work permit and residence permit in Slovenia

Work permit and residence permit in Slovenia

However, Non-EU nationals may only be employed in Slovenia on the basis of a work permit and a residence permit, which must be obtained beforehand.

Work and residence permits are regulated under the Employment, Self-employment and Work of Foreigners Act, which was enacted in 2015. The permits are obligatory for all non-EU nationals who wish to be employed in Slovenia. Unless they can be considered for an exception. Exceptions to the requirements of work and residence permits are the following:

  • refugees,
  • immediate family members of Slovenian citizens,
  • non-EU nationals with a permit for permanent residence,
  • non-EU nationals who have obtained the status of a long-term resident in another Member State of the EU after residing in the Republic of Slovenia for one year,
  • non-EU nationals of Slovenian origin up to the third successive generation.

Single Residence permit for work and residence in Slovenia

To obtain a long-term work permit, an individual should apply for the Single residence permit for work and residence in Slovenia (The Single Permit). It enables professional immigration to Slovenia. Although this is only one of several ways to obtain a work and residence permit, it is one of the most reliable ones. It provides a fallback in case the individual’s business endures a setback and/or negative projections.

Single Permits are issued by The administrative unit (“Upravna enota”) with the consent of the Employment Service of Slovenia (“ESS”) on the basis the Employment, Self-employment and Work of Foreigners Act and corresponding regulation. After submitting the application for The Single Permit, The administrative unit will automatically begin the process of obtaining consent from the Employment Service of Slovenia. An application for The Single Permit may be submitted by a foreigner or by his employer.

In exceptional cases the worker may apply for a personal work permit. It enables the worker to freely select employment for a certain amount of time. Applicants have to submit their single permit application at an administrative unit or at the diplomatic or consular office in their home country. The single permit procedure, managed by administrative units, requires the Employment Service of Slovenia’s approval, which is granted – provided the legal requirements for that particular approval are met. The procedure for issuing approvals Single Residence permit for work and residence in Slovenia is launched ex offici based on the administrative unit’s request.

The Single Permit is issued for the following:

  • employment, self-employment and work;
  • employment, extending employment, written approval because of changing workplaces with the same employer, changing employers or because of employment with two or more employers;
  • EU Blue Card;
  • posted workers;
  • training or further training courses for foreign nationals;
  • individual foreign national services;
  • work from an agent lasting longer than 90 days in a calendar year or seasonal work in farming lasting longer than 90 days.

Approval is not necessary when issuing a single permit for self-employment of a foreign national. Foreign nationals are entitled to self-employment after legally (and continuously) residing in Slovenia for one year. The above stated condition for residence does not apply if the foreign national is registered in the Business Register as a person with an independent professional occupation.

The Single residence permit for work and residence may be issued to those non-EU nationals who register into the Business Register and fulfil the following conditions:

  • establishing a company to be registered in Slovenia, which also entails subsidiaries and branches of foreign multinational corporations;
  • investing in fixed assets must amount to at least 50.000 euro;
  • employing a Slovenian or EU-national for at least 6 months, which also entails non-EU nationals who have been previously granted an individual work permit;
  • the company must produce a minimum of 10.000 euro turnover in 6 months.

Citizens of countries in transitional period after the succession to the EU cannot be employed as EU-residents. Moreover, citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are subjects to the Treaty on Employment between Slovenia and Bosnia. The Treaty determines special conditions for employing Bosnian nationals, which do not entail the right to live in Slovenia.

Informative leaflets of The Ministry of the Interior

The Ministry of the Interior prepared informative leaflets in English language (click on the photo to enlarge the text):

single residence and work permit

Information about Single Residence and Work Permit (Source: The Ministry of the Interior)

Also available in Slovenian, Albanian, Bosnian, Russian and Chinese language.

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