EU Blue Card in Slovenia

You need an employment contract signed by the employer for at least six months, with a salary of at least the average annual gross salary in Slovenia as last published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. The official pages do not quote a figure, because the threshold follows that publication; check the current amount with the Statistical Office or the Official Gazette before you sign.

You must have at least higher professional qualifications for the job, proven with a decision or opinion of the competent Slovenian body on the recognition or evaluation of education. The Employment Service also checks that no suitable unemployed person is registered, that the employer is registered for the activity, not in bankruptcy or liquidation, actively operating and up to date with tax withholding returns and taxes for the last six months.

Fill in the Blue Card form and lodge it, in person or by registered post, at any administrative unit in Slovenia or at a Slovenian embassy or consulate abroad; you can lodge it at an administrative unit only if you live lawfully in Slovenia. The employer can also apply for the card or its extension, but cannot collect it for you.

You pay an administrative fee when you apply, which differs between administrative units and embassies. Fingerprints are taken on submission, or you are invited later if you applied by post. With a first Blue Card you may not start working on the receipt; you wait for the card. On an extension, the receipt lets you keep working.

The card can be extended for up to three years; if the contract is shorter than three years, it is extended for the contract length plus three months. In the first year the work authorisation is tied to the employer, so a change of employer or job needs approval from the administrative unit that issued the card. After one year you can change employer without prior approval and only notify that unit.

If an extension is refused for reasons on the employer’s side, such as unpaid social contributions or an employment ban, the administrative unit issues a certificate valid for three or six months so that you can find a new highly qualified job.

Blue Card holders are not subject to the one-year prior residence rule. You can lodge the family reunification request together with your own Blue Card application, using the special form for family members of Blue Card holders. Family permits are issued and extended for the same period as your card, and adult family members do not need to prove Slovenian when extending.

If you hold a Blue Card from another EU state and have lived there for the last 12 months, you can enter Slovenia and stay 30 days without a permit; if you sign a highly qualified contract in that time, you can apply at an administrative unit and start work on the receipt. Family members holding permits from the first state can join you on the same terms.

Permanent residence is available after five years of continuous lawful residence in the EU as a Blue Card holder, provided the last two years were spent in Slovenia. When you are in Slovenia with the card, register your exact address at the administrative unit within eight days.