Slovenia researcher residence permit

The permit is meant for researchers working in research organisations and for teachers and associates doing teaching or research at higher vocational colleges and higher-education institutions in Slovenia. The key requirement is a hosting agreement signed with such an organisation, plus the general conditions that apply to all foreigners: a valid passport, health insurance, means of subsistence and a criminal record certificate from the home country.

Researchers who hold a hosting agreement and a researcher permit from another EU state can work in Slovenia for up to 90 days, or until that permit expires if sooner, without a Slovenian permit. Longer mobility follows separate rules for researchers with a permit from another member state.

Lodge the form with the documents at a Slovenian embassy or consulate, or at any administrative unit if you already live lawfully in Slovenia. The research organisation or higher-education institution can also apply on your behalf. Fingerprints are taken when you apply or later in the procedure.

If you apply at an administrative unit while lawfully in Slovenia, you receive a certificate that allows you to stay until the final decision; an application lodged at an embassy does not produce such a certificate. You always collect the permit card yourself. The procedure is not free: you pay an administrative fee and the cost of the card.

Once you hold the card and are in Slovenia, register your exact address at the administrative unit within eight days, with an identity document and proof of the right to live there, such as a lease or the owner’s written consent.

The permit allows you to carry out research work, but not to conclude an ordinary employment contract. If you want to be employed in the usual way, apply for a single residence and work permit.

The permit can be extended several times, each time for up to two years, on the basis of the hosting agreement and the other documents required for the first permit, until the work is finished.

If you want to stay in Slovenia for a job or self-employment once the hosting agreement ends, apply before the permit expires for a temporary residence permit for researchers seeking employment or self-employment. Members of your family can also obtain a permit linked to that status.

Researchers and higher-education workers are among the groups exempt from the rule that a sponsor must have lived in Slovenia for one year before reuniting the family. Adult family members of a researcher are also exempt from the Slovenian language requirement when their permit is extended. The family permit follows the validity of the researcher’s permit.