Slovenia spouse and partner visa for family of Slovenian and EU citizens

The permit is for third-country family members of an EU citizen living in Slovenia with a residence registration certificate or permanent residence registration, or of a Slovenian citizen with a registered residence in Slovenia. Family members are the spouse or partner in a registered or long-term partnership, descendants under 21, the spouse’s or partner’s descendants under 21, older descendants and ascendants whom the citizen or the spouse supports, and ascendants of an EU citizen under 21.

This route is separate from ordinary family reunification and has no one-year waiting period and no language requirement.

You need a valid identity card or passport, a criminal record certificate from your home country, health insurance covering at least emergency care in Slovenia, means of subsistence and no grounds for refusal. Funds can come from your own work, property income, insurance or capital, or from those who must support you; a maintenance agreement must be concluded in Slovenia as an enforceable notarial deed.

The spouse of a Slovenian citizen does not have to prove funds or health insurance if the Slovenian or EU citizen is employed or self-employed. An extract from the Slovenian civil register is needed when the birth, marriage or other facts are recorded there.

Family members who need a visa enter on a C visa or a D visa. The D visa for family members of Slovenian or EU citizens is free; for family reunification the mission may hold a simultaneous interview with the applicant at the mission and the spouse or partner at the administrative unit in Slovenia to check that the marriage is genuine. For the D visa you bring a marriage certificate or an extract from the Slovenian register, or for unmarried partners a notarised statement of at least two years of cohabitation signed by two witnesses, together with a translated criminal record certificate and travel insurance.

Before the visa or the 90-day visa-free period ends, apply for the residence permit at any administrative unit in Slovenia; this application cannot be lodged at an embassy. You receive a receipt that counts as a temporary residence permit until the final decision.

You collect the card in person at the administrative unit. Once you hold the card and are in Slovenia, register your exact address at the administrative unit within eight days. The permit is valid for five years and can be extended. Family members of Slovenian and EU citizens are among those who can obtain permanent residence before completing five years.