The "all-in-one place" system now available to foreign nationals, too

The main aim of the newest amendment to the Aliens Act (hereinafter: the ZTuj-2A), which was adopted in April 2014, is to harmonise the Slovenian legislation with two EU directives.

The transposition of Directive 2011/98/EU (Single Permit Directive) in the Slovenian legislation established a so-called single permit for residence and work that will shorten employment procedures for third country nationals, since the latter will now only be required to obtain a single permit for residence and work (similar to the procedure required for obtaining an EU blue card), instead of a separate application for a residence permit and a work permit to enter the Slovenian labour market.

Such permits will be issued in the form of an independent document as a biometric permit for residence that will allow both the entry into Slovenia as well as work for a maximum one-year period with the possibility of an extension for a further two years.

Foreign nationals or their employers who will apply for such permits for residence for reasons of employment or work, and foreign national who will apply for the single permit as seasonal workers or to work as a self-employed person and for cross-border work as a posted worker or a daily migrant, will now be able to do so at a single authority (at an administrative unit or diplomatic and consular representative office abroad) with a single application and only one document. The Employment Service of Slovenia, which previously conducted procedures to obtain work permits, will now ex officio merely grant consent to the issuance of the single permit. Thus, the single procedure system also introduces the "all-in-one place" principle for foreign nationals.

To that end, we expect certain administrative barriers in employing foreign nationals to be removed, given that the need for obtaining a separate work permit will be eliminated, even enabling certain persons to obtain their first residence permit right after their entry into Slovenia (provided such entry is legal), without having to apply for the permit beforehand via diplomatic representative offices in their home country. Moreover, the act shortens the deadlines for the issuance of residential permits from the previous 90 days to 30 days, or 60 days in exceptional circumstances.

As a result of the transposition of Directive 2011/51/EU, beneficiaries of international protection will now have the prospect of obtaining long-term residence status and certain rights to family reunion.

With the exception of some provisions, which became effective as early as the act's effective date on 29 April 2014 and which primarily relate to leaving the country, the cancellation of residence and the voluntary return and deportation of foreign nationals, the most significant changes will take effect by 1 January 2015.