Family Reunion and Residence Permit for Children

Family Reunion in Slovenia

The family reunion is a procedure for acquiring resident status for foreign family members with the subsequent legal right to reside jointly with the relative who has already received the resident status or is a citizen of the country.

Family reunion in Slovenia is available to foreigners living in the country with a residence permit obtained for any purpose — business, studies, employment, sports career, scientific activity, and others. According to the amendments to the Law on Foreigners, which entered into force in 2021, the family reunion procedure in Slovenia for a foreign citizen can be initiated after 2 years of legal residence in Slovenia.

Children of foreigners have the exclusive right of family reunion without waiting for a 2-year period of residence in Slovenia if both their parents reside in the country or apply for a residence permit simultaneously. A similar exclusive right is provided for family members of a Blue Card holder in Slovenia (Blue Card EU), permanent residence holders, and family members of a Slovenian citizen. Besides, researchers, employees of higher educational institutions, and athletes can be attributed to the privileged categories of foreigners.

The category of family members includes:

  • a spouse;
  • minor unmarried children (under 18 years) of a foreigner.

A territorial administration of Slovenia, as an exception, can also refer other relatives to the family member category if special circumstances speak in favour of the family reunion in the Republic of Slovenia and they are officially justified.

Reunion with children in Slovenia

If the child of a foreigner turns 6 years old in the current calendar year, then school attendance while living in Slovenia becomes compulsory the same as for local schoolchildren. This means that from this age, children of foreigners have their own grounds for obtaining a residence permit for the purpose of schooling. Therefore, they can obtain a residence permit regardless of the period of residence of one or both of their parents in Slovenia.

The procedure for reunion with pre-schoolers is a bit different. Since attending a kindergarten in Slovenia is not compulsory, children of foreigners before reaching the age of 6 do not have their own grounds for obtaining a residence permit when enrolling in a Slovenian kindergarten. Therefore, a guaranteed way of obtaining a residence permit for pre-schoolers in Slovenia is their reunion with one or both parents.

Important Notice! Children in Slovenia are entitled to child allowances and subsidies. Such payments are due not only to local schoolchildren and pre-schoolers but also to children of foreigners. The amount and type of payments for children in Slovenia depend on various factors, such as family income, the number of children in the family, the types of educational institutions that children attend (or do not attend). For example, the state can compensate schoolchildren for meals at school, while for pre-schoolers, the kindergarten fee can be reimbursed partially.

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