Family Reunion and Residence Permit for Children

Family Reunion in Slovenia

Family reunion in Slovenia is available to foreigners living in the country with a residence permit obtained for any purposes — business, studies, employment, sports career, scientific activity, and others.

According to Slovenian legislation, a foreigner can initiate the family reunion procedure after 1 year of residence in Slovenia and after extending the first residence permit for the second year.

The exception is the family members of a Blue Card holder in Slovenia (Blue Card EU), researchers, employees of higher educational institutions, holders of permanent residence permit, and family members of a Slovenia’s citizen. Such categories of foreigners have the right to apply for a residence permit for their family members without waiting for 1 year of residence in the country.

Who Are the Family Members?

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

As in the case of other family members, a foreigner in Slovenia is allowed to initiate the procedure for reuniting with children after 1 year of residence in the country and after extending the first residence permit for the second year.

Important! Children in Slovenia are entitled to child allowances and subsidies. Such payments are legally provided not only to local schoolchildren and pre-schoolers but also to children of foreigners. The amount and type of allowances for children in Slovenia depend on various factors, such as the family income, the number of children in the family, the types of educational institutions attended (or not attended) by children. For example, the government can cover for meals of schoolchildren at school or can partially cover for kindergarten fee to parents of pre-schoolers.

Reunion with School Children

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 have their own grounds for obtaining a residence permit for the purpose of schooling. Learn more about the features of the Slovenian school system and the enrolment of children to school by reading this article.

Reunion with Children Under 6 Years (Pre-schoolers)

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. A guaranteed way of obtaining a residence permit for pre-schoolers in Slovenia is their reunion with a parent who has already lived in Slovenia for 1 year on the basis of a residence permit, has permanent residence or Slovenian citizenship, or is a Blue Cardholder.