Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Slovenia citizenship means a permanent legal bond between the Republic of Slovenia and its citizens, irrespective of the method by which citizenship was acquired. Acquisition of the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia The citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia may be acquired in the following ways: I. By birth 1. If both parents are, at the birth of a child, Slovene citizens, irrespective of where the child is born and irrespective of whether the child is born in wedlock or out of it. This principle applies without any limitations whatsoever regarding age (Article 4 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia). In case the child is born abroad, the parents or one of them must request for the registration of the child in the official register in the Republic of Slovenia. This may be done at a Slovene diplomaticconsular representative abroad or at the administrative unit in the Republic of Slovenia in whose area of jurisdiction they have permanent residence. If the parents do not have the same permanent residence, they may choose to register the child at the administrative unit in the area where one of them has permanent residence and must submit a birth certificate for the child. 2. If, at the birth of the child in the Republic of Slovenia, one of the parents is a Slovene citizen and the other is an alien, the parents are not required to do anything. Such a child automatically acquires Slovene citizenship. In the event of the child being born abroad (Article 5 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia), the child may be declared a Slovene citizen solely by the parent who is a Slovene citizen. The application for the declaration which must be accompanied by a birth certificate, is submitted in the same manner as described in point 1 above. If the child is already 14 years of age, the application must be accompanied by his/her written consent. In the event of the child moving to Slovenia before coming of age, the administrative unit where the child has residence must enter the child into the citizenship register ex officio. 3. If a child born abroad to a mixed marriage was not declared a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia by the parent who at the time of birth was a Slovene citizen, the child has a right to declare himself/herself a Slovene citizen however not later than the age of 36 years. For this purpose, a written statement is sufficient which must be accompanied by a birth certificate and the application must include precise information on the parent that is a Slovene citizen (name, place and date of birth, last address of residence in the Republic of Slovenia, and information on the other parent is also useful) Article 6 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia. After expiry of the statutory deadline, that is 36 years of age, acquisition of citizenship is only possible by naturalisation, provided that such a person fulfils the conditions determined by statute. II. By naturalisation Irrespective of nationality, aliens have a possibility to acquire Slovene citizenship provided they fulfil the conditions determined by statute. In all cases of naturalisation of persons living in the Republic of Slovenia, applications are submitted at the administrative unit where these persons have residence. All applicants must pay an administrative tax which amounts to SIT 34,850 (for
the application and decision) payable to transaction account no. 0 11001000343476 with reference to no. 11 17116-7111010-2003. 1. NATURALISATION FOR ALIENS WITHOUT EXEMPTIONS (Article 10 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) The citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia may be acquired in this way by aliens who fulfil the following conditions: they must have reached the age of 18 years, they must have effectively lived in the Republic of Slovenia for at least 10 years and have a regulated alien status, they must have their own permanent means of subsistence which enable material and social security, they must master the Slovene language for the needs of daily communication, they must have their tax obligations in order, they must submit a declaration stating that with the acquisition of the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, they accept the legal order of the Republic of Slovenia, they must submit proof of discharge from their original citizenship or a guarantee that they will obtain the discharge if granted Slovene citizenship. The application is rejected, irrespective of fulfilling other conditions, if it is found that a prison sentence of longer than one year was passed on the applicant for a criminal offence persecuted ex officio, as long as the conviction continues to remain in the criminal records and, if the alien is served with an order banning him/her from staying in the Republic of Slovenia or, if it is established that the granting of citizenship would present a threat to public order, the security or defence of the country. In the event of an alien being under criminal procedure ex officio, due to a criminal offence punishable by a prison sentence of not less than one year, the naturalisation process is suspended until a final verdict is reached in the trial. Proof of knowledge of the language is provided with a certificate issued by the competent institution of the Centre for the Slovene Language as a second/foreign language at the Faculty of Philosophy in Ljubljana, Aškerceva cesta 2 or from authorised institutes the Educational Centres of the Part-time University. Such proof is not required if the alien completed primary or secondary school in the Republic of Slovenia or if he/she obtained, 6th. or 7th. grade education in the Republic of Slovenia after 25 June 1991, or completed high or university education. Persons with a health defect that affects oral expression are not required to sit the written examination and such an exam is not required of persons older than 60 years of age and living in Slovenia for at least 15 years and neither are illiterate persons required to do the exam. In cases in which the country of which the person applying for naturalisation is a citizen does not permit discharges from citizenship since such procedures are not at all possible, the alien cannot be required to fulfil this condition. The application for naturalisation is submitted at the administrative unit in the area of permanent or temporary residence of the alien. The application must be accompanied by all the evidence providing proof of the fulfilment of the conditions as well as by the documents providing proof of identity, citizenship and civil status. 2. NATURALISATION WITH EXEMPTIONS FOR PERSONS OF SLOVENIAN DESCENT (first paragraph of Article 12 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia)
For persons of Slovenian descent up to the third lineage of genealogy (exemptions may thus be claimed by the grandchildren of Slovene emigrants while the great grandchildren may not), the law already allows for naturalisation after one year of actually living in the Republic of Slovenia. Besides, the law allows them to retain the original citizenship. They, however, must fulfil all the other conditions that apply to other aliens. 3. NATURALISATION WITH EXEMPTIONS FOR PERSONS WHO PREVIOUSLY HAD SLOVENE CITIZENSHIP (second paragraph of Article 12 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) For persons who lost Slovene citizenship on the basis of a discharge or renouncement, the law already allows naturalisation after six months of actual residence in the Republic of Slovenia and, in addition to this, the law allows them to retain their previous citizenship. They, however, must fulfil all the other conditions that apply to other aliens apart from the condition concerning the knowledge of the Slovene language. 4. NATURALISATION WITH EXEMPTIONS FOR PERSONS THAT ARE MARRIED TO CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA (second paragraph of Article 12 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) For a person that has been married to a Slovene citizen for at least two years, the law already allows naturalisation after one year of actual residence in the Republic of Slovenia, provided they fulfil all the other conditions that apply to naturalisation without exemptions. In exceptional cases, a person married to a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia may, on special request, retain his/her original citizenship provided the Government of the Republic of Slovenia gives consent. Persons wishing to retain their original citizenship must profoundly justify such a request. 5. NATURALISATION WITH EXEMPTIONS FOR PERSONS BORN IN SLOVENIA (fifth paragraph of Article 12 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) Persons born in the Republic of Slovenia and living there from birth onwards are not required to fulfil the condition of a permanent means of subsistence or knowledge of the Slovene language, they are not required to have a regulated alien status and retain their original citizenship upon naturalisation. 6. NATURALISATION WITH EXEMPTIONS FOR REFUGEES (sixth paragraph of Article 12 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) For persons who have been granted refugee status under the Exile Act, the law already allows for naturalisation after five years of actual residence in the Republic of Slovenia, provided they fulfil all the other conditions that apply to naturalisation without exemptions. In addition to this, the law allows them to retain their original citizenship. They, however, must fulfil all the other conditions that apply to other aliens. 7. NATURALISATION WITH EXEMPTIONS FOR PERSONS WITHOUT CITIZENSHIP (seventh paragraph of Article 12 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) For persons who are not considered citizens of any country under national law, the law allows for naturalisation after five years of actual residence in the Republic of Slovenia, provided they fulfil all the other conditions that apply to other aliens, except of course the condition of discharge from previous citizenship.
8. NATURALISATION OF MINORS (Article 14 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) The naturalisation of juniors is tied to the naturalisation of their parents. In the event of both parents acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, their child who has not yet reached the age of 18 years also acquires the citizenship if the parents apply for it, irrespective of where the child lives (first paragraph of Article 14 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia). If only one of the parents acquires the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, citizenship may only be acquired by a child below the age of 18 years who has lived for at least one year with this parent in Slovenia (second paragraph of Article 14 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia). In the event of a parent acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia on ethnicity grounds under the provisions of Article 13 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, the child is not required to have lived in Slovenia. If the child is older than 14 years, the child must give consent to acquiring Slovene citizenship. The Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia also provides, in Article 14, for naturalisation of those children who do not have parents or whose parents have lost parental rights as well as adopted children between whom and the adopters a normal parental-child relationship did not develop after the adoption. 9. EXCEPTIONAL NATURALISATION (Article 13 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) The provision of Article 13 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia allows for the granting of the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia to persons that have reached the age of 18 years, if this is in the interest of the country due to scientific, economic, cultural, national or other similar reasons. The existence of the reasons referred to in the preceding paragraph is established in advance by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on the basis of the opinion of the competent authority. The person must have lived in the Republic of Slovenia for at least one year prior to submitting the application, must have a regulated alien status and must fulfil certain conditions stipulated in Article 10 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia (i.e. guaranteed permanent means of subsistence, that he/she was not convicted with a prison sentence of more than one year, that the acquisition of citizenship does not present a threat to public order, security or defence of the country, that his/her tax obligations are in order, and that he accepts the legal order of the Republic of Slovenia). Applicants that claim a national interest on ethnicity grounds (persons of Slovene descent) are not required to fulfil the condition of actual residence in the Republic of Slovenia. The decisions of the Ministry of the Interior, which is competent for deciding on the naturalisation of aliens, are tied to the opinion of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia which is authorised to establish through the procedures whether an individual case presents the circumstances that justify a national interest for granting the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia to a particular individual. Persons living abroad submit the application to the Slovene diplomatic-consular representative while the applicants living in Slovenia submit the application directly to the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia. The application must be accompanied by proof of payment of the administrative tax amounting to SIT 34,850. An additional consular tax is payable, in case of the application being submitted to a diplomatic-consular representative. 10. NATURALISATION ON THE BASIS OF ARTICLE 19 OF THE REVISED ACT ON THE CITIZENSHIP OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 96/02)
The transitional provision of the Act on the Changes and Amendments to the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia allows for naturalisation with exceptions to the conditions, for those persons who, on 23 December 1990, had permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia while they were, at the time, citizens of third countries or citizens of the former Republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This provides a possibility of acquisition of citizenship for those persons who did not regulate Slovene citizenship under the provisions of Article 40 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia as well as for a small number of people who, as aliens, had permanent residence in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Both categories must master the Slovene language and must have actually lived in Slovenia from 23 December 1990. They must not have been convicted with a prison sentence of more than one year and they must give a declaration of acceptance of the legal order of the Republic of Slovenia. A regulated alien status is not a condition for granting citizenship. The deadline for submitting applications is limited to one year and will expire on 20 November 2003. Applicants are exempted from the payment of processing tax. The application for Slovene citizenship is submitted to the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia. CESSATION OF THE CITIZENSHIP OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA Citizens of the Republic of Slovenia may, upon request, be granted a discharge from Slovene citizenship (Article 18 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia) provided they fulfil the following conditions: they must have reached the age of 18 years, they must actually live in Slovenia, they must have in order their tax and other statutory and alimony obligations in the Republic of Slovenia, they must not be under criminal procedure for crimes prosecuted ex officio and in the event of having been sentenced to prison in Slovenia, they are required to have served the sentence, their discharge must not present any obstruction to military obligations, they must provide proof that they have or that they will acquire foreign citizenship. Persons who have requested to be discharged from Slovene citizenship but who continue to live in Slovenia and who have not provided proof of foreign citizenship or proof that they will acquire foreign citizenship, may be issued with an assurance that they will receive the discharge from the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia in case they provide proof, within two years, that they have emigrated from Slovenia and that foreign citizenship has been guaranteed or already granted. Minors too may, on the request of their parents, be discharged from Slovene citizenship. On the request of the parents upon both of them ceasing to be citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, their children that have not yet reached the age of 18 years also cease to be Slovene citizens albeit children older than 14 years of age must give their consent. The application for a discharge from the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia is submitted to the Slovene diplomatic-consular representative where also the administrative and consular taxes are payable. II. By renouncement Article 25 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia provides for the possibility of cessation of citizenship by renouncement. Adult citizens of the Republic of Slovenia who were born abroad and who live there and have foreign citizenship may before reaching the age of 25 years renounce the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia. Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia ceases on the day of submission of the renouncement declaration.
III. By withdrawal Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia may be withdrawn from Slovene citizens actually living abroad, who have foreign citizenship and who, through their activities, jeopardise the international or other interests of the Republic of Slovenia (Article 26 of the Act on the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia). The Act stipulates jeopardising the international and other interests of the Republic of Slovenia as: membership of an individual in an organisation whose activities are directed at the destruction of the constitutional order of the Republic of Slovenia, the affiliation of an individual to a foreign intelligence service if such affiliation damages the interests of the Republic of Slovenia or if these interests are damaged by the person s work in a state authority or organisation of a foreign country, a frequent offender in criminal offences prosecuted ex officio, refusal of an individual, notwithstanding an invitation from the competent authority, to fulfil the obligations prescribed by constitution and statute for the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia. http://www.legislationline.org