Immigrate to Slovenia from UK

Updated on Friday 17th December 2021

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The legal procedure through which a British citizen can immigrate to Slovenia from UK will vary based on the moment when the British person will leave his or her home country. As it is already acknowledged, the United Kingdom (UK) began on 29 March 2017 the process for leaving the European Union (EU), which was later know as the Brexit.

The Brexit was finalized on 31st January 2020, when the UK has officially left the EU. However, since that moment and up until the end of 2020 (more exactly, 31 December 2020), any British citizen can move to Slovenia from UK without completing any formalities, as the citizens of the UK still enjoy from the right of free movement of persons, a right granted to all EU citizens.

However, the UK will transition to the status of a third party country in the near future and this will bring additional legal requirements for its citizens when relocating to any EU country, including Slovenia. It must also be mentioned that the process through which a person will immigrate to Slovenia from UK will also vary based on the duration of stay; for more details on the legal procedures prescribed by the local immigration law, we invite to request any information from our team of Slovenian lawyers.

What is the Withdrawal Agreement?

The Withdrawal Agreement is a legal document that was established by the UK officials with the EU institutions for the purpose of ensuring a smooth transition period from the status of EU member to the one of non-EU state. This agreement refers to various legal aspects and procedures that refer to the British corporate entities and natural persons living in EU member states and vice-versa.

Currently, the UK is still seen as a part of the EU’s Customs Union and the Single Market and its citizens can freely move to EU member states. At the moment, in the case of those who want to immigrate to Slovenia from UK, there are four legal situations that they can deal with, as follows:

British citizens who have been legally residing in Slovenia for at least 5 years by 31 December 2020, when the Withdrawal Agreement ends;
British citizens who have been living in Slovenia for less than 5 years by 31 December 2020;
British citizens who want to relocate to Slovenia for a short period of time prior to 31 December 2020;
British citizens who want to permanently immigrate to Slovenia from UK prior to 31 December 2020.

British citizens, residents in Slovenia

Given that the Agreement will be valid only by the end of the year, the Slovenian authorities will perform different legal actions depending on the specific situation of a British citizen (the same is applicable in the UK, for Slovenian citizens and other EU nationals). A British citizen who has been living in Slovenia for at least 5 years (which can be proven by various immigration documents, such as residence permits) will have to apply for a new residence status.

Our team of lawyers in Slovenia can explain the legal steps necessary in this case, but one must know that the national authorities will verify the persons’ identity, the criminal record and will ask his or her to confirm the ongoing residence. The British citizens will not lose the right of residing here, but they will need to have a new residence permit, which will take the form of a biometric residence card. The same procedures will be applied in the case of those who are residents of less than 5 years.

British citizens moving to Slovenia

In the case of those who want to move to Slovenia from UK on a permanent basis, which is available for both the British citizen and his or her family, it must be noted that at the moment, one can freely relocate here, as per the regulations of the Slovenian immigration law, which follows the EU directives. Prior to leaving, one can verify the updated information available on the British Government website or can address to our team of Slovenian lawyers.

Given the fact that the foreigners will want to relocate here on a longer period of time, the foreigner should also register his or her residence in Slovenia as soon as possible. A novelty of the process to relocate to Slovenia from the UK is that the British citizens will also have to register their residence in this country in accordance with the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement, which can be detailed by our team of Slovenian lawyers.

According to the Slovenian legislation, foreigners living here for more than 90 days have to register with the local Town Hall in the city where they live. For this, various documents have to be presented, such as the UK passport, a bank statement, a document showing the person’s work situation (work contract, student enrollment, pension statement, etc.). For more information or for legal representation, we invite you to contact our law firm in Slovenia.