- An excursion into history
- How can you get Slovenian citizenship?
- Naturalization mechanism in Slovenia
Citizenship law is one of the most important regulations in any state. You can compare certain positions spelled out in the laws to see exactly how priorities are set, where the “right of blood” plays the main role, where “the right of blood” and “the right of the land” act on equal terms. Those who are going to immigrate to one of the European countries and are interested in how to obtain Slovenian citizenship should know in advance that in this republic the priority is given to the “right of blood”.
The mere fact of the birth of a child on the territory of the state is not enough for the automatic acquisition of citizenship. Parents or a child who has reached the age of majority will have to go through a certain procedure for admission to citizenship, comply with certain conditions, and collect documents. The place of birth will only play a role if one of the parents has a Slovenian passport.
An excursion into history
Many people know that Slovenia was once a part of Yugoslavia, but the information that its inhabitants, in addition to Yugoslav citizenship, also had the so-called “internal Slovenian citizenship”, may become a discovery. Therefore, after gaining independence, representatives of other nationalities who lived in the territory of the Slovenian Republic automatically became Slovenian citizens.
Therefore, a transitional period was determined, during which it was possible to resolve all issues of admission to citizenship. Until June 25, 1991, on this basis, citizens of Yugoslavia living on its territory, as well as their minor children, could become citizens of Slovenia. The second category of residents of the republic, who received the right to be citizens of Slovenia, are young people aged 18-23, whose parents took Yugoslav citizenship.
How can you get Slovenian citizenship?
At the moment, the legislation of the Slovenian Republic in the field of citizenship offers various mechanisms for acquiring civil rights, as in many other countries of the world, they are offered: citizenship by birth; citizenship by adoption; citizenship by naturalization; citizenship on other grounds.
To obtain the automatic right to citizenship of Slovenia, it is enough that one of the parents has a passport of this country, and the birth is recorded within its borders. If the birth takes place abroad, then several conditions are necessary for the automatic admission of a newborn to the category of Slovenian citizens. Among these conditions: both parents have passports of Slovenian citizens; the presence of citizenship of one of the parents and the absence of any citizenship of the other; the child does not have citizenship of any other country in the world.
Provided that one of the parents is a citizen of Slovenia, a person born outside of Slovenia can apply for a permanent residence before the age of 18 and an application for citizenship before the age of 36.
Naturalization mechanism in Slovenia
For most adult immigrants, the only way to become a full member of Slovenian society is naturalization. To complete this procedure, a number of conditions must be met, many of which are valid not only in Slovenia, but also in many other countries. For example, the period of permanent residence, in this case, on the territory of the Slovenian Republic must be at least 10 years, and the last 5 years are continuous and with the status of a permanent resident.
Among other conditions is the renunciation of citizenship, since the institution of dual citizenship does not operate on the territory of Slovenia. Integration into the local society is also an important factor for potential applicants for Slovenian citizenship. This also applies to having a permanent job, a stable income, a good level of knowledge of the Slovenian language. Another point taken into account by the immigration services is the absence of a criminal record and other problems with the law.
For some applicants for citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, special conditions are provided to facilitate obtaining a citizen's passport. The period of residence has been reduced to one year for ethnic Slovenes who at one time immigrated from the country, and not only for themselves, but also for their descendants up to the third generation. This means that the returned grandchildren of Slovenian emigrants must have lived in the country for at least a year before they can apply for citizenship, unlike the other categories, which are set for a period of 10 years.
The period of permanent residence has also been reduced to one year for another category of applicants - foreign spouses of Slovenian citizens. It is important to be married at the time of application and to comply with all other conditions. In this state, citizenship can be obtained for special merits, and if it is in the interests of the country.
