Slovenia Visa Guide

Slovenia Visa

Overview:

Slovenia -A country in south central Europe. It is bordered by Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, The Adriatic Sea. Slovenia covers about 7,827 sq. Miles with a population of 2.07 million people approximately. After World War II, Yugoslavia was split into six republics: Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Its capital is Ljubljana.

Slovenia has a mountainous terrain with mostly a continental climate, except for northwest Slovene Littoral, which has a sub-Mediterranean and an Alpine climate. It is one of the most water-rich countries in the whole of Europe. Half of the country is covered by forest. It is marked by a significant biological diversity.

Slovene is the official language. The economy is small, open and export-oriented, and is influenced by international conditions. Slovenia has visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 180 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 9th in the world.

How to Travel to Slovenia?

Slovenia is listed as a member state of the Schengen Agreement and the European Union. The country permits US citizens to enter the country for 90 days, be it for tourist or business purpose, without a visa. But the passport should be valid for three months beyond the period of stay. You also need Euro 10,000 or an equivalent amount with you and a return air ticket.

The Schengen area consists of 26 European countries. They do not have any border controls between them. The countries are Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Norway, Malta, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Iceland, Estonia,Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovenia and Latvia. They have a standard short stay visa policy.

Why is a Slovenia Visa Needed?

You will require a visa to visit the nation of Slovenia just like visiting most other countries.Now, your reason for visiting Slovenia could be anything, and it is that reason which will decide the types of visa you need to apply. There are four types of Slovene visas:

Schengen visa type A = Airport transit visa

Schengen visa type B = Transit visa

Schengen visa type C = Entry visa

Long-term visa D = Residence, student or business

Kinds of visa to enter Slovenia

As aforementioned, your visit to Slovenia can be for any number of reasons, which will decide the type of visa you are to apply. The types of visas for visiting Slovenia are:

Tourist Visa:

• A letter of invitation with the address and phone number of friends or family, if any
• Bank statement of the last 6 months to testify that you can support yourself during the entire duration of your stay in the Schengen zone.
• Passport copies

For Business purpose:

• An invitation from a Slovenian company with their address and the entry and exit dates of your visit.
• A certificate from your employer stating the kind of business you will be engaged in during your visit to Slovenia
• Proof of earlier business dealings between the two companies, if any
• Last 6 months’ business bank statement
• Memorandum and Article of Association in original certified copy, Trade License (oldest and latest), Partnership documents
• The total expenses of your stay must be stated on the invitation

For Medical purpose:

• A medical report stating the specific medical condition of the applicant from a hospital or doctor in the home country
• An attested medical report from the doctor in Slovenia confirming the date of medical treatment
• Receipt of medical fees paid

For culture, sports, film crews or religious purposes:

• An invitation stating the purpose of the visit and expense covered
• Name of the crew members
• Duration of stay
• Travel itinerary

For members of official delegations:

• The official invitation
• The identity of the member
• Purpose of visit
• Duration of stay
• Accommodation

For study-related purposes:

• An enrollment certificate
• Certificate of completion of study so far
• Proof of financial sustainability

For wife/husband of a Slovenian citizen:

• Proof of Slovenian citizenship
• Slovene marriage certificate
• Slovene family record book

For a transit visa:

• This visa or an alternate entry permit permitting you to enter the country before you change flights to reach your final stop
• Copy of a valid visa to your final stop

For underage children:

• Proof of parent’s regular income
• Travel permission or consent from parents

For National visa:

If you plan to stay for more than 3 months, you have to apply for a national visa to stay further. You need to apply for a national D-type visa. Period of validity of D-Visa cannot be more than 1 year

How to Check the Status of Slovenia visa?

You can check the status of your Slovenia visa by going online and ‘tracking the application’ by providing your reference number and date of birth.You are advised not to make any non-refundable payments for any travel arrangements before receiving your visa.

Slovenia Visa Application Process

When you have decided about the kind of visa you need to travel to Slovenia, you can apply for it online or offline as it is convenient for you. You may even take the help of a travel agency. Though they are likely to charge a fee for their services, it will reduce your burden. In the following passages, you can read about the process of applying for the Slovenia visa. Ensure that you follow the process sincerely to prevent the rejection of your visa.

• Find out the visa type you need:First of all, you need to find out the type of visa you are going to need, which will depend on the purpose of your visit to Slovenia. The duration of your visit also matters as you will require different types of visas for different durations. For instance, for a short duration, say 90 days, you will require a Schengen visa. However, you can extend the duration of your visa by applying for it with a valid reason. And, for a long-term duration visit, say more than 90 days, you will need to apply for a Slovenia visa in order to get the required permission to stay in the Schengen zone. If you overshoot your stay in the Schengen zone without applying for an extension, you may receive a warning notice, and may even be repatriated.

• Booking your appointment: You can't simply walk into the embassy to apply for a visa, as you will not be entertained. You have to book a proper appointment with the embassy and follow the proper procedure. You are advised to keep all your required documents handy and adequately organised, or else you may have to seek another appointment, and the whole process will get delayed.

• Visit the embassy on time:On the day of the appointment, visit the embassy on time, or your visa interview may get rescheduled. You will be given a small leeway, say about 10 to 15 minutes, but no one is going to wait for you for longer than that. On reaching the embassy on time, your appointment letter will be checked and verified. You will then be given a token number to wait for your turn. When your turn comes, all your documents will be properly checked and verified. This may take about 10 to 15 minutes, as both your application form and attached documents will be verified. Before you submit the documents, ensure that all the forms are correctly filled and the documents are properly organised. You must also have photocopies of all the documents. If your documents are not in order, or if you do not have photocopies of the same, you will be given another token number, thus delaying the process of your submission. If all your documents are in proper order, then the embassy will take your file including your passport, for a specified period. During this time, you cannot get your passport, even for urgent reasons, or your application may get cancelled, and then you will have to undergo the process all over again.

• Ensure there are no typo errors: Your information will be fed into the online system of the embassy. After that, you will be given a hard copy of the same to be countersigned in front of embassy officials. Ensure that there are no typo errors before you sign it. In the meanwhile, you will be asked to pay a visa fee of Euro 60 as an application fee, for which you will be given a receipt. You will have to produce this receipt at the time of collection of your visa, so keep it safe.

• Getting your biometrics scanned:When this process is completed, you will have to give your biometrics. All your 10 fingers will be scanned. This will take another 10 minutes. Your application for a Slovenia visa will now be processed by the embassy. All you need to do is sit back and relax until you get a call from the embassy that you can come and collect your visa.

Eligibility criteria for applying for the Slovenia visa:

• You must be a citizen of the country from where you are applying for the Slovenia visa.
• You should be a foreign citizen who is currently on a temporary residence permit in the country from where you are applying.
• You are eligible to apply for a Slovenia visa if it is the only country in the Schengen Zone that you are going to visit.
• You are eligible to apply for a Slovenia visa if you are going to spend most of your trip duration in Slovenia.
• You are eligible to apply for a Slovenia visa if it is the entry point of your visit to the Schengen Zone.

Documents required for a Slovenia Visa

• Download the application or fill it electronically and print out the hard copy 2 photos with a light background
• Your passport and copies of previous visas — valid for at least 3 months beyond your return date
• There should be a minimum of 2 blank pages in your passport
• Copy of return ticket
• Take a travel visa insurance with a confirmation of minimum Euro 30,000 coverage within Slovenia and the entire Schengen area. You can rely on Bharti Axa for this purpose.
• You should submit a cover letter stating the specific reason for your visit to Slovenia
• Flight itinerary reservations, specifying your entry and exit dates along with your flight numbers
• Proof of accommodation during the entire course of your stay in Slovenia or elsewhere in the Schengen zone
• Proof of civil status
• You will need to submit a proof of your financial means showing that you will be able to support yourself during the entire duration of your visit

Some additional documents required as per the following status Employed:

• Employment contract
• Bank statement of the last 6 months
• NOC from the employer
• Income Tax Return form

Self-employed:

• A copy of your business license
• Bank statement of the last 6 months
• Income Tax Return form

Student:

• Proof of enrollment
• School-leaving certificate
• Copy of the fee receipt

Retired:

• Pension statement of the last 6 months, but if you have income generated from a property, you will have to show proof of it for the last 6 months

The documents mentioned above are mandatory; otherwise, the visa will not be issued, and your application will be rejected.

Biometric data required

All the applicants are required to appear in person to provide biometric data, which is a simple procedure. Biometric data is collected by capturing fingerprints of all 10 fingers through the scanning process. For frequent travellers, the fingerprints once given can be reused for future applications for the next 5 years.

Exceptions from the obligation of fingerprinting are provided for:

• Children under the age of 12
• The person who hands or fingers have been amputated or handicapped
• Heads of State or government and members of national Governments with accompanying spouses, and the members of their official delegation when they are invited by Member States' governments or by international organisations for an official purpose

Fees Required for Slovenia Visa Application

The cost differs from visa to visa, on the type of visa you require.

Slovenia visa application centres

Time is taken for document processing:

• The entire process of obtaining a Slovenia visa takes around 15 working days. In exceptional cases, it can be prolonged up to 30 days, but when additional documents are needed, it may prolong up to 60 days.
• For national visa, it is 30 calendar days for processing from the day the Embassy receives the application and the required documents for the visa.

They will not be issued a Schengen visa if they fail to provide biometric data. Only applicants under the following categories won’t be affected:

• children under the age of 12
• A person whose hands have been amputated or is handicapped.
• Heads of State or government and members of a national government with accompanying spouses, and the members of their official delegation when they are invited by Member States' governments or by international organisations for the official purpose

No, the Schengen visa allows you to travel or stay in any other Schengen country for the maximum duration of a “short stay”, which is 90 days within 180 days.

Yes, you can generally cross over any Schengen border with a visa issued by any Schengen country.

The standard notification form is handed out if the visa is refused. The notification of the refusal would include the reasons of refusal.You are free to apply again for a Schengen visa. But it will be wise of you if you take note of the reasons for the earlier refusal before submitting a new application and make the required changes before re-submitting it.

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