Author
National forms of protection
Outside of international and temporary protection (see Annex on Temporary Protection – 2024 Update) the Slovenian national system does not provide any other national forms of protection. Rejected asylum seekers therefore cannot apply for any other form of protection once the procedure is concluded.
One of the objectives of the new Immigration strategy[1] adopted in March 2024 was to put forward legislative changes that would, in exceptional cases, allow rejected asylum applicants to obtain a residence permit after their negative decision becomes final. This option was introduced in July 2024 with Article 27 of the Act Regulating Measures for Optimising Certain Procedures in Administrative Units. However, it was time-limited and the legal provisions ceased to apply by the end of the year. Applicants could therefore apply for this permit only from July to December 2024 as the measure was not extended by the Government.
According to the provisions of the Act asylum applicants could apply for a residence permit if:
- They were included in the social insurance system at the time of the rejection,
- They were included in the social insurance system based on employment at least 9 months prior to rejection of the application.
- Their application was not rejected due to exclusion.
In addition, asylum applicants had to meet other conditions for obtaining the residence permit on this ground,[2] meaning that they needed to provide a valid passport from their country of origin.
Since asylum applicants obtain free access to the labour market 3 months after lodging the application,[3] this meant that only asylum applicants that were staying in Slovenia for more than 1 year at the time of the rejection could be potentially eligible for the residence permit.
Applicants could apply for the permit after they received the first instance decision, even if it was not final. The application had to be submitted to the Administrative unit.
According to the official statistics, 12 rejected asylum applicants applied for the permit under these provisions. By the end of the year, none had obtained the permit.[4]
Rejected asylum applicants can also apply for temporary stay if:
- their return would violate the principle of non refoulment;
- it turns out that due to life-threatening health condition, the applicant could be exposed to a serious and irreversible deterioration of their health during the removal phase;
- they do not have and cannot obtain a valid travel document from their country, if the authority conducting the removal procedure cannot obtain a valid travel document for them, or if the conditions for issuing a European Travel Document for the illegally staying third-country nationals are not met;
- the country of their citizenship or the country in which the stateless person had their last residence is not willing to accept the applicant;
- their removal is not possible because it is not possible to ensure their transportation from the country by land, air or water.[5]
A permission to stay only gives the individual the possibility to stay in Slovenia for 6 months with the possibility to prolong the permission.[6] The obligation to leave the country does not cease with a permission to stay.[7] Individuals with a permission to stay do not have the right to work. The individual can apply for temporary residence after 2 years of stay only if the permission to stay was issued due to the prohibition of non-refoument.[8]
Rejected asylum seekers can apply for temporary stay after their decision has become final. The responsible authority is the Police. If they meet the conditions for temporary residence, they can apply for it after 2 years, at the Administrative Unit.
In 2024 temporary stay was issued to 7 foreigners.[9]
Return procedure
Since the amendment of the IPA in 2021 asylum applicants are issued a return decision together with the rejected asylum decision.[10] When lodging the judicial review applicants need to argue against both decisions (see Regular procedure: Appeal).
During 2024, 207 rejections that included the return decision were issued. In 2 cases rejected asylum seekers applied for the prolongation of the time-frame for voluntary return. Statistics on the number of rejected asylum seekers who voluntary returned or were forcibly returned is not gathered.[11]
In 2024, 53 foreigners voluntarily returned according to the official police statistics. The Foreigners Centre also assisted 8 applicants that expressed the wish to voluntarily return during the asylum procedure. 3 were from Morocco, 2 from Mongolia, 2 from Algeria and 1 from Nigeria. In 2024, 868 return decisions were issued by the Police and 52 foreigners were forcibly returned. Only one Ukrainian citizen could not be returned, as otherwise the principle of non-refoulment would have been violated.[12]
[1] Immigration strategy of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, March 2024, available in Slovenian here.
[2] Article 33(3) Foreigners Act.
[3] Article 87(1) IPA.
[4] Official statistics provided by the Migration directorate, April 2025.
[5] Article 73(2) Foreigners Act.
[6] Article 73(3) Foreigners Act.
[7] Article 73 (6) Foreigners Act.
[8] Article 51(2) Foreigners Act.
[9] Official statistics provided by the Police, April 2024.
[10] Article 49 IPA.
[11] Official statistics provided by the Migration directorate and the Police, March and April 2025.
[12] Official statistics provided by the Police, March 2025.