Author
National forms of protection
Outside of international and temporary protection (see Annex on Temporary Protection – 2025 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.[2]
In September 2025, the new amendments of the Foreigners Act came to force. Article 34(11) allows asylum seekers and rejected asylum seekers to apply for a work residence permit.
Asylum seekers can apply for a residence permit if:
- they have not been convicted for a criminal offense for which a prison sentence of more than 3 years can be imposed;
- they are included in a social insurance system on the basis of employment when lodging the application for the residence permit; and
- they have been included in the above-mentioned social insurance system for at least three months in the past four months.
If, during the residence permit procedure, the asylum seeker’s application is dismissed or they are granted international protection, their procedure to obtain the residence permit is stopped. If the asylum seeker’s application is rejected and the decision becomes final, the procedure is continued but under the conditions that apply for rejected asylum seekers (regulated in Article 37(9) of the Foreigners Act. In case the work residence permit is granted, the applicant’s asylum procedure is stopped.[3]
Rejected asylum seekers whose decision became final can apply for a work residence under the conditions set in Article 37(9) of the Foreigners Act. After their decision on their asylum application became final they have to lodge the application for a work residence permit in the timeframe for voluntary return. If the application is lodged in time, they are issued a confirmation that allows them to stay in Slovenia until the decision on the permit is made. During the procedure they can continue their employment.
The work residence permit is issued to rejected asylum seekers if:
- they were included in social insurance system based on employment when their decision on asylum became final; and
- if, at the time the decision became final, they were included in the above-mentioned system at least 6 months.
In addition, both asylum seekers and rejected asylum seekers have to meet other conditions for obtaining the residence permit on this ground,[4] 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 their asylum application,[5] this means that only asylum applicants that were staying in Slovenia for more than 6 or 9 months can be potentially eligible for the residence permit. In addition, their application cannot have been dismissed, meaning that asylum applicants processed in the Dublin procedure cannot access these permits.
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.[6]
A permission to stay only gives the individual the possibility to stay in Slovenia for 6 months with the possibility to prolong the permission.[7] The obligation to leave the country does not cease with a permission to stay.[8] 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.[9]
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 2025 temporary stay was issued to 8 foreigners.[10]
Return procedure
Asylum applicants are issued a return decision together with the rejected asylum decision.[11] When lodging the judicial review applicants need to argue against both decisions (see Regular procedure: Appeal).
During 2025, 154 rejections that included the return decision were issued. In 1 case the rejected asylum seeker 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.[12]
In 2025, 419 foreigners voluntarily returned according to the official police statistics. The Foreigners Centre also assisted 36 applicants that expressed the wish to voluntarily return during the asylum procedure. In 2025, 563 return decisions were issued by the Police and 624 foreigners were forcibly returned.[13]
[1] Immigration strategy of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, March 2024, available in Slovenian here.
[2] For more information see AIDA report Slovenia, 2024 update, available here.
[3] Article 34(11) of the Foreigners Act.
[4] Article 34(11) and 37(9) Foreigners Act.
[5] Article 87(1) IPA.
[6] Article 73(2) Foreigners Act.
[7] Article 73(3) Foreigners Act.
[8] Article 73 (6) Foreigners Act.
[9] Article 51(2) Foreigners Act.
[10] Official statistics provided by the Police, February 2026.
[11] Article 49 IPA.
[12] Official statistics provided by the Migration directorate March 2026.
[13] Official statistics provided by the Police, February 2026.