This Act lays down measures to optimise certain procedures at administrative units in order to relieve the burden on the processes at administrative units and to speed up the entry of foreigners into the labour market.

The two main solutions are as follows:

1. Abolition of local jurisdiction of administrative units in certain procedures under the Aliens Act (ZTuj-2)

The Act shall abolish the local jurisdiction of administrative units in the procedures for issuing and extending residence permits and in the procedures for issuing and renewing residence registration certificates for EU citizens or citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) Member States.

2. Temporary regulation concerning the employment of foreign workers in the Republic of Slovenia

2.1. Access to residence and employment (Article 25 of the ZUOPUE)

The Act provides that a foreigner who is legally residing in the Republic of Slovenia (in accordance with Article 14 of the Aliens Act) and who has submitted an application for the first single permit to reside and work for the purpose of employment in accordance with the Aliens Act, shall be issued by an administrative unit, at his/her own request, a certificate of the submitted application for the first single permit allowing him/her to reside in the Republic of Slovenia until the final decision on the application is delivered.
If the application is submitted by an employer, a certificate of the application shall be issued at the employer’s request.
If an employer applies for the first single permit after this Act has entered into force (i.e. from 25 July 2024 onwards), the employer shall be issued a certificate of the application by the administrative unit ex officio.
In these cases, the foreigner who has not yet been fingerprinted shall have his/her fingerprints taken by an administrative unit in the Republic of Slovenia, which shall also deliver the single permit to the foreigner in the Republic of Slovenia.
On the basis of the certificate of the application for the first single permit and approval by the Employment Office of the Republic of Slovenia to issue the single permit allowing the employment of the foreigner, the foreigner is allowed to be employed until the final decision on the application for the first single permit for the purpose of employment is taken.

IMPORTANT:

The Act applies only to applications for the first single permit for the purpose of employment in the Republic of Slovenia, which means that the foreigner intends to sign an employment contract or enter into an employment relationship with an employer in the Republic of Slovenia. The issuing of a certificate on the application is therefore only relevant in the case of subsequent applications for the issuing of the following types of first single permit:

The law therefore does not allow for the issue of a certificate on the application for the first single permit in cases where the foreigner intends to work in the Republic of Slovenia on the basis of a civil-law contract (single permit for residence and work for the purpose of performing work duties pursuant to Article 37 of the Aliens Act) or intends to work as a self-employed person (single permit for the purpose of performing work duties as a self-employed person pursuant to Article 37b of the Aliens Act) or in cases where the foreigner will not be covered by compulsory social insurance in the Republic of Slovenia (single permit for posted workers under Article 45 of the Aliens Act and single permit for intra-corporate transferees under Articles 45b and 45d (long-term transfer) of the Aliens Act)

2.2 Arrangement of employment-based residence status for foreigners whose application for international protection has been rejected (Article 27 of the ZUOPUE)

The Act also provides for the possibility of issuing the first single permit for the purpose of employment to a foreigner whose application for international protection has been rejected on the basis of the International Protection Act (ZMZ-1) and who:

– is included in the social security system at the time when the application for international protection is rejected (i.e. on the date of service of the rejection decision), and

– had been covered by an employment-based social security scheme for at least nine months up to the time the application for international protection was rejected (all days of inclusion in an employment-based social security scheme up to the date when the rejection decision was served are taken into account, which means that a continuous nine-month period of inclusion in an employment-based social security scheme is not required).

The Act further stipulates that a single permit shall not be issued if the application for international protection is rejected on exclusionary grounds pursuant to the International Protection Act (ZMZ-1).
An application for the issuance of the first single permit for the purpose of employment under Article 27 of the Act may be submitted at the administrative unit by a foreigner or his/her employer if the application for international protection has been rejected. A foreigner whose application for international protection has been rejected is allowed to submit an application during the period of his/her authorised stay in the Republic of Slovenia, i.e. until the deadline for voluntary departure expires, as laid down in the decision rejecting the application for international protection. The deadline for voluntary departure shall commence when the decision becomes enforceable.
In the procedure for issuing a single permit under Article 27 of the Act, the administrative unit shall issue the applicant with a certificate stating that the application for the first single permit has been submitted, provided that the application for the first single permit for the purpose of employment is submitted on time, i.e. by the deadline for voluntary departure as set by the decision rejecting the application for international protection and which shall commence on the date when the decision rejecting the application for international protection becomes enforceable.

IMPORTANT:

In the procedure for issuing the first single permit for the purpose of employment under Article 27 of the Act, the provisions of the Aliens Act shall apply to all other matters (e.g. other conditions for issuing a single permit for the purpose of employment).

2.3 Period of validity of the measures

On the basis of the Decision on the extension of the temporary measures in the field of employment of foreign workers in the Republic of Slovenia, the above-mentioned temporary measures in the field of employment of foreign workers in the Republic of Slovenia shall be extended until 31 December 2024.