Family reunification

After being granted a refugee status, you can apply to be reunited with the following family members:

• your spouse, registered partner or partner with whom you have resided in a long-term partnership;
• your unmarried minor children or minor unmarried children of your spouse, registered partner or partner with whom you have resided in a long-term partnership;
• your or your partner’s adult unmarried children and parents who you or your partner are obliged to maintain in accordance with the regulations of your home country;
• your parents, with whom you have been living in a family community before coming to Slovenia, if you are a child.

In exceptional cases, also other family members may be reunited with you, if you prove close family ties, physical care, security, protection, emotional support and financial dependence with those members.

If you are an unaccompanied child, you can apply to be reunited with your parents, whom you had lived with in a family community before your arrival to Slovenia or with your siblings, if you prove close family ties, physical care, security, protection, emotional support and financial dependence with your brothers and/or sisters.

Family reunification is possible if:

• you have been granted a refugee status;
• you hold a permanent residence permit in Slovenia or have lived here for at least the last year on the basis of a temporary residence permit which is valid for at least another year;
• you present documents requested by the Regular Migration Procedures Division at the Migration Directorate, Ministry of the Interior (see section on How to prove the identity of the family members and the existence of family links?)

You should apply for the family reunification in 90 days after being granted international protection. If you apply later, you will have to prove that you meet the general conditions for issuing a residence permit (possession of a valid passport, health insurance and sufficient financial means). You can find more information on the government website. (Slovenian and English language)

The application must be submitted to the Regular Migration Procedures Division at the Migration Directorate, Ministry of the Interior.

Ministry Of the Interior, Migration Directorate, Regular Migration Procedures Division

Address: Litostrojska cesta 54, 1501 Ljubljana
Email: [email protected]
Website: Ministry of the Interior | GOV.SI (English language)
Phone number: +386 1 428 43 02

You can contact Slovenian Red Cross, who can support you with the family reunification procedure:

Slovenian Red Cross – REPAIR project (Reunification Pathways for integration)

Address: Mirje 19, 1000 Ljubljana
Tel: +386 1 24 14 300
Email: [email protected]

You can reach out to PIC – Legal centre for the protection of human rights and the environment, for the assistance with the submission of the application for the family reunification:

PIC – Legal centre for the protection of human rights and the environment

Address: Metelkova 6, 1000 Ljubljana
Tel: +386 1 521 18 88 or +386 51 681 181
Website: pic.si (Slovene language)
Email: [email protected]

You must provide the identification documents of you family members to prove their identity and prove the existence of family ties between you and your family members, by submitting original extracts from registers proving your marriage or your child’s birth, written on international forms or the forms of your home country. These documents must be translated into Slovenian and verified. The cost of the translation and verification should be covered by you.

If you do not have the requested documents, you should tell the authorities all the facts about your family members such as their names, dates and places of birth, residence addresses and information about where they are now.  You will also have to sign a written consent, which allows the competent authority to verify the information you provided.

Family members need a valid passport and the residence permit issued by the Ministry of the Interior to enter Slovenia. If a family member does not possess a valid passport, the Ministry of the Interior issues them a temporary passport, valid for 90 days, for the purpose of entry into the Republic of Slovenia.