Slovenia

VISA REGIME

ENTERING AND LEAVING THE COUNTRY
Citizens of the Republic of Serbia entering the Republic of Slovenia need to have a travel document valid for at least three months after the planned date for leaving the territory of this EU member state. Travellers that do not meet this criterion will be returned from the border.
Holders of biometric passports of the Republic of Serbia do not require a visa for a stay of up to 90 days during a period of six months. A visa is not required for emergency travel documents in case of loss of passport. The visa-free regime does not apply to holders of travel documents issued by the Coordination Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia. 
The Republic of Slovenia has 64 international border crossings, the most important ones with Italy: Škofije, Fernetiči, with Austria: Šentilj, Karavanke, with Hungary: Dolga Vas, Hodoš, and with Croatia: Obrežje, Zavrč, Gruškovje, Vinica, Sečovlje. 
There is customs and police control at the outside borders of Schengen (with Croatia), while in the interior borders only occasional police control is present. For staying in the Republic of Slovenia, if the traveller is not travelling through a tourist agency or does not have a statement of guarantee, the amount they need to have for each planned day of stay is EUR 70. For minors travelling with a parent or guardian the amount is EUR 35.
Money and securities in amounts over EUR 10,000 need to be declared to the customs authorities, and evidence of the origin of the money is required. The import of lower amounts is permitted without declarations, but the customs authorities are authorised to request evidence of the origin of money in case of suspicion. 
Foreigners coming to hunt carry weapons across the border crossing based on an approval for the import and export of weapons issued by the consular representative office of the Republic of Slovenia abroad, or the body conducting border control if the person:
•    Provides a valid firearms certificate issued in their state of residence or a certificate that a firearms certificate is not issued for such weapons,
•    Provides a justified reason for the transport of weapons or ammunition,
•    Requests approval for the transport of weapons across the territory of EU member states.
Goods in the personal luggage of travellers from third countries are imported without duties, up to a value of EUR 300, or a value of EUR 430 in air transport. For persons under 15 years of age the permitted value is EUR 150, regardless of the means of transport. 
The amounts of duty-free excise goods are:
•    Tobacco and tobacco products: up to 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco
•    Alcoholic beverages: up to 1 litre of alcoholic beverage containing more than 22 vol. % of alcohol or 2 litres with a content under 22 vol. % of alcohol
•    Wine or beer: up to 4 litres of non-sparkling wine or 16 litres of beer.
These amounts may only be imported by persons over 17 years of age.
A special and rather rigorous control is conducted during the entry and import of animals to the territory of the Republic of Slovenia. Small animals include dogs, cats, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, rodents and domestic rabbits. Dogs and cats require a certificate on rabies vaccination and the relevant international veterinary certificate for crossing the border. Other animals need to have an international veterinary certificate for crossing the border and be tagged. These conditions are unified throughout the territory of the EU.

SOCIAL SECURITY AGREEMENT
The signing of the Social Security Agreement in 2010 created the conditions for the exercise of the right to a pension for persons completing part of their years of service in the Republic of Slovenia and persons completing part of their years of service in the Republic of Serbia, providing for the totalling of the insurance periods completed in both contracting states, for exercising the right to a pension and financial reimbursement in case of unemployment. Regarding health insurance, during a temporary stay in the Republic of Slovenia (tourist or business travel, short stays, etc.) a person with health insurance in Serbia has the right to emergency healthcare services. 
Based on the signed Agreement, citizens of the Republic of Serbia have the right to emergency medical services in the Republic of Slovenia. Exercising this right requires that prior to travelling abroad the traveller obtains form SRB/SI 03 in a branch of the Institute for Health Insurance of the Republic of Serbia that corresponds to the traveller's place of residence. Upon arrival to the Republic of Slovenia the form is submitted to the regional unit of the Institute for Health Insurance of the Republic of Slovenia in the place of temporary residence. A Slovenian document is issued based on this form that will, in case of need, provide for the delivery of free of charge emergency medical services. Under exception circumstances, the certificate SRB/SI 03 may be submitted when using healthcare services at the medical institution or private doctor with whom the holder of health insurance has concluded a service contract. Without a certificate, emergency healthcare services must be paid for.

USEFUL INFORMATION   

HEALTH SITUATION – In case of a need for a medical emergency intervention the telephone number is 112. Emergency assistance can be sought at any time at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Emergency Block, Bohoričeva 4.
Other healthcare services must be paid for. One of the largest private medical centres in Ljubljana is “Barsos”, Gregorčičeva cesta 11, telephone number: +386 (0)1 242 07 00.
Important note: frequently used sedatives (Bensedin (diazepam), bromazepam, etc.) are on the list of medicines prohibited for import. Bringing even the smallest amount of these medicines, even one package, requires having a doctor’s certificate that the medicine is required for therapy (a prescription is not enough). Otherwise, the person will be issued a misdemeanour fine of approximately EUR 200.

SECURITY SITUATION – The Republic of Slovenia is a very safe country. A bit more attention should be paid to one’s belongings and documents in trains on international lines, in shopping malls and gas stations.

TRANSPORT – The international airports are in Ljubljana, Maribor and Portorož.
Maritime transport: Slovenian coastal towns are connected by a maritime route. A regular boat line covers the route Portorož - Ankaran - Portorož, travelling for an hour and half, with stops in Bernardin, Izola and Koper. During the tourist season a speedboat drives from Portorož to Venice. Railway network: the Slovenian railway network is 1196 kilometres long and covers the entire country. Comfortable modern trains drive to all areas relevant for tourism, skiing or to the seaside. There are 50% group and youth discounts for the price of transport.
Driving a motor vehicle in the Republic of Slovenia requires only having a national driver’s licence on the new form, without the need for international car insurance (green card). A valid driver’s licence may be replaced for a Slovenian driver’s licence by a citizen of the Republic of Serbia who has either a registered residence in the Republic of Slovenia for more than six months, if they are in compliance with other conditions prescribed by law for driving a motor vehicle (prescribed age, doctor’s certificate, etc.). The deadline for exchanging a driver’s licence is one year as of the date of registering residence in the Republic of Slovenia. If it is not replaced within this deadline, this represents a misdemeanour with an envisaged fine of EUR 500. A Slovenian driver’s licence will be issued after the driver passes the practical part of the driver’s examination for those categories of vehicles they already have the right to drive. The use of seatbelts is mandatory on all seats that have installed seatbelts. Headlights must be on during the day. The mandatory equipment consists of the following: a spare set of lights, reflecting triangle, first aid, fluorescent vest and winter equipment (tires or chains) from 15 November to 15 March. The permitted alcohol content in blood is 0.5 per mile, while professional drivers may not have any trace of alcohol in their blood. The highest permitted speed on motorways is 130 km/h, while in settlements it is 50 km/h.
Driving on the motorway requires paying the toll by purchasing vignettes at border crossings, gas stations, kiosks, post offices, the AMSZ and in a large number of gas stations across Croatia. The price of a vignette for a vehicle up to 3.5 t: EUR 110 for one year, EUR 30 for a month, and EUR 15 for 7 days, the fine for driving without a vignette is from EUR 300 to 800. Misdemeanour fines for speeding are: EUR 50 for 10 km/h over the limit, EUR 150 for 10 to 20 km/h, EUR 300 for more than 20 km/h. The fine for not using the seatbelt is EUR 120, for exceeding the paid parking time EUR 40, for failure to give way to a pedestrian at a crossing EUR 300. If the fine is paid on the spot, the amount is reduced by 50%.

Note: In case a foreign national will not or cannot pay the fine the police officer or other official has the right to retain their personal documents, vehicle or other property as security until the payment of the fine.
Public transport: In Ljubljana every kiosk sells magnetic “URBANA” tickets for public transport for a price of EUR 2, and a desired number of rides can be added to the ticket for EUR 1.20 each, loaded onto the card. Vehicles must be entered at the driver’s door, where passing the card through the machine pays EUR 1.20 for a bus ride with line changes up to one and a half hours. The fine for riding without payment is EUR 40.

Contact information:
For consular assistance and protection while in the Republic of Slovenia, please contact the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Ljubljana, at the following telephone number: +38614380110 or e -mail: embassy.ljubljana@mfa.rs.