Residence and Work Permit for Self-Employment (Samozaposlitev)

Year establishedPublished

2011

Governing lawPublished

Employment, Self-employment and Work of Aliens Act (ZZDT-1, Official Gazette No. 26/2011)

Responsible authorityPublished

Employment Service of Slovenia (Zavod RS za zaposlovanje); Ministry of the Interior, Migration and Naturalisation Directorate for the residence permit itself

What the program providesPublished

Convert an existing Slovenian residence into self-employment - register your own trade or company and build toward EU long-term status

No governed customer claim is present for this section.

Minimum ageUnknown

Unknown

Clean criminal record requiredPublished

Yes

Local health insurance requiredPublished

Yes

Nationality restrictionsPublished

No

Basic eligibilityPublished

Already hold a valid Slovenian residence permit with at least 1 year of uninterrupted prior residence (waived for holders of seasonal-work, cross-border-service or training permits), adequate health insurance, means of subsistence at least equal to Slovenia's minimum income, and a clean criminal record, then obtain a personal work permit and register as self-employed (s.p.) or found a company (d.n.o./k.d.)

Employment statusPublished

Self-employed

Generational limitPublished

Not applicable

Family sponsorshipPublished

Yes

Spouse includedPublished

Yes

Children includedPublished

Yes

Child age limitPublished

18 years

ChildrenPublished

Family reunification for spouse, minor children and dependent parents/adult children is available once the applicant has held a valid Slovenian residence permit for at least one year

No governed customer claim is present for this section.

Processing timePublished

4.3–8.7 weeks

Can apply without travelingPublished

No

How you applyPublished

Personal work permit filed with the Employment Service of Slovenia (form ZRSZ-TUJ-1); the applicant must already be resident in Slovenia (see eligibility) so this is effectively an in-country conversion, not a remote entry route

Required in-person stepPublished

Applicant must already be physically resident in Slovenia to qualify (1 year prior residence) and files/registers the business in person

What the processing time measuresPublished

Employment Service and business-registration processing commonly cited as 30-60 days (~4.3-8.7 weeks); no single official published figure found

Official application routePublished

https://spot.gov.si/en/info/how-can-non-eu-nationals-start-a-business-in-slovenia

Minimum investmentPublished

$11,700

Minimum passive investment (July 2026)Published

None required

Minimum active investment (July 2026)Published

$11,700

Processing feeUnknown

Unknown

Application feePublished

$105

Total cost to applyPublished

$105

Monthly income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Monthly pension income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Monthly rental income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Savings requiredUnknown

Unknown

Proof of sufficient fundsPublished

Yes

Local bank deposit requiredPublished

No

Minimum local bank depositUnknown

Unknown

Fees paidPublished

Before approval

Cost notesPublished

Employment Service processing fee approx. EUR 90 (~US$105); business registration is free at SPOT points or roughly EUR 300-500 if done through a notary; separate residence-permit fees apply (first permit from abroad EUR 102, in-country EUR 70, card EUR 12 - per Slovenia's general residence-permit fee schedule, not specific to this route)

Stay required to keep statusUnknown

Unknown

Physical presence requiredPublished

Yes

In-country visit requiredPublished

Yes

Move-in windowUnknown

Unknown

Length of residencyPublished

12 months

Residency is lifetimePublished

No

RenewablePublished

Yes

Maximum durationUnknown

Unknown

Maximum duration is lifetimePublished

No

Stay rule (Sept 2026)Published

No day-count found for keeping the current work/residence permit itself; real, ongoing business activity in Slovenia is implicitly required (the applicant must run the registered business). The separate 5-year continuous-residence clock toward permanent residence tolerates absences under 6 consecutive months or under 10 months total, per the EU Immigration Portal.

Tax residency rulePublished

Residents staying more than 183 days per year will be considered tax residents

Personal income taxPublished

range between 16%-50%

Time to permanent residencyPublished

5 years

Time to citizenshipPublished

10 years

Work for a local employerPublished

No

Start a businessPublished

Yes

Remote or freelance workUnknown

Unknown

Local healthcare accessPublished

Yes

University accessPublished

Yes

Can buy landUnknown

Unknown

Local bankingPublished

Yes

Permanent residence timeline basisPublished

Years stated

Citizenship timeline basisPublished

Years stated

Plan B note (Sept 2026)Published

This is not a stand-alone entry visa: it requires the applicant to already hold Slovenian residence (1 year, on almost any other basis) before switching into self-employment. Framed by the queue as an AIV entry route, but functions as an in-country status conversion - flagged for review.

Official program websitePublished

https://spot.gov.si/en/info/how-can-non-eu-nationals-start-a-business-in-slovenia

Plan B sources (Sept 2026)Published

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/eu-immigration-portal/self-employed-worker-slovenia_en | https://spot.gov.si/en/info/how-can-non-eu-nationals-start-a-business-in-slovenia | https://quantomepassport.com/starting-a-business-in-slovenia-as-a-foreigner-a-2026-strategic-guide/

Every fact on this page comes from the CitizensOS Mobility Asset Database (Sep 21, 2026 edition). A blank is shown as Unknown.