Banks are not a place where you want surprises in your first week. The Slovenian procedure is ordinary, but a single missing document, the tax number, is enough to stop it. This guide covers how to open a bank account in Slovenia and what rights you have under EU rules.
What do you need to open a bank account in Slovenia?
According to EURES, you need a valid identity document and, in principle, your Slovenian tax number. A passport or ID card is accepted. Depending on the bank you may also be asked for proof of address, your residence registration certificate or proof of income. The list varies from one bank to another, so ask for it before you go.
The bank also checks your identity and the origin of your funds, which is a requirement of anti-money-laundering rules. Do not read it as suspicion of foreigners: everyone is asked.
The Slovenian tax number (davčna številka) is issued by FURS. If you have an address registered in Slovenia, you may receive it automatically. If you do not, you file form DR-02, and the certificate arrives within eight days of a complete application. See the Slovenia tax number guide.
How do you open the account, step by step?
- Get your tax number if you do not have it yet. This is the most frequent blocker.
- Compare banks. Each must give you an information document on fees before you open the account.
- Open the account with ID and tax number. Ask which extra documents the bank wants.
- If a bank refuses a standard account, ask for a basic account (see below).
- Give your IBAN to your employer, your landlord and your suppliers.
If you are arriving with a pension in euros, a salary from abroad and a mortgage plan, the right account setup may not be the first one the bank proposes. Moovy can help you list the questions to ask each bank and the documents to bring. It cannot open the account for you.
What is a basic payment account, and can a bank refuse it?
An EU rule gives every legal resident of the Union the right to a basic payment account, and a bank may not refuse it just because you do not live in the country where you apply. It includes deposits, withdrawals, transfers, direct debits, a payment card and online banking where it exists, but no overdraft.
Fees may apply, but they must be reasonable, and you must receive a fee statement at least once a year. Refusals are limited to narrow grounds, such as failing anti-money-laundering checks, and according to Your Europe some countries may refuse if you already hold a similar account there. The bank must decide within 10 business days of a complete application. If a bank refuses a normal account, say that you want a basic payment account.
Can you open a bank account in Slovenia before you move?
You can try, and EU law is on your side to a degree. As a legal resident of the EU you have the right to a basic payment account in another member state, and the bank cannot refuse it solely because you do not live there. In practice the tax number still matters, since banks ask for it, and a bank may require other documents to meet its anti-money-laundering duties. If you have no Slovenian address but expect income, file DR-02 first.
An account opened before the move is handy for the deposit on a flat and for the first rent. It also means your employer has an IBAN on day one. The caveat is that the bank decides which documents it needs, and some will insist on seeing you in person, so ask by phone or email before you travel. If the answer is no, go back to the basic payment account rule above.
What does a bank account in Slovenia cost?
The official sources we reviewed give no price list, and fees differ from bank to bank. What you can rely on is the structure: a basic account can carry annual fees, which must be reasonable and reported to you at least once a year. Payments in euros inside the EU cost the same as national ones. A cash withdrawal in another EU country cannot cost more than a national withdrawal. Beyond that, ask each bank for its fee document.
Do you have to close your old account?
No, and it is often a mistake to do so. Within the euro area, a euro payment in the EU costs the same as a national payment, and a cash withdrawal in another EU country cannot cost more than a national one. Keep the old account as long as it serves a purpose: a foreign pension, tax refunds from home, a mortgage you still hold.
A payee that accepts national transfers must also accept an IBAN from another EU country. So your employer or landlord cannot refuse your foreign IBAN merely because it is foreign, although a Slovenian account will make everyday life easier.
What about a mortgage as a foreigner?
Credit conditions for a foreigner, such as the deposit, the term and the income required, vary from one bank to another. EU rules give you a standardised information sheet (ESIS) with the total cost of credit and the annual percentage rate of charge, and at least seven days to study the offer.
Two pieces of advice that hold in any country. Compare the total cost in the ESIS, including fees and insurance, not just the rate. And avoid a loan in a currency other than your income: exchange-rate swings can raise your payments. If you plan to buy, read buying property in Slovenia.
What should you tell the tax office once the account is open?
A detail people forget: FURS asks you to report changes to your tax register data within eight days, and a new bank account is one of the examples it gives, along with a new address. You can use form DR-02 again, or another document with the required information. The same goes if you run a business as an individual, with form DR-03.
It is a good habit to keep a small folder, paper or digital, with the tax number certificate, the residence certificate, the lease and the bank details. Banks, employers, landlords and the tax office all ask for some combination of them.
How do you choose between banks?
We do not rank Slovenian banks, and the official sources we reviewed do not either. What the law gives you is comparison tools: the fee information document before you open an account, the yearly statement of fees, and the standardised sheet for credit. Use them. Ask each bank four questions: what documents do you need from me, what does the account cost per year, can I use online banking in English, and what happens if I move or change job.
What changes for Swiss and British citizens?
Once you are settled in Slovenia with a residence permit, you have the same rights as other residents. Before that, the decision belongs to the bank. If you are British, the residence step comes first; see moving to Slovenia from the UK.
What goes wrong most often?
- Arriving without a tax number. It is the number-one blocker.
- Closing the old account too early.
- Choosing a loan in another currency.
- Comparing loans by rate alone.
- Not asking which documents the bank wants. Lists differ.
Your account is also where your employer pays your salary, so it belongs near the top of the list in our moving to Slovenia guide.