The first week in Slovenia tends to surprise people for a happy reason: the country is small, the offices are close, and the paperwork has a clear order. There is no lottery, no mystery stamp. If you are moving to Slovenia from another EU country, you do the same few things in the same sequence as everyone else, and most of them are cheap or free. This guide gives you that sequence, with the official page behind each step.
What do you need when moving to Slovenia as an EU citizen?
A valid ID card or passport, and nothing else to enter. According to GOV.SI, EU citizens need no visa and no permit, and can stay for the first three months without registering anything.
Past three months, you need a potrdilo o prijavi prebivanja, a residence registration certificate. You get it from the upravna enota (administrative unit), the local state office that deals with residence, addresses, driving licences and vehicle registration. Slovenia has one per area, and you go to the one where you live.
What the office asks for depends on why you are staying:
- Employees, self-employed and service providers: a statement from your employer or proof of your activity.
- Job seekers: proof that you are registered with the employment service.
- Students: proof of admission.
- Family members: proof of the family link.
- Everyone else, including retirees: adequate health insurance and enough money to live on.
The full detail is in our article on the residence certificate.
In what order do you do the paperwork?
Here is the order that works, and the reason for each link in the chain.
- Residence certificate at the upravna enota, on arrival or before the three months end. You can apply in person, by post or electronically, and someone can file for you with a mandate.
- Address registration (prijava prebivališča) within eight days. For a temporary address, which is what most newcomers register, you need ID and proof of the right to live there, such as a lease or the owner's written consent.
- EMŠO, the personal identification number. According to the government's information portal for foreigners, a foreigner receives it with a first residence document.
- Tax number (davčna številka). Once your address is in the population register, the tax administration (FURS) can enter you in the tax register without a form. If you have no Slovenian address yet but earn money or own property there, you file form DR-02. See the Slovenia tax number guide.
- Health insurance with ZZZS, the national health insurance institute. An employer registers an employee; others register themselves or use an S1 from their home country. See health insurance in Slovenia.
- Bank account, which in practice wants your tax number. See opening a bank account in Slovenia.
- Digital certificate to use eUprava and eDavki, the online portals for state services and tax.
If you are unsure which of these applies to your case, or you have two nationalities, a pension from abroad and a car to bring, Moovy can turn the list into a plan for your situation. It prepares the checklist; you and the office do the filing.
How much time do you really have?
The deadlines are short in two places and generous in one.
- Residence certificate: apply before the three-month permitted stay ends.
- Address: within eight days of the move, or of receiving your certificate, depending on the office's wording. Ask yours which date they count from.
- Changes to tax details: eight days, for a new address or a bank account.
That eight-day rule matters more than it looks. The population register is the source for the tax number, the EMŠO-based services and, later, the school place. A missing address quietly blocks the rest.
Where should you live in your first months?
Most newcomers start in Ljubljana, the capital, or in Maribor, the second city, and then spread out. The coast around Koper, Izola and Piran is the other classic choice, with rents closer to Ljubljana than to the rest of the country. Our comparison of the best places to live in Slovenia covers the trade-offs.
Whatever you choose, remember the rule of the address: the home must have a street number and a flat number, be meant for living in, and offer at least 8 m² per person, or the registration can be refused. That affects shared flats and short lets more than people expect. Our guide to renting in Slovenia explains how to avoid trouble.
What does moving to Slovenia cost?
The residence pages we reviewed give no fee, so ask your upravna enota what it charges. The EU registration itself is not a large expense. The bigger monthly items are rent and the health contribution, which in 2026 is €39.36 a month for most insured people, from March 2026 to the end of February 2027.
For a realistic budget, read the cost of living in Slovenia, which sticks to official figures and gives their year.
What is expat life in Slovenia like once the paperwork is done?
Small and outdoorsy. Slovenia is a small country, with a capital you can cross on foot, mountains within an hour of most places and a short stretch of Adriatic coast. The currency is the euro, the mains supply is 230 V with type C and F sockets, and the emergency numbers are 112 for medical help and fire and 113 for the police.
Shops are generally open Monday to Saturday and mostly closed on Sunday, so the weekly shop moves to Saturday. The official language is Slovenian, with Italian and Hungarian also official in their mixed areas. Job applications are usually in Slovenian, sometimes in English, according to the European employment network EURES. Our piece on daily life in Slovenia goes through the habits worth knowing.
What if you are coming for work, a pension or a business?
The core sequence is the same; the extras differ.
- Employee: your employer registers you with ZZZS from the first working day. You need a written contract before you start. See working in Slovenia.
- Retiree: you take your S1 form from your home pension fund to the ZZZS regional unit, and you declare your foreign pension to FURS yourself. See health insurance in Slovenia for the S1 step.
- Business owner or freelancer: you register through SPOT, the one-stop business portal, and the tax and contribution rules are their own subject.
What changes if you are British or Swiss?
Swiss citizens do not use the EU certificate. They apply for a temporary or permanent residence permit at the same office, a separate procedure.
British citizens who arrive from 1 January 2021 are treated as third-country nationals: up to 90 days in any 180 in the Schengen area, and for longer a residence permit or long-stay visa depending on the purpose. Working needs a single residence and work permit. People who were already resident before 2021 have their own arrangement under the Withdrawal Agreement. Our article on moving to Slovenia from the UK has the detail.
What do first-timers get wrong?
- Letting the three months pass. The certificate has to be requested before they end.
- Forgetting the address. The certificate does not replace it, and without it no tax number arrives on its own.
- Expecting everything online. Without an EMŠO, a tax number and a certificate, most steps happen at the counter or by post.
- Arriving unannounced. Opening hours and payment rules differ between units. Call before you go.
- Relying on a European Health Insurance Card. It is built for visits, not for living in the country.
Your first week, in one list
Book or walk in at the upravna enota, bring ID and your proof of purpose, ask for the exact fee, then register the address as soon as you hold the certificate. Open the bank account once the tax number exists, and register with ZZZS the same week your job starts. If you plan to work for yourself, ask SPOT and FURS about registration, tax and contributions before you sign anything. Keep copies of everything you file.