Healthcare

Registering, the European Health Insurance Card, the S1 form.

In Slovenia

Checked on 23 October 2026

I am moving to Slovenia: how do I access public healthcare?

In Slovenia, public healthcare runs through the obvezno zdravstveno zavarovanje (compulsory health insurance) managed by the ZZZS: your employer registers you if you are an employee, you register yourself if you are self-employed, and a retiree whose pension comes from another EU country uses the certificate (S1) from their fund. Once insured, you choose your osebni zdravnik (personal doctor) at your first visit, and you present your health insurance card at each consultation. During a temporary stay, your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) covers urgent or necessary care, not planned care or childbirth.

Costs: Compulsory health contribution (OZP) of €39.36 per month from March 2026 to February 2027, in addition to contributions
Timeframes: Varies

Steps

Register your residence and your address (see SI-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).
Have yourself registered in the compulsory insurance, depending on your situation:
- Employee: your employer files the registration form M-1 for you.
- Self-employed: you register yourself. If you are entered in the Slovenian business register (sole trader, liberal profession), registration is done online via SPOT; otherwise (an individual not entered in the register), you submit the M-1 form, in two copies, to a regional unit or branch office of the ZZZS, or by post.
- Retiree or insured in another EU, EEA or Swiss country: you access care with the certificate of entitlement issued by your country's fund (the S1). You can request it yourself, or go through the ZZZS regional unit for your place of residence. The ZZZS page covers people who have their permanent residence in Slovenia: for a temporary residence, the ZZZS specifies the procedure.
- Family: the spouse, the partner and the children are covered as dependants if they have a permanent residence, or a temporary residence of at least three months in Slovenia; other relatives (parents, brother, sister, grandchild, stepson or stepdaughter) are only covered if they have a permanent residence; it is the insured person who registers them.
Keep your kartica zdravstvenega zavarovanja (health insurance card): it is an official document, to be presented at each consultation.
Choose your personal doctor at your first visit, by signing the form Izjava o izbiri (declaration of choice) at the practice. You choose a general practitioner and a dentist; women also choose a gynaecologist. The doctor records your choice in the ZZZS system.
If no doctor near you is taking new patients, consult the lists published by the ZZZS. Adults over 19 without a personal doctor can register at a dodatna ambulanta družinske medicine (additional family medicine practice), a scheme open from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026.

Documents

Registration (M-1): form in two copies; the ZZZS keeps one and returns the other to you as a certificate.
Retiree or insured abroad: the certificate of entitlement (S1) from your fund of origin.
Personal doctor: form Izjava o izbiri, signed by you.

Costs and timelines

Compulsory health contribution (obvezni zdravstveni prispevek, OZP): €39.36 per month from March 2026 to February 2027 (€37.17 before). It is revalued every 1 March and replaced on 1 January 2024 the former optional supplementary insurance.
Who pays it: withheld by the employer for an employee, from the pension by the Slovenian pension institute (ZPIZ) for a retiree, from the benefit by the employment service (ZRSZ) for an unemployed person receiving benefit; the self-employed are invoiced by the FURS; other insured persons, including the spouse covered as a dependant, receive a payment order (UPN) from the ZZZS. Children are exempt from it; the State pays it for certain people, for example recipients of permanent social assistance and refugees.
What it covers: together with the contributions, the whole basket of care of the compulsory insurance.
Registration timelines: vary.

Common pitfalls

Buying an unnecessary private supplementary insurance. Since 2024, the ZZZS points out that the compulsory insurance covers 100% of its basket of entitlements (with the OZP and the contributions) and warns against offers that present additional insurance as necessary.
Living in Slovenia with only the EHIC. It is designed for temporary stays: it covers neither planned care nor childbirth in Slovenia.
Seeing a private doctor without a ZZZS contract. With the EHIC as with Slovenian insurance, the care covered is that of public institutions and private practitioners under contract with the ZZZS.
The doctor refuses your registration. They may refuse if they exceed the authorised number of patients. You can only change your personal doctor without a reason after one year.

What changes by country of origin

EU and EEA citizens: the rules above. With the EHIC, urgent or necessary care is free with contracted providers during a temporary stay.
Swiss citizens: the ZZZS applies the same rules to Swiss citizens, for the EHIC as for the certificate of entitlement.
British citizens (Scots included): the ZZZS page on temporary stays does not mention the United Kingdom. According to the NHS, the British GHIC card covers medically necessary public healthcare in EEA countries, so in Slovenia, but it is reserved for people who habitually and legally reside in the United Kingdom (or who live in the EEA with a registered British S1): once settled in Slovenia, you can no longer count on it outside those cases; the ZZZS specifies the conditions. To settle, you first need a residence permit (see SI-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).

Official sources (8) ›

The European framework

These European rules also apply in Slovenia.

Checked on 23 October 2026

Health insurance required for visas and permits: what EU rules ask (short and long stays)

For a Schengen short-stay visa, you must show travel medical insurance covering urgent medical care, emergency hospital treatment and repatriation (including in case of death), valid in all Schengen countries, with at least €30,000 of cover (Visa Code, Article 15). For long stays, the EU directives ask for sickness insurance covering the risks normally covered for nationals of the destination, for example for students, family members, Blue Card holders and long-term residents. The exact proof, and whether you must buy private insurance or can join the public system, depend on the destination.

Who decides: Consulates (Schengen visas); the immigration authority of the destination (long stays)
Costs: Set by insurers; Schengen visa insurance must cover at least €30,000 (Visa Code, Article 15)

Before you act

No promise. The consulate or immigration authority decides whether your insurance is acceptable. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Scams. Buy insurance only from a real, identifiable insurer, and check the policy before paying. A fake or inadequate insurance certificate can lead to refusal of your application.
Ask a professional (the insurer, the consulate or a lawyer) if you have a chronic illness, are pregnant, or are over the age limits of standard policies.
Be honest in insurance forms about your health and your plans.

Steps

Short stay with a visa: buy travel medical insurance that meets Article 15 of the Visa Code (below) for the whole trip; for a multiple-entry visa, it must cover the first trip, and you sign a statement that you know you need insurance for later trips. Exceptions: the requirement may be considered met where adequate cover can be presumed from the applicant's professional situation (for example seafarers, Article 15(6)), and holders of diplomatic passports are exempt (Article 15(7)).
Visa-exempt short stay: insurance is not among the entry conditions listed in the Schengen Borders Code (Article 6), but medical care abroad can be expensive: travel insurance is your choice.
Long stay: read the destination's list for your route. Denmark and Ireland did not take part in the five directives below and are not bound by them (see the recitals of each text), so their rules are purely national. In the other EU countries, the directives ask for insurance "for all risks normally covered for nationals" for:
- students and researchers, valid for the whole planned stay (Directive (EU) 2016/801, Article 7(1)(c));
- family reunification, for the sponsor and the family, if the country requires it (Directive 2003/86/EC, Article 7(1)(b));
- Blue Card and seasonal workers, for periods not already covered through the job (Directive (EU) 2021/1883, Article 5(1)(e); Directive 2014/36/EU, Article 5(1)(b) for stays up to 90 days and Article 6(1)(b) for stays over 90 days);
- EU long-term residents, for themselves and for dependent family members (Directive 2003/109/EC, Article 5(1)(b)).
After arrival: ask whether your permit gives access to the public health system, and from when (see the destination's health fiche).

Documents

An insurance certificate in the name of each person, with dates, cover, amount and territory.
For a Schengen visa: proof that the cover is valid in all Schengen countries and is at least €30,000 (Article 15(3)); for a visa with limited territorial validity covering several Member States, the cover must be valid at least in the Member States concerned.

Costs and timelines

Price: set by insurers. The Visa Code asks you to take insurance, in principle, in your country of residence, or in another country if that is not possible (Article 15(4)).
Check: consulates verify that claims against the insurer can be recovered in an EU country (Article 15(5)).

Common pitfalls

Cover too low or not valid everywhere. For a Schengen visa: at least €30,000 and valid in all Schengen countries.
Wrong dates. The insurance must cover the whole stay or transit (Article 15(3)).
Travel insurance for a long stay. A short-trip policy may not meet the "all risks normally covered for nationals" standard required for long-stay permits, and what each country actually accepts varies: ask the immigration authority directly before you buy.
Gaps between the visa and the permit. Keep cover until you are registered in the public system or have the insurance the permit requires.

What changes by profile

Workers may be covered through their job; the Blue Card and seasonal directives ask for insurance only for periods not covered by, or resulting from, the work contract.
Retirees and people living on passive income follow national rules for national visas (for Portugal, see PT-VISA-TIERS-050).

Official links

Visa Code (consolidated), Article 15: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02009R0810-20240628
Commission, applying for a Schengen visa: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/visa-policy/applying-schengen-visa_en

Official sources (9) ›

These guides give the general rules. Your situation can change the answer: Moovy looks at it with you and tells you when you need a professional.

Healthcare

Registering, the European Health Insurance Card, the S1 form.

In Slovenia

Checked on 23 October 2026

I am moving to Slovenia: how do I access public healthcare?

Costs: Compulsory health contribution (OZP) of €39.36 per month from March 2026 to February 2027, in addition to contributions
Timeframes: Varies

Steps

Register your residence and your address (see SI-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).
Have yourself registered in the compulsory insurance, depending on your situation:
- Employee: your employer files the registration form M-1 for you.
- Self-employed: you register yourself. If you are entered in the Slovenian business register (sole trader, liberal profession), registration is done online via SPOT; otherwise (an individual not entered in the register), you submit the M-1 form, in two copies, to a regional unit or branch office of the ZZZS, or by post.
- Retiree or insured in another EU, EEA or Swiss country: you access care with the certificate of entitlement issued by your country's fund (the S1). You can request it yourself, or go through the ZZZS regional unit for your place of residence. The ZZZS page covers people who have their permanent residence in Slovenia: for a temporary residence, the ZZZS specifies the procedure.
- Family: the spouse, the partner and the children are covered as dependants if they have a permanent residence, or a temporary residence of at least three months in Slovenia; other relatives (parents, brother, sister, grandchild, stepson or stepdaughter) are only covered if they have a permanent residence; it is the insured person who registers them.
Keep your kartica zdravstvenega zavarovanja (health insurance card): it is an official document, to be presented at each consultation.
Choose your personal doctor at your first visit, by signing the form Izjava o izbiri (declaration of choice) at the practice. You choose a general practitioner and a dentist; women also choose a gynaecologist. The doctor records your choice in the ZZZS system.
If no doctor near you is taking new patients, consult the lists published by the ZZZS. Adults over 19 without a personal doctor can register at a dodatna ambulanta družinske medicine (additional family medicine practice), a scheme open from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026.

Documents

Registration (M-1): form in two copies; the ZZZS keeps one and returns the other to you as a certificate.
Retiree or insured abroad: the certificate of entitlement (S1) from your fund of origin.
Personal doctor: form Izjava o izbiri, signed by you.

Costs and timelines

Compulsory health contribution (obvezni zdravstveni prispevek, OZP): €39.36 per month from March 2026 to February 2027 (€37.17 before). It is revalued every 1 March and replaced on 1 January 2024 the former optional supplementary insurance.
Who pays it: withheld by the employer for an employee, from the pension by the Slovenian pension institute (ZPIZ) for a retiree, from the benefit by the employment service (ZRSZ) for an unemployed person receiving benefit; the self-employed are invoiced by the FURS; other insured persons, including the spouse covered as a dependant, receive a payment order (UPN) from the ZZZS. Children are exempt from it; the State pays it for certain people, for example recipients of permanent social assistance and refugees.
What it covers: together with the contributions, the whole basket of care of the compulsory insurance.
Registration timelines: vary.

Common pitfalls

Buying an unnecessary private supplementary insurance. Since 2024, the ZZZS points out that the compulsory insurance covers 100% of its basket of entitlements (with the OZP and the contributions) and warns against offers that present additional insurance as necessary.
Living in Slovenia with only the EHIC. It is designed for temporary stays: it covers neither planned care nor childbirth in Slovenia.
Seeing a private doctor without a ZZZS contract. With the EHIC as with Slovenian insurance, the care covered is that of public institutions and private practitioners under contract with the ZZZS.
The doctor refuses your registration. They may refuse if they exceed the authorised number of patients. You can only change your personal doctor without a reason after one year.

What changes by country of origin

EU and EEA citizens: the rules above. With the EHIC, urgent or necessary care is free with contracted providers during a temporary stay.
Swiss citizens: the ZZZS applies the same rules to Swiss citizens, for the EHIC as for the certificate of entitlement.
British citizens (Scots included): the ZZZS page on temporary stays does not mention the United Kingdom. According to the NHS, the British GHIC card covers medically necessary public healthcare in EEA countries, so in Slovenia, but it is reserved for people who habitually and legally reside in the United Kingdom (or who live in the EEA with a registered British S1): once settled in Slovenia, you can no longer count on it outside those cases; the ZZZS specifies the conditions. To settle, you first need a residence permit (see SI-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).

Official sources (8) ›

The European framework

These European rules also apply in Slovenia.

Checked on 23 October 2026

Health insurance required for visas and permits: what EU rules ask (short and long stays)

Who decides: Consulates (Schengen visas); the immigration authority of the destination (long stays)
Costs: Set by insurers; Schengen visa insurance must cover at least €30,000 (Visa Code, Article 15)

Before you act

No promise. The consulate or immigration authority decides whether your insurance is acceptable. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Scams. Buy insurance only from a real, identifiable insurer, and check the policy before paying. A fake or inadequate insurance certificate can lead to refusal of your application.
Ask a professional (the insurer, the consulate or a lawyer) if you have a chronic illness, are pregnant, or are over the age limits of standard policies.
Be honest in insurance forms about your health and your plans.

Steps

Short stay with a visa: buy travel medical insurance that meets Article 15 of the Visa Code (below) for the whole trip; for a multiple-entry visa, it must cover the first trip, and you sign a statement that you know you need insurance for later trips. Exceptions: the requirement may be considered met where adequate cover can be presumed from the applicant's professional situation (for example seafarers, Article 15(6)), and holders of diplomatic passports are exempt (Article 15(7)).
Visa-exempt short stay: insurance is not among the entry conditions listed in the Schengen Borders Code (Article 6), but medical care abroad can be expensive: travel insurance is your choice.
Long stay: read the destination's list for your route. Denmark and Ireland did not take part in the five directives below and are not bound by them (see the recitals of each text), so their rules are purely national. In the other EU countries, the directives ask for insurance "for all risks normally covered for nationals" for:
- students and researchers, valid for the whole planned stay (Directive (EU) 2016/801, Article 7(1)(c));
- family reunification, for the sponsor and the family, if the country requires it (Directive 2003/86/EC, Article 7(1)(b));
- Blue Card and seasonal workers, for periods not already covered through the job (Directive (EU) 2021/1883, Article 5(1)(e); Directive 2014/36/EU, Article 5(1)(b) for stays up to 90 days and Article 6(1)(b) for stays over 90 days);
- EU long-term residents, for themselves and for dependent family members (Directive 2003/109/EC, Article 5(1)(b)).
After arrival: ask whether your permit gives access to the public health system, and from when (see the destination's health fiche).

Documents

An insurance certificate in the name of each person, with dates, cover, amount and territory.
For a Schengen visa: proof that the cover is valid in all Schengen countries and is at least €30,000 (Article 15(3)); for a visa with limited territorial validity covering several Member States, the cover must be valid at least in the Member States concerned.

Costs and timelines

Price: set by insurers. The Visa Code asks you to take insurance, in principle, in your country of residence, or in another country if that is not possible (Article 15(4)).
Check: consulates verify that claims against the insurer can be recovered in an EU country (Article 15(5)).

Common pitfalls

Cover too low or not valid everywhere. For a Schengen visa: at least €30,000 and valid in all Schengen countries.
Wrong dates. The insurance must cover the whole stay or transit (Article 15(3)).
Travel insurance for a long stay. A short-trip policy may not meet the "all risks normally covered for nationals" standard required for long-stay permits, and what each country actually accepts varies: ask the immigration authority directly before you buy.
Gaps between the visa and the permit. Keep cover until you are registered in the public system or have the insurance the permit requires.

What changes by profile

Workers may be covered through their job; the Blue Card and seasonal directives ask for insurance only for periods not covered by, or resulting from, the work contract.
Retirees and people living on passive income follow national rules for national visas (for Portugal, see PT-VISA-TIERS-050).

Official links

Visa Code (consolidated), Article 15: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02009R0810-20240628
Commission, applying for a Schengen visa: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/visa-policy/applying-schengen-visa_en

Official sources (9) ›

These guides give the general rules. Your situation can change the answer: Moovy looks at it with you and tells you when you need a professional.

Healthcare

In Slovenia

I am moving to Slovenia: how do I access public healthcare?

Steps

Documents

Costs and timelines

Common pitfalls

What changes by country of origin

The European framework

Health insurance required for visas and permits: what EU rules ask (short and long stays)

Steps

Documents

Costs and timelines

Common pitfalls

What changes by profile

Other topics

Healthcare

In Slovenia

I am moving to Slovenia: how do I access public healthcare?

Steps

Documents

Costs and timelines

Common pitfalls

What changes by country of origin

The European framework

Health insurance required for visas and permits: what EU rules ask (short and long stays)

Steps

Documents

Costs and timelines

Common pitfalls

What changes by profile

Other topics