Do I Need a Visa for Slovenia?

The world’s borders system is quite complicated. On the one hand, countries are protected from any negative influence. On the other one, it brings a lot of confusion for regular travelers like you and me. Fortunately, we live in the era of the global internet, so finding the answer regarding any country is easy-peasy!

In general, if you are from a country of the Schengen area, the European Union, the USA, and the United Kingdom, you don’t need any visa to Slovenia. Probably, you could need it in several cases only. They all are mentioned in this article as well as listed those countries from where you need a visa.   

Schengen Area

Yes, Slovenia is a part of the Schengen Area and the part of the EU. The agreement signed for canceling visa checks within the area and allowing the individuals to travel freely. Now, the area consists of 22 EU member states as well as four non-EU countries that are members of EFTA: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Moreover, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania are not in the area yet, but you can travel there without any visa too.

Therefore, you don’t need any visa if you are from any mentioned above country, or from other 22 states (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden).

Moreover, there are countries that are not members of the Schengen Area but still have open borders with the area. They include Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, and Vatican City. On the other hand, it’s understandable because those countries are small, and there is no reason to implement full border control there. Thus, if you are from there, you also don’t need any visa.

What about Romania, Croatia, and Cyprus? They are obliged to enter the area as soon as possible; however, their border control is already based on the Schengen acquis. They are open for you, but keep in mind Croatia, because you might want to travel there from Slovenia, and be prepared for passport control as well as having an appropriate visa if you are not the EU resident. 

To explain a bit the borders of the European continent, it’s important to mention that The Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands are special members of the EU and the Schengen zone; however, they are not located on the European continent.

Countries Outside Schengen Area

In general, it’s not all the list of the countries that can travel to Slovenia on a visa-free regime. There are states citizens of which can have a short stay period just with their ordinary passports. This means 90 days within a 180-day period. It can be done for travel or business purposes. The list includes:

• Albania
• Andorra
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Canada
• Chile
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Dominica
• El Salvador
• Georgia
• Grenada
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Hong Kong
• Israel
• Japan
• Kiribati
• Macau
• Malaysia
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Micronesia
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Montenegro
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• North Macedonia
• Palau
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Singapore
• Solomon Islands
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Timor Leste
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tuvalu
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United States
• Uruguay
• Vanuatu
• Vatican City
• Venezuela
• British nationals

There are some notes, according to these countries. Citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Serbia and obliged to have a biometric passport in order to travel without a visa. Passports of Taiwan should contain an identity card number for a person to cross the border. Hong Kong citizens should have a “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” passport, as well as Macau citizens, have to possess a “Região Administrativa Especial de Macau” passport.

In order to work or study, you need to get a visa from these countries. Remember that the maximum period of stay is three months in half a year. Therefore, keep in mind these two dates: the date of entry is considered as the first day of stay; the date of exit is considered as the last day of stay. Overstaying even for several hours in the Schengen area will lead to fines or deportation.

The 90/180 seems like a complicated count. However, it is not. We recommend to recall the last 180 days of your life, and then think how much days you spent in the area and whether you overstayed.

Not Visa-Free Countries

The citizens of other countries should obtain the Schengen visa to enter the territory. Those countries include:

Also, there is a list of countries, citizens of which should obtain the airport transit visa in the Schengen Area. This is applicable to people who just have to change flights at a Schengen airport. This visa doesn’t give the person a right to leave the international transit area of an airport, even if the traveler has to wait overnight. The list if following:

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Congo (DRC)
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Iran
• Iraq
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Somalia
• Sri Lanka

Types of Visas

There are four types of Schengen visas. The type A Schengen visa is the Airport Transit Visa we mentioned above. Therefore, the holder of this visa cannot enter the country, only to wait in an airport.

The type B visa was intended only for stays lasting less than five days. Now, it is replaced with the type C visa with the mark “transit.” This one allows to stay up to 5 days in the area as well.

The type C Schengen visa is the most common. Basically, this visa gives all the perquisites as the visa-free country passports. This means a three-month stay within half a year period. Therefore, holders of all the visa-free countries do not need to apply for this type of visa because they have this right already.

On the other hand, according to the purpose of a trip, it can be the following ones:

• A single-entry visa. It is marked with “1” on the visa sticker in your passport. This type allows a holder to enter only once. If you leave the area, your visa expires.

• A double-entry visa. Accordingly, marked with “2” on the visa sticker. The same situation, only with permission of two entries. This is made for allowing people to re-enter the Schengen area if needed. During the second time of leaving the area, the visa expires.

• A multiple-entry visa, with the “MULT” mark on the visa sticker. You can enter and leave as many times as you wish.

The last and the most “powerful” visa is the type D Schengen visa or a national long-stay visa. It is mandatory for any foreigner who lives, works, or studies in the Schengen area for longer than 90 days. There are few travel purposes, which can justify applying for this category of visa:

• tourism or private visits
• professional activities
•  studying or taking part in a training program or complete an internship
• family reasons

 This type of visa is issued by the consular authorities of particular Schengen area countries. They consuls or ambassadors decide each case according to national legislation. Thereby, you should contact the authorities of the intended country in order to know the different conditions and formalities to take into consideration.

According to your conditions, you can be granted a single or a multiple-entry Long-stay visa.

There are different types of multiple-entry type D national long-stay visas:

• One-year multiple-entry Schengen Visa

Applying for this Schengen Visa type, a person needs to show proof of the previous visas and the trips made to the Schengen zone.

• Three-year multiple-entry Schengen Visa

This type of visa is granted to applicants who have already obtained and lawfully used one multiple-entry visa of the particular country, valid for one year within the previous two years.

• Five-year multiple-entry Schengen Visa

The same situation here, but you should have obtained and lawfully already used the multiple-entry visa, which was valid for at least two years within the past three years.

Everybody Travels

Thus, we considered all the possible options to enter Slovenia for your case. Of course, some people have more complicated procedures than others do, but it does not matter the bureaucracy if you are willing to discover beautiful Slovenia!