As part of the changes made to Slovenia’s Aliens Act, the authorities have announced that stricter rules will now apply to foreigners in the country who want to obtain permanent residence permits and to those who want to extend their permits on the basis of family reunification.
In line with the new rules, starting today, November 1, 2024, permanent residence permit applicants and foreigners who want to extend their family reunification permit will have to prove that they have basic knowledge of the Slovenian language, Schengen.News reports.
According to the authorities, this group of applicants will need to have A2-level knowledge of the country’s language. By introducing such a requirement, the Slovenian Ministry of Interior said that the country wants to make sure that foreigners holding permanent residence do not find themselves in unpleasant or difficult situations due to the language barrier.
As the authorities have explained, the requirement to have basic and so-called “survival” knowledge of the Slovenian language will now also apply to foreigners who are accepted in study programmes that are taught in the Slovenian language.
Who Is Exempted From Basic Language Knowledge Requirement?
Despite the language being an important aspect when residing in a foreign country, whether that is temporary or permanent, the authorities noted that not everyone will be affected by the new requirement.
The authorities said that those who hold a residence permit on the basis of family reunification and want to extend their document will not be required to have basic language knowledge if their family member is a holder of the EU Blue Card, Siol explains.
The requirement does also not apply to family members of those performing research in the territory of Slovenia, those who hold a residence permit issued by another EU country and are carrying out research in Slovenia, and those transferred within a company.
Moreover, the requirement will also not apply to those who will apply for a residence permit after the expiry of five years of continuous residence in Slovenia.
The basic Slovenian language knowledge test will be carried out by educational institutions or organisations that are involved in informal educational programmes for adults to learn the Slovenian language.
The first test can be taken free of charge, and those affected will also be offered a free 180-hour learning programme. Data from the Slovenian Ministry of Interior shows that the programmes have been attended by more than 2,5000 participants so far this year.
Source: https://schengen.news/slovenia-basic-language-knowledge-now-mandatory-for-permanent-residence-permit-applicants/
