At the Peace Institute we offer free legal assistance, especially to the erased people who haven’t yet regulated their status in Slovenia (meaning that they have not yet received a permanent residence permit).

We provide legal assistance in proceedings for obtaining a permanent residence permit, mainly based on the law which was adopted for the erased people: the Act Regulating the Legal Status of Citizens of Former Yugoslavia Living in the Republic of Slovenia (ZUSDDD).

Exceptionally, we assist the erased people in regulating the status under the Aliens Act and the Citizenship Act.

Due to the number of clients we are obliged to organize legal assistance to the erased people according to preliminary arangement. We are kindly requesting you to make an appointment with the legal advisor at 00386 1 234 77 20. Unfortunately we will not be able to help those who come to our office without an appointment right away.

Current legal possibilities for the Erased people to regulate their status in Slovenia

The erased who still do not have regulated status in the Republic of Slovenia may apply for a permanent residence permit on the basis of the Act Regulating the Legal Status of Citizens of Former Yugoslavia Living in the Republic of Slovenia (ZUSDDD), designed especially for the erased people. This Act was adopted in 1999 and in 2010 the amendments were passed in the Parliament, enabling the erased that lived or still live abroad since 1991, to obtain a permanent residence permit, if they meet all the required conditions.

You can read more on the conditions that the erased have to meet for the permanent residence permit in the brochure of the Ministry of Interior. The brochure is published in Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, and Macedonian language.

The remedies that would allow the erased to directly acquire Slovenian citizenship under more lenient conditions then other foreigners are currently not available. The erased who do not have regulated status have to arrange the status of an alien first (which means that they have to acquire a permanent residence permit), and then, if they meet the conditions, they can apply for Slovenian citizenship on the basis of the Citizenship Act.

How can you check if you are among the erased persons?

The list or a record of the erased residents of Slovenia does not exist. You can check whether you have been erased with the request for a certificate from the records of the registry of permanent residents, which states your previous registrations of permanent residence in Slovenia. Address this request to the Administrative Office (upravna enota) in the region where you lived in the time of the erasure. Here you can see an example of such a request (NB: all forms on this page are in Slovenian language only).

Based on this request an Administrative Office must issue a certificate of permanent residence registrations. If this certificate shows that you had permanent residence in Slovenia on 23 December 1990 and your registration was terminated without you knowing about it (especially if your residence registration was terminated on 26 February 1992), this is sufficient evidence that you have been erased.

Lodging an application for the permanent residence permit under ZUSDDD

You can lodge an application for permanent residence permit under ZUSDDD at the competent Administrative Office. The competent Administrative Office is in the region where you live, and if you live abroad the competent Administrative Office is in the region where you intend to live if you get a permanent residence permit. The deadline for application expires three years after the enforcement of the Act, which is on 24 July 2013.

One has to pay an administrative fee which is currently 96 EUR.

You can read more about the conditions the erased people have to meet to obtain permanent residence permit in the brochure of the Ministry of Interior.

Submit your application on the prescribed form (an example of a completed form). You have to submit the following documents and evidence as well:

• Your photo in size 45 x 35 mm, which is appropriate for biometric documents.
• Extract from Criminal Record from your country of origin, which is a certificate showing you have been or have not been convicted for a crime. The certificate should not be older than three (3) months.
• In Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia the certificate is issued by the Ministry of Interior / local Police authority. If Serbia or Montenegro is your home country the certificate from criminal records must be stamped with apostille in accordance with the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. In Serbia and Montenegro you can obtain the apostille at the local court.
• In Croatia the certificate is issued by the Ministry of Justice.
• From Kosovo you need the certificate from the Judicial Council and also from the General Police Directorate. For the certificate from Kosovo the procedure of over-verification is needed which means that the certificate is first verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo and then also by the Slovenian Embassy in Kosovo.
• A copy of a valid passport (if you have it) or any other document, even if invalid, and in case include a copy of Former Yugoslav passport or ID card (if you still have it).
• All documentation in your possession that could help prove your statements concerning your residence in Slovenia after 23 December 1990 (invoices, contracts, documentation regarding health issues etc.). If you left Slovenia it is useful to provide documentation showing the reasons for leaving the country and attempts to return to Slovenia (especially applications for residence permit or copies of entry visas). We advise you to submit the contact details of 3 (three) witnesses who can confirm your statements. You can suggest the witnesses by listing their name, surname and address.

Since there is limited space for data on the application form, and the circumstances that are important for issuing residence permit can be very complicated, we advise you to attach your CV in which you explain all circumstances that are important for issuing permanent residence permit. Try to answer these questions in your CV. You can also include a list of documents that are enclosed and names and addresses of the witnesses you propose to be heard.

It is very important to provide the address at which you will surely receive the mail sent by the Administrative Office. If you move and change address during the procedure you must inform the Administrative Office about the change of address. Always reply within the deadline set by the Administrative Office. If you cannot provide the required evidence or documents within the set time-frame, address the request for the extension of the deadline to the Administrative Office and do this before the deadline set by the Administrative Office expires. In the request for the extension of the deadline provide the reason why you need more time. If you do not respond to the requirements of the Administrative Office the procedure will be terminated and the Administrative Office will not decide upon your application. If this happens, however, you can file another application later.

Children of the erased

Based on the 2010 amendments of the Act Regulating the Legal Status of Citizens of Former Yugoslavia Living in the Republic of Slovenia (ZUSDDD) children of the erased people can also apply for the residence permit. This right is given to those children who were born after 25 June 1991 in the Republic of Slovenia, and at least one of their parents was erased from the permanent residents register and obtained the permanent residence permit or the citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia, after the child’s birth.

You can submit the application for the permanent residence permit under ZUSDDD at the competent Administrative Office. The competent Administrative Office is in the region where you live, and if you live abroad the competent administrative unit is in the region where you intend to live if you will get permanent residence permit. The deadline for application expires three years after the enforcement of the Act, which is on 24 July 2013 or at the age of 21, if that period is longer.

An administrative fee has to be paid, which is currently 96 EUR.

You can read more about the conditions the erased and their children have to meet to obtain permanent residence permit in the brochure of the Ministry of Interior (BS | HR | MK | SI | SR).

Submit your application on the prescribed form (an example of a completed form). Other advice concerning filing the application for permanent residence permit is the same as in the procedures for issuing permanent residence permit to the erased people.

Supplementary Decision

Those erased who already obtained permanent residence permit or citizenship in Slovenia have the right to receive a supplementary decision.

Supplementary decision is a decision by which the erased people are issued permanent residence permit retroactively for the period from the erasure from the register of permanent residents, up to the moment when they regained permanent residence, or up to the moment they received Slovenian citizenship. By this decision it is deemed that in this period the erased people had registered permanent residence at the address at which they were registered in the time of the erasure. This however does not establish any right to live at this address again.

Based on the 2003 Constitutional Court’s decision, in 2004 and later in 2009 and 2010 the Ministry of Interior automatically issued supplementary decisions to those erased persons that have already obtained permanent residence permit.

Based on the 2010 amendments of the Act Regulating the Legal Status of Citizens of Former Yugoslavia Living in the Republic of Slovenia (ZUSDDD), the erased people, who obtained permanent residence permit under this Act, are at the same time ex-officio granted a supplementary decision. The same goes for children of the erased people who are granted a permanent residence permit under ZUSDDD.

If you have been erased and were granted a permanent residence permit under the Aliens Act, you can request a supplementary decision from the Administrative Office by submitting the prescribed form. In this procedure you do not have to pay any fee. The deadline for application expires three years after the enforcement of the Act, which is on 24 July 2013.

If you have been erased, and were granted Slovenian citizenship without having first been issued a permanent residence permit, you cannot receive a supplementary decision automatically. Based on the Act Regulating the Legal Status of Citizens of Former Yugoslavia Living in the Republic of Slovenia (ZUSDDD) you can lodge an application for the supplementary decision on the prescribed form. In this procedure you do not have to pay any fee. The deadline for application expires three years after the enforcement of the Act, which is on 24 July 2013.

Children of the erased people who already gained permanent residence permit despite the provisions of the amended ZUSDDD from 2010 or were granted Slovenian citizenship, can lodge an application for the supplementary decision to the Administrative Office on the prescribed form. In accordance with the supplementary decision it is deemed that the children of the erased have permanent residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia and have registered permanent residence at the same address as the erased parent, in the period from birth until the moment they were granted permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship. In this procedure you do not have to pay any fee. The deadline for application expires three years after the enforcement of the Act, which is on 24 July 2013 or when you complete 21 years, if this period is longer.

Compensations

Are you entitled to compensation due to the erasure?

See the section on Compensations for more information on this issue.