Recently, a significant number of people have approached us with questions regarding the regulations of the legal status in Slovenia and regarding the right to compensation. Therefore, we are publishing our answers to frequently asked questions.

Regulating the status

There is currently no legal means for regulating the status of the erased in Slovenia, since the last applicable law (ZUSDDD-B) expired on 24 July 2013. This means, that the erased have had an opportunity to submit the application for permanent residence permit only until 24 July 2013. Those that have missed this date currently do not have any option to regulate their status as erased. At the moment the only legal options are under the Aliens Act, meaning under the same conditions as they apply to all foreigners in general, and it is first necessary to arrange temporary residence permit and then (if eligible) permanent residence permit.

What happens if the erased submit the application under ZUSDDD-B after the law has expired?
Some erased have informed us that they have submitted the applications after 24 July 2013 (so after the law has expired) and the administrative units have accepted their applications, issued them orders to pay the administrative fee of 95 EUR and then informed them that these applications will not be processed because they were submitted after the deadline. Therefore, we advise the erased not to submit the applications under ZUSDDD-B after 24 July 2013.

Compensation

On 21 November 2013 The act on restitution of damage for persons who were erased from the Register of Permanent Population (Act on compensation scheme for the erased) was adopted, however it will apply on 18 June 2014. This means that until 18 June 2014 the erased that are entitled to the compensation under this Act cannot claim compensation.

From 18 June 2014 until 18 June 2017 (the Act sets a deadline of three years) the erased that are entitled to compensation under this Act can file applications for compensation at the administrative units in Slovenia. The erased that will be in the process of arranging permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship on 18 June 2014 and their applications will be solved after this date will be able to file the applications for compensation then in three years since they have received their status (permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship).

According to this Act not all erased are entitled to compensation, but only those with arranged status in Slovenia (permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship) and those who applied for the permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship after the erasure and before the last law was adopted in 2010 (ZUSDDD-B), but did not get it (their application was rejected, discarded or the procedure was stopped), and then did not apply again under the renewed legislation from 2010.

This means that a person who has made an application for permanent residence before and has been rejected, and has then filed the application again under the last applicable law ZUSDDD-B and was again rejected, is not entitled to compensation according to current legislation. At the same time, the law sets additional condition for this group of beneficiaries – they will have to meet the condition of actual residence in the Republic of Slovenia in the period from erasure until the final decision on rejection, discarding or discontinuing the proceedings. This group of beneficiaries will therefore have to prove that they actually lived in Slovenia, just as it was necessary in the procedures regulating the status under the ZUSDDD-B (which in practice proved to be very problematic).

Under this Act, therefore, the erased that have not tried to arrange their status in Slovenia after the erasure (have not filed the application for permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship) and the erased that have filed an application for a permanent residence permit under the latest legislation (ZUSDDD-B) from 2010 and were rejected, will not be eligible for the compensation. Also, children of the erased and relatives of deceased erased shall under this Act not be entitled to compensation.