Latest information on non-essential travel

Non-essential travel (including for tourism purposes) is allowed for the following categories of persons and subject to the following conditions in accordance with the Ordinance determining the conditions of entry into the Republic of Slovenia to contain and control COVID-19:

• all persons residing in the EU member states and the Schengen area (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican are treated in the same way as the Schengen Area countries);
• persons residing in the following third countries/entities listed in Annex 1 of the Recommendation (as of 14 July 2021):
  • Albania,
  • Armenia,
  • Australia,
  • Azerbaijan,
  • Bosnia and in Herzegovina,
  • Brunei,
  • Canada,
  • Israel,
  • Japan,
  • Jordan,
  • Lebanon,
  • Montenegro,
  • New Zealand,
  • Qatar,
  • Kosovo,
  • Moldova,
  • North Macedonia,
  • Saudi Arabia,
  • Serbia,
  • Singapore,
  • South Korea,
  • Ukraine,
  • United States of America,
  • Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China,
  • Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China,
  • Taiwan;
• other foreign nationals if, on entry to the Republic of Slovenia, they present a vaccination certificate or proof that they recovered from COVID-19 during the last six months as well as a certificate proving that they have been vaccinated with at least one dose.

Visas for non-essential travel are only issued in the countries for which the Republic of Slovenia has lifted the restriction on non-essential travel on the basis of the EU recommendations. Whether and when the issuing of visas is resumed also depends on the criteria and measures agreed by the Member States that have their representations in individual third countries. The decision to resume visa operations will be published on the websites of the diplomatic missions and consular posts of the member states in those countries. The Slovenian diplomatic missions have resumed visa operations in Australia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and USA. In countries that do not yet met these criteria, visas can only be issued in emergencies and only for essential travel. Visa representation has been suspended in most third countries and can only be used in cases that qualify as essential travel. What is deemed essential travel is defined in the Guidelines concerning the exercise of the free movement of workers during COVID-19 outbreak.

Persons who do not present the required certificates when entering the Republic of Slovenia may be refused entry into the Republic of Slovenia by the police.

Staying at tourist facilities in the Republic of Slovenia is only possible for persons who present a certificate of a negative PCR or rapid antigen test result, a certificate of recovery from COVID-19, a vaccination certificate, or a certificate confirming that they have recovered from COVID-19 and have been vaccinated. Undergoing quarantine at tourist facilities is not possible under any circumstances.

Transit through the Republic of Slovenia without any of the certificates referred to above is only possible until 15 August 2021.

Requirements for entry into the Republic of Slovenia

To enter the Republic of Slovenia without quarantine travellers have to present one of the following:

1. a negative PCR test provided that no more than 72 hours have passed since the swab was taken;
2. a negative rapid antigen test provided that no more than 48 hours have passed since the swab was taken;
3. a certificate of recovery (a certificate of positive PCR test result, which is more than ten days old, unless a doctor assesses otherwise, but no more than six months old, or a medical certificate confirming that the person has recovered from COVID-19 and that no more than six months have elapsed since the onset of symptoms);
4. a certificate of vaccination against COVID-19 demonstrating that:
   - at least seven days have elapsed since receiving the second dose of the Comirnaty vaccine produced by Biontech/Pfizer,
   - at least 14 days have elapsed since receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine produced by Moderna,
   - at least 21 days have elapsed since receiving the first dose of the Vaxzevria (COVID-19 Vaccine) produced by AstraZeneca,
   - at least 14 days have elapsed since receiving a dose of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine produced by Johnson and Johnson/Janssen-Cilag,
   - at least 21 days have elapsed since receiving the first dose of the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India/AstraZeneca,
   - at least 14 days have elapsed since receiving the second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine produced by Russia's Gamaleya National Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology,
   - at least 14 days have elapsed since receiving the second dose of the CoronaVac vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech, or
   - at least 14 days have elapsed since receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine produced by Sinopharm;
5. a certificate of vaccination for persons who have recovered from COVID-19 (a certificate of recovery and proof that the person has been vaccinated with one dose of a vaccine referred to in the preceding point within eight months of a positive PCR test result or the onset of symptoms). The following combination shall be considered adequate proof: proof of vaccination with at least one dose and of a positive PCR test result, or proof of vaccination with at least one dose and a medical certificate of recovery from COVID-19;
6. a European digital COVID certificate in digital or paper form, bearing a QR code, which contains the data on a negative PCR or rapid antigen test, a certificate of vaccination, a certificate of recovery, or a certificate of vaccination for persons who have recovered from COVID-19;
7. a digital COVID certificate of a third countryin digital or paper form, bearing a QR code, that contains the same data as the European digital COVID certificate and is issued in English by the competent health authority of a third country.

A PCR test is accepted if performed in an EU member state, a Schengen Area country, Australia, Israel, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, Serbia, United Kingdom or USA, while at checkpoints for international air transport PCR tests performed in Turkey are also accepted.

A rapid antigen test is accepted if performed in an EU member state, a Schengen Area country, Australia, Israel, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, Serbia, United Kingdom or USA, while at checkpoints for international air transport rapid antigen tests performed in Turkey are also accepted. To be valid, the test has to be included on the common list of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests.

A certificate of recovery is accepted if issued in an EU member state, a Schengen Area country, Australia, Israel, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, Serbia, United Kingdom or USA, while at checkpoints for international air transport certificates issued in Turkey are also accepted.

A vaccination certificate of a country with which Slovenia has not concluded an agreement or arrangement must contain at least the following information: name, surname, date of birth, unique identifier of the person (personal identification number, health insurance number, number of passport or another document issued by that country, data of birth or another similar identifier), information on the type of vaccine (manufacturer, name of vaccine, dose number, date of vaccination) and information on the institution that issued the certificate. The language of the certificate is not explicitly prescribed in the Ordinance. In addition to certificates in Slovenian, valid certificates include those in the languages of the national minorities (Italian, Hungarian) in bilingual areas and the languages of countries recognised by mutual agreements or arrangements (Hungarian, Serbian). In order to avoid any difficulties at the border, we suggest that foreigners have their vaccination certificates translated into English or German. If the certificate is not part of the digital COVID certificate with a QR code, which is compatible with the European system of digital COVID certificates, it must be in paper form.