Slovenia · Business & founder
Temporary Residence for Company Founders and Self-Employed Persons
Open. This is Slovenia's de facto investor route, and its only one. There is no golden visa.
The EUR 7,500 share capital figure is widely, and misleadingly, marketed as the investment threshold for a Slovenian golden visa. It is nothing of the kind. It is simply the statutory minimum needed to incorporate a d.o.o. The real requirements are six months of demonstrated operation, a real employee, and, according to advisory consensus, EUR 50k of fixed assets.
Qualifying routes
The EUR 7,500 minimum share capital is a company-law formality, not the real threshold. The company must prove six months of real operation. That means either employing an EU or Slovenian citizen full-time for 6 months, or generating turnover of EUR 10,000/month for 6 months. Either way, the company must have at least one EU or Slovenian employee.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- €7.5k
- Total landed cost
- The EUR 7,500 share capital is trivial. The real economics come down to the six-month activity test, at least one EU/Slovenian employee on payroll, and a commonly-cited EUR 50,000 in fixed assets. That last figure is not confirmed on a primary source.
- Route type
- Business & founder
- Timeline
- 6–12 months (The six-month company activity test has to be satisfied before the permit is granted. That means the clock starts well before you even apply.)
- Physical presence
- Genuine, ongoing operation of the business
- Family
- SpouseMinor childrenThrough family reunification
- Permanent residency
- 5 years of continuous legal residence, with renewals depending on the business staying active
- Citizenship
- 10 years of total residence, including 5 continuous years immediately before applying, plus a Slovene language exam and renunciation of prior citizenship
- Language test
- A compulsory Slovene language exam, taken before a government-appointed commission
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- EUR 7,500 share capital depositedsix months of demonstrated company operation (employment or EUR 10,000/month turnover)at least one EU-member-state or Slovenian citizen employeeclean criminal record
- The EUR 7,500 figure is a company-law formality, not an investment threshold, whatever marketing sites claim. If an advisor quotes it as the entry price, treat that as a red flag.
- The six-month activity test means you have to fund and run the company before the permit even exists. That sequencing risk sits entirely with you.
- Self-employment, known as s.p., specifically requires that you already hold a valid residence permit for at least a year before you start self-employed activity. The exception is if you are entered in the business register as pursuing a professional activity in a self-employed capacity. This catches people who plan to arrive and start freelancing right away.
- The EUR 50,000 fixed-asset requirement shows up consistently across advisory sources, but no primary gov.si or ZTuj-2 source confirms it. Verify it before you budget around it.
- Citizenship at the end requires renouncing your existing passport. You must also pass a Slovene language exam. For most UHNW families, that is a hard stop.
- Slovenia's 50% top rate means success in the business is taxed at the highest rate in this region.