SLOVENIA
COVID-19 – Basic Slovenian facts for new travellers on date 05th March 2021
After resurgence of coronavirus cases, the Government again declared an epidemic in the entire territory of Slovenia on 19 October 2020. A special border-crossing regime was set up early in March 2020, soon after first infections were reported, in order to contain the progress of the novel virus. Traffic-related measures, some of them temporary, were introduced at the border with Croatia and on the internal Schengen border (with Italy, Austria and Hungary) and border entry/exit restrictions were put in place for foreign nationals and Slovenian citizens. All of these restrictions continue to be valid and change depending on the assessment of the epidemiological situation.
Red list of countries:
- Countries with an unstable epidemiological situation or administrative divisions of countries are included on the red list.
- People entering the Republic of Slovenia, who are a resident of a country on the red list or who arrive from that country, shall be due to the potential infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus required to stay in quarantine for a period of ten days.
- Any person who presents a negative test for SARS-CoV-2 upon entry into Slovenia will not need to quarantine. The test must be performed by the PCR method in an EU Member State or Schengen Area country, or by organisations or individuals in third countries recognised as relevant by the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology and the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food (NLZOH), and published on the NLZOH website, and must not be older than 48 hours after taking the swab. The testing may also be performed by a rapid antigen test in an EU Member State or Schengen Area country and may not be older than 24 hours after taking the swab.
- Countries on the red list can be found on following website: https://www.gov.si/en/topics/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/border-crossing/
- All countries that are not explicitly listed on the red list are considered to be without a high risk of infection and persons coming from these countries or administrative units of countries may enter the Republic of Slovenia without being put under home quarantine and without submitting a negative test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2.
Exception to the quarantine and negative PCR or rapid antigen test requirements:
- persons who present a positive RAT or PCR test result* for SARS-CoV-2 older than 21 days, though not older than six months, or a medical certificate certifying that they have recovered from COVID-19 and that more than six months have elapsed since the onset of symptoms;
- persons who present a COVID-19 vaccination certificate proving that at least seven days have elapsed since their second Biontech/Pfizer inoculation, fourteen days since their second Moderna inoculation or twenty-one days since their second AstraZeneca inoculation;
- persons posted to carry out tasks in international transport or returning from such tasks;
- persons engaged in trade who carry out the transport of goods or persons into the Republic of Slovenia or carry out the transport of goods and passengers in transit and exit the Republic of Slovenia within 8 hours of entry, and persons engaged in trade who carry out the transport of goods or persons from the Republic of Slovenia and return to the Republic of Slovenia within 8 hours of exit;
- persons transiting the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and exiting the Republic of Slovenia within 6 hours of entry;
- persons with diplomatic passports;
- representatives of foreign security authorities (the police or a judicial authority) who carry out official tasks and exit the Republic of Slovenia as soon as possible after completing these tasks, and representatives of Slovenian security authorities (the police or a judicial authority) who carry out official tasks and return from a foreign country as soon as possible after completing these tasks;
- members of the Slovenian Armed Forces, the police or employees of state authorities returning from secondment abroad and employees of state authorities on a business trip abroad;
- persons who have been transported to the Republic of Slovenia in an ambulance or other medical vehicle and the accompanying medical staff in said vehicle;
- children under the age of 13 who cross the border together with a close family member who has not been put under home quarantine or has not been refused entry to Slovenia;
- members of the protection and rescue services, healthcare services, police and firefighting service or other persons who carry out humanitarian transport or provide assistance in rescue missions and eliminate the consequences of natural disasters and return to Slovenia within 48 hours of crossing the border;
- persons who own or lease land in the border area or on both sides of the state border and cross the state border with a neighbouring country for the purpose of carrying out agricultural and forestry works and return to Slovenia within 8 hours of crossing the border.
Exceptions – no quarantine requirement for those presenting a negative PCR or rapid antigen test taken within the last seven days
The following persons coming from a country on the red list who present a negative PCR or rapid antigen test taken within the last seven days are allowed to enter the Republic of Slovenia without having to home quarantine:
- daily commuting cross-border workers who have an employment relationship in another EU Member State or Schengen Area country, of which they provide proof or a signed statement justifying the reason for crossing the border as a daily commuting cross-border worker, and who return within 14 hours of crossing the border;
- persons who daily or periodically cross the border for reasons of education, training or scientific research in the Republic of Slovenia or an EU Member State or a Schengen Area country and provide sufficient proof thereof. If the person is a minor or cannot travel alone for other reasons, the same conditions of entry apply to the person driving them, who must return across the border immediately afterwards;
- citizens of EU Member States or Schengen Area countries coming from another EU Member State or Schengen Area country where they provided care and assistance to persons in need of support, care and assistance to family members, parental care or maintained contact with their child, performed maintenance work on a private property or land owned, leased or used, or eliminated imminent danger to health, life and property and returning across the border within 12 hours of crossing the border;
- persons who have a medical appointment in the Republic of Slovenia and exit the Republic of Slovenia immediately following their appointment. If a minor has a medical appointment, their guardian may enter Slovenia under the same conditions provided that they are traveling together.
Movement of people on the entire territory of the Republic of Slovenia is temporarily prohibited between 21:00 and 6:00 with the following exceptions:
- The elimination of immediate threats to health, life and property;
- travel to and from work and the performance of urgent work duties;
- access to and provision of emergency services;
- delivery of food or medicines;
- the travel of persons who have entered the Republic of Slovenia in order to transit to a neighbouring country or to their residence in the Republic of Slovenia.
- The Police has launched a web application called Enter Slovenia to facilitate travelling to Slovenia. The application guides the user through the purposes of travel (business or private), entry into the country for the purpose of residence or just transit. Using the application is not mandatory.
- All passengers using public transport are obliged to wear masks, disinfect hands, and comply with the rules regarding entry and exit from vehicles. All passengers are advised to purchase their tickets in advance.
- Inns, restaurants, pubs, cafés, confectioners, snack bars and bars remain closed. Food and beverages can be personally collected from designated takeaway locations from 6 am to 9 pm. The collected food and beverages cannot be consumed at the designated takeaway locations.
- Social distance and hand and cough hygiene must still be practiced at all times, and any sick individuals must be isolated.
- The recommendations of the National Institute of Public Health on mask wearing, hand disinfection, vehicle occupancy, and entering and exiting vehicles must be followed.
- A temporary ban on gathering is being imposed throughout the Republic of Slovenia. Temporarily are prohibited all: events, gatherings, celebrations, weddings, and religious ceremonies. Gatherings of more than ten people are prohibited.
- Masks are mandatory: in all closed public spaces, on public transport, in open public spaces or outside if physical distancing of at least two metres cannot be maintained, and in personal vehicles.
- Ski lifts and ski resorts are allowed to operate for skiers who submit a negative COVID-19 test result or a certificate of vaccination or evidence proving they have already recovered from COVID-19 and for children under 12 years of age accompanied by their parents.
- Person may enter Slovenia without any restrictions and the need to quarantine if he or she is to transit Slovenia within a 6-hour period.
- Current information and instructions about border crossings can be found on the link of Ministry of the Interior of Republic of Slovenia: https://www.policija.si/eng
- Public transport (trains and buses) is operating across the country but in a limited capacity.
- Checkpoints on international flight connections (Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport and Portorož Airport) and checkpoints on international maritime connections (Koper and Piran border crossing points for international maritime traffic) are being reopened.
- Latest information and measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 may be found on the following link of Government of Slovenia: https://www.gov.si/en/topics/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/.
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