Slovenia issued 13,953 first residence permits for work to citizens of countries outside the EU in 2025, 11.0 percent fewer than in 2024 and 38 percent fewer than at the 2022 peak. The fall comes from the Western Balkans, whose permits halved from 2019, while the seven sourcing centres rose from 85 in 2019 to 2,681, 19.2 percent. Per resident Slovenia still issues 11.2 for every 1,000 aged 20 to 64, more than twice the EU's 4.9. The amendments of May 2025 opened entry (work may start on the Employment Service's consent, before the single permit; seasonal work now covers tourism) and added duties for employers; the count fell. We estimate about 13,500 permits in 2026; for 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number, and the direction is flat. On stated assumptions the central line reaches about 13,100 a year by 2031 and 2036; held flat, the count stays at 13,900.
Observed
First residence permits for work in 2025, down 11.0 percent on 2024
13,953
Our estimate
Permits in 2026, between 8,360 and 20,500
13,500
A stated assumption, not a forecast
Permits a year in 2031, central line; held flat 13,900
13,100
Projection of the source
Fewer people aged 20 to 64 in 2041 than in 2026, on Eurostat's 2025 projection
57,400
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia3
2.1 million people, growing only through arrivals
Slovenia has 2.1 million people, 72,233 more than in 2015. Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 2019, and arrivals from abroad made up the difference in all but one year. Output per head is 80 percent of the EU average, 90 percent counting lower prices, and more people of working age are in work than across the EU. Eurostat projects 4.6 percent fewer people aged 20 to 64 by 2041.
People living in Slovenia on 1 January 2026
2,135,107
3.5 percent more than in 2015, and 0.5 percent of the EU's 452.0 million. People aged 65 and over were 22.1 percent of the population in 2025.
GDP in 2025, billion euro at current prices
71.2
0.4 percent of the EU economy.
GDP per head in 2025
33,380euro
80 percent of the EU average of 41,700 euro in 2025. Counting lower prices at home, 90 percent, up from 81 percent in 2015.
Real growth in 2025
1.5%
Against 1.4 percent across the EU. Over 2021 to 2025 the economy grew 18.1 percent in all, the EU grew 13.7 percent (our estimate from the yearly rates).
People aged 20 to 64 in work, 2025
78.3%
Against 76.1 percent across the EU.
The EU and the euro
1 May 2004Slovenia joins the European Union.
1 January 2007The euro replaces the tolar, at 239.640 tolar per euro.
Sources: Eurostat, demo_gind (population, updated 21 July 2026), nama_10_gdp and nama_10_pc (GDP, updated 21 September 2026), tec00114 (price adjusted GDP per head), tec00115 (growth), lfsi_emp_a (employment), demo_pjanbroad (age). All retrieved 27 September 2026. Figures for 2025 GDP, GDP per head and growth are provisional. Key dates: European Central Bank, the euro in Slovenia, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia4
Deaths exceed births, arrivals keep the population growing
Deaths outnumber births every year, and arrivals have covered the gap in every year but 2021
In 2025, 21,223 people died and 16,961 were born. Net migration added 8,519, so the population grew by 4,257.
Births minus deathsNet migration
Source: Eurostat, demo_gind (updated 21 July 2026), migr_imm1ctz and migr_emi1ctz (moves of a year or more), retrieved 27 September 2026. Net migration includes Eurostat's statistical adjustment. Not published: moves in and out for 2025.
About 2.12 million people by 2041 on Eurostat's projection
Observed to 2026, then Eurostat's 2025 projection in the lighter line.
Source: Eurostat, demo_gind (observed, updated 21 July 2026) and proj_25np (EUROPOP2025 baseline and migration tests, updated 11 June 2026), retrieved 27 September 2026.
The share aged 65 and over rises to 28%
0 to 1415 to 6465 and over
Source: Eurostat, demo_pjanbroad (2025) and proj_25np (2041), retrieved 27 September 2026.
71.2 billion euro in 2025, and the IMF forecast to 2031
Billion euro at current prices of 2025IMF forecast
Real growth under each year: observed to 2025 (Eurostat, tec00115), the IMF forecast after. Sources: Eurostat, nama_10_gdp (2025 provisional); IMF, World Economic Outlook April 2026; Werklist calculation: the other years are the 2025 value moved by the real growth rates; retrieved 27 September 2026.
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Residence permits for work have fallen since the 2022 peak
Permits have fallen every year since 2022, by 38 percent in all
Slovenia issued 13,953 first residence permits for work in 2025, against 15,680 in 2024 and 20,356 in 2019.
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026.
A first residence permit for work is the first one a citizen of a country outside the EU receives to take a job in Slovenia: a single permit for residence and work, an EU Blue Card or another permit for work. Renewals are not in this count, and neither are seasonal jobs of up to 90 days, which need a seasonal work permit of the Employment Service.
Three in four run for a year or more
The share valid for 12 months or more: 63.7 percent in 2019, 76.5 percent in 2025.
12 months or more76.5%10,671
6 to 11 months19.5%2,720
3 to 5 months4.0%562
201963.7%
202476.4%
202576.5%
Share of permits valid for 12 months or more
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by length of validity, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Eurostat's count and the national count, 2025
First residence permits for work, Eurostat, 2025
13,953
Consents to single permits, January to September 2025
18,923
The Employment Service counts every consent, renewals included (5,495), for nine months only; Eurostat counts first residence permits for work in the full year.
Sources: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, updated 11 September 2026; Employment Service of Slovenia, Strokovna izhodišča za leto 2026 (November 2025), retrieved 30 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia6
Per resident, Slovenia issues twice the EU rate, below Croatia
First residence permits for work for every 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64
The first residence permits for work a country issues in a year, divided by the residents aged 20 to 64 living there on 1 January of that year. These are first residence permits only, as Eurostat counts them.
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst (first residence permits for employment) and demo_pjangroup (residents aged 20 to 64 on 1 January), reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026 and 25 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026. Werklist calculation. The EU line: migr_resfirst and demo_pjangroup for the 27 EU countries (residents aged 20 to 64 in 2024 summed from single years of age, demo_pjan).
Per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, by length of permit
Slovenia
Croatia
Hungary
Italy
Austria
EU
All lengths
11.2
21.1
8.5
1.7
1.3
4.9
12 months or more
8.6
1.6
7.5
1.0
1.1
3.6
3 to 11 months
2.6
19.6
1.1
0.6
0.2
1.3
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by length of validity and demo_pjangroup, 2025, retrieved 27 September 2026. Werklist calculation.
Slovenia issued 11.2 first residence permits for work per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, more than twice the EU's 4.9, after a fall every year from 18.0 in 2022. Croatia fell from 38.2 to 21.1 after it tightened its rules in March 2025. Most of Croatia's permits run under 12 months: on permits of 12 months or more Slovenia issues 8.6, Hungary 7.5 and Croatia 1.6.
How Croatia tightened its rules
March 2025The employment service backs a permit for residence and work only if the employer's full time staff from Croatia, the rest of the European Economic Area or Switzerland equal at least 16 percent of its staff from outside the EU (8 percent for occupations on the government's list).
June 2026That share rises to 20 percent (10 percent for listed occupations). The law also sets 90 days as the time limit for the ministry's decision.
Sources: Narodne novine 40/2025 and 55/2026, gazette text, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia7
The Western Balkans hold two thirds
Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia received 9,436 permits in 2025, 67.6 percent, against 19,157 and 94.1 percent in 2019. Of Werklist's seven sourcing centres, Nepal had 875, India 856, the Philippines 654, Bangladesh 251, Uzbekistan 24, Vietnam 19 and Indonesia 2; the seven together rose from 85 in 2019 to 2,681, 19.2 percent.
Citizenship
Permits 2024
Permits 2025
Share 2024
Share 2025
Bosnia and Herzegovina
5,812
4,292
37.1%
30.8%
Serbia
2,664
2,306
17.0%
16.5%
Kosovo
1,756
1,768
11.2%
12.7%
North Macedonia
1,191
1,070
7.6%
7.7%
Nepal
721
875
4.6%
6.3%
India
898
856
5.7%
6.1%
The Philippines
326
654
2.1%
4.7%
China
359
398
2.3%
2.9%
Bangladesh
317
251
2.0%
1.8%
Uzbekistan
44
24
0.3%
0.2%
Other origins
1,592
1,459
10.2%
10.5%
All origins
15,680
13,953
100.0%
100.0%
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by citizenship, reference years 2024 and 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026. Vietnam (19) and Indonesia (2) are counted in other origins.
Bosnia and Herzegovina alone received 30.8% in 2025
Shares of the first residence permits for work issued in 2025, by citizenship.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
30.8%
Serbia
16.5%
Kosovo
12.7%
North Macedonia
7.7%
Nepal
6.3%
India
6.1%
The Philippines
4.7%
China
2.9%
Bangladesh
1.8%
Other origins
10.5%
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by citizenship, reference year 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026.
The seven sourcing centres received 2,681 permits in Slovenia in 2025, 19.2% of its total
Permits for citizens of the seven sourcing centres (Nepal, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and Uzbekistan) in 2025, against all first residence permits for work.
Slovenia
2,681of 13,953
Croatia
23,510of 47,382
Italy
18,816of 57,362
Hungary
19,077of 48,520
Austria
1,247of 7,126
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by citizenship, reference year 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia8
The seven sourcing centres rose from 85 permits to 2,681
Bosnia and Herzegovina leads, and the Western Balkans hold two thirds of the permits
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia received 67.6 percent of the permits in 2025, against 94.1 percent in 2019, and their number halved from 19,157 to 9,436. The seven sourcing centres rose from 85 permits to 2,681, 19.2 percent.
The sourcing centres of WerklistOther origins
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment reasons, by citizenship, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 29 September 2026.
Of the seven sourcing centres, Nepal received 875 first residence permits for work in 2025, India 856, the Philippines 654, Bangladesh 251, Uzbekistan 24, Vietnam 19 and Indonesia 2.
Citizenship
2019
2024
2025
Share 2025
Bosnia and Herzegovina
9,997
5,812
4,292
30.8%
Serbia
3,926
2,664
2,306
16.5%
Kosovo
4,210
1,756
1,768
12.7%
North Macedonia
1,024
1,191
1,070
7.7%
Nepal
4
721
875
6.3%
India
46
898
856
6.1%
The Philippines
7
326
654
4.7%
China
194
359
398
2.9%
Bangladesh
17
317
251
1.8%
Uzbekistan
2
44
24
0.2%
Vietnam
7
2
19
0.1%
Indonesia
2
1
2
<0.1%
Other origins
920
1,589
1,438
10.3%
All origins
20,356
15,680
13,953
100.0%
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment reasons, by citizenship, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 29 September 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia9
Entry eased in 2025, with new duties for employers
The rules as they stand on 27 September 2026
May 2025
Two amending acts in Official Gazette 32/2025 entered into force on 21 May 2025; the employment act applies from June 2025, its Blue Card rules from July. In occupations the minister lists, work may start once the Employment Service consents, before the single permit is issued.
80 hours
An employer that hires this way must give at least 80 hours of Slovene lessons within six months, free and in working time. The fine is 3,000 to 30,000 euro.
6 months
Consent also requires that the employer dismissed no suitable staff for business reasons in the last six months, unless the job pays at least last year's average gross monthly wage.
Blue Card
An EU Blue Card needs a contract of at least six months at no less than Slovenia's average annual gross wage. Seasonal work now also covers hospitality and tourism.
Sources: Official Gazette of Slovenia 32/2025 of 6 May 2025: ZZSDT-E, amending the Employment, Self-employment and Work of Foreigners Act (articles 4, 6, 8 and 12), and ZTuj-2I, amending the Foreigners Act. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
About 57,400 fewer people aged 20 to 64 by 2041
Eurostat projects 1,236,752 in 2026 and 1,179,328 in 2041, a fall of 4.6 percent. With lower migration the fall is 124,354; with higher migration the rise is 11,898.
Source: Eurostat, proj_25np, EUROPOP2025 baseline and migration sensitivity tests, updated 11 June 2026; 2025 observed, demo_pjangroup, updated 25 September 2026; retrieved 27 September 2026.
Citizens of Slovenia who left in 2024, down from 6,598 in 2019
5,098
Fewer citizens leave than in 2019, while the number aged 20 to 64 is projected to fall.
Eurostat, migr_emi1ctz, retrieved 27 September 2026
Unemployment in 2025, against 6.0 percent across the EU
3.9%
The share of the labour force aged 15 to 74 without a job and looking for one.
Eurostat, une_rt_a, retrieved 27 September 2026
Gross minimum wage a month for full time work from January 2026, euro
1,482
The legal floor for any full time job in Slovenia, including one filled with a single permit.
Official Gazette of Slovenia 6/2026, retrieved 27 September 2026
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia10
About 13,500 permits in 2026, between 8,360 and 20,500
We expect about 13,500 first residence permits for work in 2026; for 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number, and the direction is flat. From 2027, on stated assumptions, the central line carries the mean yearly change of 2021 to 2025, 6.1 percent fewer a year, fading, and falls to 13,100 by 2031; held flat, the count stays at 13,900. The rules of May 2025 are too recent to show in the count.
Permits in 2026, our estimate
13,500
between 8,360 and 20,500
Permits a year in 2031, the central line, a stated assumption
13,100
held flat 13,900, a stated assumption
Direction of the rules and of the count
The rulesOpening
The count, 2025Falling
The rules of 2025 eased entry and added employer duties. Permits in 2027: flat; the range is too wide for a yearly number
Two lines on stated assumptions: the central line falls to 13,100; held flat, 13,900
Permits issued to 2025, then our estimate with its range for 2026; for 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number and the direction is flat; from 2027, two lines on stated assumptions, their spread shaded. The trend leaves out 2020, the low year of the travel restrictions; the count has fallen every year since 2022. No peers' line is drawn: Slovenia already issues 11.23 first residence permits for work a year per 1,000 people aged 20 to 64, above 5.1, the median of its peers (Austria 1.28, Croatia 21.13, Hungary 8.53 and Italy 1.67).
ObservedOur estimate, 2026Its rangeCentral line and held flat, stated assumptionsSpread of the lines
Source: Werklist estimate from Eurostat migr_resfirst (reference years to 2025, updated 11 September 2026); 2026 and the central line from 2027: the 2025 count moved by its change of 2021 to 2025, 6.1 percent a year fewer, fading by half each year (2020 left out; the demand of the falling working age lies below the count and is not applied); held flat, the 2025 count held, 13,900; retrieved 27 September 2026. Values rounded to three significant figures; the table gives the lines in 2031, 2036 and 2041 only, each line in a row of its own; Low and High give the range of 2026.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia11
Origins keep their 2025 shares; the count's trend moves the line
Each origin keeps its 2025 share: Nepal 6.3%, the seven centres 19.2%
Our estimate holds the shares of 2025; for Nepal the range in 2031 is 4.2 to 9.4 percent. India holds 6.1 percent, the Philippines 4.7, Bangladesh 1.8, Uzbekistan 0.2 and Vietnam 0.1; Indonesia stays under 0.1 percent, and the Western Balkan origins are in all other origins.
All other originsIndonesiaVietnamUzbekistanBangladeshThe PhilippinesIndiaNepal
Source: Werklist estimate on Eurostat migr_resfirst by citizenship, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026. Shares of each year's permits, to 2035, held at the shares of 2025.
The drivers of the estimate
Only the recent change of the count moves the central line; the working age lies below the count, and the other numbers stand beside it.
People aged 20 to 643,830 fewer a year
4.6 percent fewer from 2026 to 2041. It enters no line: the demand it implies lies below the count.
The count's own trenddown 6.1 percent a year
The mean yearly change of 2021 to 2025 (2020 left out), damped by half each year: down to a factor of 0.94.
Citizens leaving, 2024325 more left
5,098 left and 4,773 returned, all ages.
Economic growth, real2.0 percent in 2026
The IMF's projection for 2026, World Economic Outlook, April 2026.
The national count beside Eurostat'snot comparable
18,923 consents to single permits, January to September 2025; Eurostat 13,953 in 2025.
Permits a year per 1,000 people aged 20 to 6411.23 in 2025
Against 5.1, the median of its four peers, and 4.92 across the EU.
Sources: Eurostat proj_25np, migr_emi1ctz and migr_imm1ctz; the Werklist country record, edition 2026.1; IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2026; Employment Service of Slovenia; retrieved 27 and 30 September 2026.
What could change this
Three rules in force since mid 2025 are too recent to show in the count to 2025. Each could move the numbers on this page and the one before.
Duties for employers since 2025
Since June 2025 an employer must not have dismissed suitable staff in the past six months, and one whose hire starts before the single permit must fund 80 hours of Slovene. No data yet show an effect.
The Blue Card at average pay
Since July 2025 a Blue Card needs pay of at least the average annual gross wage. It could raise Blue Cards for skilled jobs. It is law, but the 2025 data are too early to show it.
Seasonal work in tourism
Since June 2025 seasonal work permits cover hotels, restaurants and tourism, not only farming and forestry. Jobs of up to 90 days stay outside our count; longer ones may add to it.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia12
How to read this report
What a first residence permit for work is
Eurostat's first residence permits for employment, valid three months or more, without renewals: in Slovenia single permits for residence and work, issued with the Employment Service's consent, and EU Blue Cards. Seasonal jobs of up to 90 days are outside it: they need a seasonal work permit, not a residence permit.
What the range and the lines mean
For 2026 we give a yearly number with a low and a high end. For 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number, so we give the direction, flat. After that we give two lines, each on a stated assumption, and the spread between them. Observed numbers are solid lines, estimates dashed ones.
How the estimate is made
We start from the 13,953 permits of 2025. Slovenia loses about 3,830 people aged 20 to 64 a year (Eurostat's 2025 projection), about a quarter of its yearly permits, so that fall does not lift the lines. The central line carries the change of 2021 to 2025, 6.1 percent a year fewer, fading by half each year (2020 left out); the other line holds 13,900.
Numbers, dates and words
Past counts are printed exactly; estimates are rounded to three significant figures. The comparisons with Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and the EU are our arithmetic on Eurostat data. Permits are counted, not people; people appear only where we speak of the population.
Sources
Every source retrieved 27 September 2026, the Employment Service's on 30 September 2026.
Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_resfirst
Eurostat, demo_gind, demo_pjangroup and demo_pjanbroad, population, births, deaths and age. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser
Eurostat, migr_imm1ctz and migr_emi1ctz, immigration and emigration by citizenship. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser
Eurostat, proj_25np, EUROPOP2025 population projection, baseline and migration sensitivity tests, updated 11 June 2026. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/proj_25np
Eurostat, nama_10_gdp, nama_10_pc, tec00114 and tec00115, GDP, GDP per head and growth. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser
Eurostat, lfsi_emp_a and une_rt_a, employment and unemployment. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, April 2026, real GDP growth. imf.org/external/datamapper
Employment Service of Slovenia, Strokovna izhodišča za leto 2026, November 2025: consents to single permits, January to September 2025. ess.gov.si
Official Gazette of Slovenia, ZZSDT-E, amending the Employment, Self-employment and Work of Foreigners Act, and ZTuj-2I, amending the Foreigners Act, No. 32/2025 of 6 May 2025. uradni-list.si
Official Gazette of Slovenia, minimum wage for 2026, No. 6/2026 of 30 January 2026. uradni-list.si
European Central Bank, the euro in Slovenia, 1 January 2007. ecb.europa.eu
Narodne novine, Croatia, Foreigners Act amendments 40/2025 of 7 March 2025 and 55/2026 of 27 May 2026. narodne-novine.nn.hr
Photographs and flags
Pexels: Ljubljana at night, Andrej375 (cover); Ljubljana and the Alps, Mira Romanescu (page 3); port cranes, Enes Beydilli; central Ljubljana, Tilen Kermavner; tower cranes, Airam Dato-on; the Julian Alps, Johnny (back cover). Flags: circle-flags by HatScripts, MIT licence.
Workforce Migration Report 2026, Slovenia
werklist.com
What this report answers
How many first residence permits for work has Slovenia issued each year since 2019?
13,953 in 2025, 11.0% fewer than the 15,680 of 2024 and 38 percent below the 22,517 of the 2022 peak; 20,356 in 2019.
Which countries do the new hires come from, and which are growing?
Bosnia and Herzegovina leads with 4,292 permits in 2025, and the Western Balkans hold 67.6%, against 94.1% in 2019. The seven sourcing centres rose from 85 permits in 2019 to 2,681, 19.2 percent: Nepal 875, India 856 and the Philippines 654.
How does Slovenia compare with its neighbours per resident?
11.2 first residence permits for work for every 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, more than twice the EU's 4.9 and eight times Austria's 1.3, below Croatia's 21.1.
Which rules apply to employers who hire from abroad?
Since 2025, in occupations the minister lists, work may start once the Employment Service consents, before the single permit is issued; the employer then gives at least 80 hours of Slovene lessons. Consent also requires that no suitable staff were dismissed for business reasons in the last six months.
How is the working age population changing?
Eurostat projects 1,236,752 people aged 20 to 64 in 2026 and 1,179,328 in 2041: about 57,400 fewer, a fall of 4.6 percent.
How many first residence permits for work do we expect Slovenia to issue in 2026, and what comes after?
About 13,500 in 2026, between 8,360 and 20,500. For 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number; the direction is flat. On stated assumptions the central line falls to about 13,100 a year by 2031; held flat, the count stays at 13,900.
The full report answers each question with its figures, charts and sources. Request the full report
Photographs: Ljubljana at night by Andrej375 (Pexels); Ljubljana and the Alps by Mira Romanescu (Pexels); Port cranes by Enes Beydilli (Pexels); Central Ljubljana by Tilen Kermavner (Pexels); Tower cranes by Airam Dato-on (Pexels); Rooftops of Ljubljana by Mira Romanescu (Pexels).
Slovenia
Croatia
Hungary
Italy
Austria
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia
Kosovo
North Macedonia
Nepal
India
The Philippines
China
Bangladesh
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Indonesia