News

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar and his closest team hosted foreign ambassadors to Slovenia at the Ministry today.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar met with his Italian counterpart Matteo Piantedosi in Rome today.

From April 2023, citizens aged 12 and over will only need to present their new biometric ID card when visiting doctors, pharmacies, opticians and other healthcare providers and suppliers of medicines and medical devices. This means that citizens are now able to use just one document, as the photo on the identity card also removes the need for additional verification of the insured person’s identity.

Today, the Ministry of the Interior hosted representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for the Care and Integration of Migrants, and NGOs, in order to develop an integration strategy.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar hosted the 11th informal meeting of the Ministers of the Interior of the Brdo Process countries in Portorož.

State Secretary Helga Dobrin attended the 3rd Danube Security Conference in Brussels. The conference focused on strengthening police cooperation in the Danube region in the areas of illegal migration, smuggling and trafficking in human beings, protection of critical infrastructure and the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

We remove administrative obstacles and speed up the procedures for issuing and serving residence permits and registration certificates. We reintroduce access to Slovenian language courses for all categories of foreigners.

The Justice and Home Affairs Council spent the morning part of the session discussing the situation in the Schengen area.

This year's High Security Printing EMEA™ Conference is taking place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 7 to 9 March 2023 and its award for the best ID card of the year was claimed by the Slovenian biometric identity card.

State Secretary Tina Heferle attended the 2nd European Conference on Border Management in Athens. The discussions focused on the effectiveness of European Union's border management and return policies as well as on the issue of EU funding to upgrade member states' operational capacities at the external borders.

The newly appointed Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar has taken the office from the Minister of Public Administration and Acting Minister of the Interior Sanja Ajanović Hovnik.

Safer Internet Day is celebrated on 7 February. This year, the focus in Slovenia is on the issue of inappropriate online content. Children are among the most at-risk users of the internet, mainly because of their youth, inexperience, curiosity and naivety.

State Secretary Dr Branko Lobnikar attended a ministerial conference in Sofia to discuss measures for more effective management of the external borders of the European Union.

The Minister of Public Administration in the capacity of Minister of the Interior, Sanja Ajanović Hovnik, is attending the informal meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Stockholm.

Today, the Government Working Group to prepare the Migration Strategy, which was established by a Government Decision in October 2022, met for the first time at the Ministry of the Interior.

Neighbouring country Croatia joins Schengen on 1 January 2023. Minister of Public Administration and Acting Minister of the Interior Sanja Ajanović Hovnik and Acting Director General of the Police Boštjan Lindav have attended the Schengen joining celebration at the Obrežje–Bregana border crossing point.

On 21 December 2022 have passed 15 years since Slovenia became a Schengen state. For the Slovenian people, the most visible sign of the country’s entry into the Schengen Area was the abolishment of border controls at the borders with Austria, Italy and Hungary. This was a very important development for Slovenia, as its path to other EU states and the Schengen Area finally opened up.

The European Union has confirmed all three programmes for the European Union (EU) Home Affairs Funds for the 2021–2027 period. This will enable Slovenia to draw European funds in the fields of asylum, migration and integration, internal security and border management and visa instrument.

Public Administration Minister Sanja Ajanović Hovnik is temporarily taking over the role of the Minister of the Interior after the stepping down of the former Minister of the Interior, Tatjana Bobnar.

Minister of the Interior Tatjana Bobnar has attended the EU Home Affairs Council in Brussels, where the key item on the agenda was the extension of the Schengen area.