In order to apply for a passport, a Slovenian citizen must go in person to a diplomatic-consular office, whether they are in their home country or are residing abroad. Citizens residing abroad should check the laws and guidelines of the host country, because oftentimes expired passports are not permitted and are illegal.
A citizen, according to mzz.gov.si, must pay 85 euros for a ten-year adult passport (over 18), citizens between three and 18 must pay 55 euros for a five-year passport, and for citizens under three a passport is issued for three years at the price of 40 euros. All children, no matter what their age, must be issued their own passport. Every applicant must have a legitimate passport photo that must be approved by the diplomatic-consular office. Even children applying for a passport must be present so that their identities can be verified, just like adults. Babies, though, are exempt from this rule.
Because Slovenia is part of the EU and the Schengen Agreement, Slovenian citizens do not need a passport to travel to countries included in the EU or SA. Citizens leaving the country permanently to live elsewhere must report their leave to authorities and should check with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find out the appropriate municipality. While planning a trip, citizens should check the laws of the country or countries they are planning to visit, to ensure that they may travel there with their Slovenian passport and ensure that they are adhering to any laws or guidelines, such as the requirement of a visa.
A passport must be renewed every ten years for adults, every five years for citizens between ages three and 18, and every three years for citizens under three, because this is when the respective passports expire. Passports must also be renewed or replaced if they are damaged, permanent residence has changed, a photo no longer matches, or a name has been changed. In order to renew or replace a passport, a citizen must go to the diplomatic-consular office in person and apply for a passport again. The old passport must be brought along.
If a passport is lost or stolen, a citizen can go to the closest diplomatic-consular office or consulate abroad to be issued a passport. This will cost ten euros, and there must be a police record for confirmation of the lost/stolen passport, and the citizen must have photo identification. According to mzz.gov.si, if a citizen consistently loses passports and there is no record of them being stolen, a new passport will only be issued for a year. It is smart to carry a photocopy of one's passport and a copy of the passport number in a place separate from the passport so that a citizen has verification of a passport if it is lost or stolen.
The passport a citizen will be issued is a biometric passport, which means it has an electronic chip in it. This chip records identification information and travel information, making it more difficult to use someone else's passport and more difficult to counterfeit a passport. Slovenia began issuing biometric passports when the United States determined that all foreigners entering the States needed to have one. All newly issued passports in Slovenia will be biometric passports. If a citizen has an old passport that is not biometric, it is still valid until it expires, and then the renewed passport will be biometric. The same goes for a lost passport--the new one will be biometric, regardless of whether the old one was.
