Expat insurance and health insurance in Slovenia

Like Poland or the Czech Republic, Slovenia has a single public fund: mandatory health insurance there is managed by the Zavod za zdravstveno zavarovanje Slovenije (ZZZS), under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, which every resident must join through their employment, self-employed activity or pension. The basic scheme’s benefits basket covers consultations with the GP and specialists, hospital care, maternity, listed medicines and medical devices (reimbursed at 70%, 100% for children), as well as certain preventive care covered at 100%. Outside these exceptions, a patient co-payment remains due, ranging depending on the procedure between 10% and 90% of the contracted rate — a share notably higher than in most other EU countries.

A Slovenian specificity worth understanding: this patient share was traditionally covered by a near-universal private supplementary plan, the dopolnilno zdravstveno zavarovanje, taken out by almost all Slovenian residents with three private insurers. A reform passed on 6 July 2023 abolished this system from 1 January 2024: the optional private supplementary plan was replaced by a mandatory fixed-amount health contribution (imenovan OZP), collected directly by the Slovenian tax administration (FURS) from employees, self-employed people, retirees and residents registered without foreign social coverage, and integrated into the public ZZZS system. Its amount, reassessed every 1 March based on the average gross salary, stands at €39.36 per month for the period from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, entirely paid by the insured person (unlike the basic contribution, it is not shared with the employer). In practice, for an expat settling long-term, this contribution is almost automatic upon registration with the ZZZS and replaces the need to seek out a local private supplementary plan.

Emergency services (numbers 112 and 113) are accessible to any ZZZS insured person or holder of a valid EHIC. The major university hospitals (Ljubljana, Maribor) belong to the state; they coexist with a network of private practices, whether contracted with the ZZZS or not.

• EU citizen: no visa required, free movement with a valid passport or ID card, Slovenia having been a member of the Schengen area since 21 December 2007.
• Registration with the administrative unit (upravna enota): for any stay longer than 90 days, application for a residence registration certificate for an EU/EEA citizen (potrdilo o prijavi prebivanja), on proof of a reason for stay (employment, self-employed activity, studies, family reunification or sufficient resources) and of health cover.
• Registration with the ZZZS: mandatory for every resident employee, self-employed person or retiree. For an employee, the employer declares and withholds the contribution (12.92% of gross salary, of which 6.56% is paid by the employer and 6.36% by the employee) as well as the fixed health contribution (€39.36/month, paid by the employee alone).
• Self-employed: direct registration and contribution to the ZZZS, on a base calculated from declared profit (with minimum and maximum bases set each year), plus the fixed health contribution due each month, with no possibility of suspension even without any activity.
• Without registration or European cover: care is billed in full by the facility, public or private, at a rate that varies by facility and is not publicly disclosed in a uniform way.
• Student: the EHIC (EKZZ) is sufficient for a temporary stay (such as Erasmus); beyond that, local registration with the ZZZS or a supplementary student insurance remains recommended during the administrative transition period.
• Seconded employee : up to 24 months (extendable), stays on the French scheme via form A1, exempt from local registration.
• Retiree: form S1 from their French pension fund before departure, for cover by the ZZZS without a new basic contribution of their own (the fixed health contribution remains due, collected where applicable by the Slovenian pension institute).

No individual fine is provided for as such in case of failure to register, but the employer has a legal obligation to declare their employee; for the expat themselves, the risk remains primarily financial, with no assistance from the French embassy in case of uncovered care.

As Slovenia has been an EU member since 1 May 2004, there is no classic bilateral agreement with France: coordination relies on EU regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009, as for other member states. Slovenia has also been a member of the Schengen area since 21 December 2007 and of the eurozone since 1 January 2007, being the first of the ten countries that joined the EU in 2004 to have adopted it.

• Temporary stay: the EHIC (EKZZ in Slovenia) gives entitlement to the same cover as a local insured person with providers contracted by the ZZZS; if the card is forgotten or lost, a provisional replacement certificate (PRC), valid for 3 months, gives the same rights.
• Secondment: form A1, staying on the French scheme for up to 24 months (extendable), exempt from local registration.
• Long-term move: direct registration with the ZZZS (via the employer for an employee, directly for a self-employed person), with, since 1 January 2024, the fixed health contribution replacing the former private supplementary plan; form S1 for a retiree, covered by the ZZZS without a new basic contribution of their own.
• The EHIC covers neither repatriation, nor planned care, nor a long-term move; on return, a stay not covered in advance may be reimbursed retroactively via form S3125, within the limit of actual costs.

1. Before departure: notify French agencies of your departure (CPAM, CAF, France Travail, pension funds).
2. Seconded employee: request form A1 from your French fund before departure.
3. Retiree: request form S1 from your pension fund before departure.
4. Before departure or on arrival: request the EHIC (EKZZ) to cover the transition period.
5. On arrival, for a stay longer than 90 days: request the residence registration certificate from the administrative unit (upravna enota) of your place of residence.
6. Register with the ZZZS (via the employer for an employee, directly for a self-employed person).
7. Employee: check with your employer that the contribution and the fixed health contribution are declared and withheld from the signing of the employment contract.
8. Self-employed: register and contribute directly to the ZZZS, including the monthly fixed health contribution.
9. Register with the roll of French nationals living abroad (French embassy in Ljubljana).