Working in Slovenia as a French National: Right to Work, Pay, Tax, Contributions and the Economy

The Slovenian public employment service states it: citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland need neither a visa nor a work permit to work in Slovenia. A French national signs an employment contract like a Slovenian, with the same rights. Formalities focus on settling in: the residence registration certificate beyond three months, detailed on the page on living in Slovenia, the tax number to request from the tax administration and the personal identification number (EMŠO) that the first public body contacted generally obtains.

For an employee, the employer is required to register its staff with social insurance when the employment contract is signed: pensions and invalidity, sickness, parental protection and unemployment (Slovenian public employment service). A European jobseeker registers with this service to prove their status when registering their residence (gov.si). Vacancies can be consulted on the public employment service portal and on the EURES network, whose adviser helps French nationals prepare their search.

The Slovenian minimum wage is around €1,500 gross per month, according to Eurostat, a lower level than in France. The average gross wage is close to €2,700 (Statistical Office of Slovenia). These levels are gross figures: the net depends on the contributions and tax described below.

• Regional and sector gaps: the Office publishes tables by region, sector and sex in its online database, which are worth consulting before accepting an offer.
• Contract and working time: the written contract, weekly working time and leave come under Slovenian labour law; the public employment service refers to the Ministry of Labour for these rules, to be checked before signing.

CLEISS publishes the rates in force for employees and employers. The total reaches 40.20% of gross salary, split between 23.10% for the employee and 17.10% for the employer.

• Sickness: 6.36% for the employee and 6.56% for the employer, i.e. 12.92%.
• Pension and invalidity: 15.50% for the employee and 8.85% for the employer, i.e. 24.35%.
• Unemployment: 0.14% for the employee and 0.06% for the employer.
• Parental protection: 0.10% on each side.
• Long-term care insurance: 1% on each side.
• Accidents at work and occupational diseases: 0.53%, borne by the employer.

The contribution base has a floor: the minimum base, around €1,500 per month and revised each year, represents 60% of the national average annual wage (CLEISS). The employee also pays, since the reform of 1 January 2024 that abolished private supplementary insurance, a flat-rate health contribution of around €40 per month, borne solely by them and withheld by the employer from salary (CLEISS, Slovenian public employment service). The detail of the protection obtained in exchange is set out on the page on the healthcare system in Slovenia.

Slovenian personal income tax is progressive, with rates from 16% to 50% according to the official business portal (SPOT). The threshold of each bracket and the general allowance change every year: they can be read on the website of the tax administration (FURS).

France and Slovenia signed a convention against double taxation in Ljubljana on 7 April 2004, which entered into force on 1 March 2007 (BOFiP, the French tax administration’s official bulletin). It allocates the right to tax each category of income and provides for the elimination of double taxation; it was supplemented by the multilateral BEPS convention signed on 7 June 2017. An employee who settles in Slovenia in principle becomes a tax resident there and declares their local income; income that stays in France (rents, for example) follows the convention’s rules, to be checked on impots.gouv.fr, the French tax authority’s website, or with individual advice.

An employee posted by a French employer stays affiliated to the French scheme during the assignment. The A1 form proves it: the maximum length indicated is 24 months, and the employee does not have to register with the host country’s funds (europa.eu). For a longer assignment, the employer requests an extension from the body that issued the A1 before it expires, or the employee switches to the local scheme. See posted worker or expatriate and the glossary entry on the A1 form.

An employee on a local contract compulsorily comes under the Slovenian scheme; their employer registers them with the ZZZS and the other funds. They can top up this protection by joining the Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE, the voluntary social security fund for French nationals abroad), which spares them waiting periods on returning to France (ameli.fr, the website of the French Assurance Maladie, the national health insurance).

A self-employed person registers and pays contributions directly: total contributions reach 40.20%, the sum of the employee and employer shares, with a minimum base of €1,521.62 per month, and the flat-rate health contribution is added (CLEISS). Contributions are due from the start of the activity. The digital nomad who remains an employee of a foreign employer comes under other rules, to be checked before leaving.

Cross-border remote work by an employee of another Member State can stay attached to their social security scheme if the European framework agreement applies: it covers remote work of less than 50% of total working time, for an employee with a single employer, with an A1 certificate of three years at most, renewable. Slovenia signed the framework agreement on 1 September 2023 (CLEISS); the self-employed are excluded from the arrangement.

Slovenia is an open economy, part of the eurozone since 1 January 2007. The French Treasury (Direction générale du Trésor) describes a heavily export-oriented industry: automotive is the country’s second-largest export item, with nearly a quarter of exports, and depends on German demand; Germany is the country’s second-largest customer. Electronics, pharmaceuticals and household appliances complete industrial exports to the Union.

The Treasury also notes a labour shortage in manufacturing, transport and other trades. For a French national, opportunities are concentrated in industry, logistics, business services and the international institutions based in Ljubljana; command of Slovenian opens up more positions, particularly in trade and healthcare.

The “Economic indicators” block on this page tracks growth, inflation, unemployment and the exchange rate continuously. To build healthcare costs into a departure budget, the guide on budgeting for health abroad offers a method.