Parliament softens family reunification rules for foreign workers

The shorter, one-year waiting period for the admitting of families of foreigners with a temporary residence permit was restored after the previous government had increased it to two years.

The incumbent government preserved the proof of basis language proficiency for family members wishing to stay on after the first year, but it first postponed its implementation from April 2023 to November 2024 while it now also lowered the level required from the entry level A1 to "survival level".

Speaking about the changes, adopted in a 44:7 vote, Interior Ministry State Secretary Tina Heferle said it had been established that there were not enough certified providers of A1 level classes and testing on the market.

Thus the decision for "survival level", which the government said means that a person is able to communicate in Slovenian in simple, predictable, everyday situations in which linguistic expression is routine and repetitive.

Heferle argued that for the initial integration of foreigners, based on the principle of family reunification, knowledge and understanding of the language at a basic level is sufficient, after which the foreigners will be able to upgrade their language skills.

The criteria for this new educational programme meanwhile remain to be defined by the Education Ministry, the state secretary added.

Jelka Godec of opposition Democrats (SDS), which boycotted the session with the argument that emergency procedure was not warranted for such legislation, took issue with this after the vote, saying "nobody knows what survival level means, nobody knows how to define it".

The fellow opposition New Slovenia (NSi), which enabled the quorum by participating in the session but had its proposal to keep to two-year reunification period in place, was also critical, saying the government had miscalculated the available language course capacities when it processed this legislation at the start of the year.

Heferle replied that they had indeed made a mistake and that it was not difficult for this government to admit it. She added that at the time, they were faced with the fact that the previous government had enacted an A1 level requirement but did nothing for two years to make it viable.

"I don't agree that we are lowering the level, but we have found a different solution," she added.

The changes were welcomed by the junior coalition SocDems and Left, with SD deputy Damijan Zrim noting the country's need for absorption capacity in the face of natural migration currents, Slovenia being a transit state and at the same time having workforce needs. Immigration rules need to be clear and fair to the immigrants and their families, he added.

The Left backed the changes unanimously after it had been against the upholding earlier in the year of the conditions introduced by the previous government. The party's MP Nataša Sukič said it was not crucial that "survival level" was part of the standard EU language proficiency framework.

Tereza Novak of the senior coalition Freedom Movement added that the integration of foreigners must be addressed in a way exceeding ideology and populism, at the level of real, feasible and measurable measures.