STA, 2 March 2021 - Every day, border police detect about a dozen falsified negative coronavirus tests with which passengers want to avoid quarantine upon entry into Slovenia, the General Police Department said on Tuesday, noting that using a fake test amounts to document falsification, a crime which carries a prison sentence of up to three years.

In January, the police detected an increase in the number of fake PCR tests at the border with Croatia presented by passengers from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.

Slovenians have also been caught with fake negative tests although not that often. But last weekend, as many as 15 Slovenians were caught trying to enter the country with fake tests at the Dragonja border crossing.

In most cases, the documents are complete fakes and are discovered because police officers are checking their authenticity via other institutions.

Fake test results are seized by the police and the perpetrator is charged with document falsification and ordered to quarantine.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar said the ministry was working on solutions alongside the Interior Ministry and epidemiologists.

He would not reveal what the measures could be, but expects a solution in the coming days.

STA, 13 February 2021 - Slovenia scrapped checkpoints on its borders with Austria, Croatia and Hungary starting on Saturday and those who have recovered from Covid-19 or have been vaccinated can now enter the country without having to quarantine or provide a negative coronavirus test.

Under the new government decree governing Covid-19 restrictions on borders, it is now possible once again to cross the border with Austria, Hungary and Italy via all crossings rather than just designated checkpoints, a system that had been put in place in the early stages of the pandemic.

In practice, however, that may not be so simple since neighbouring countries each have their own requirements.

Slovenia also added a new list of high risk countries to the red list to comprise countries in the EU and Schengen area whose epidemiological status is poorer than Slovenia's. Only Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic are currently on the list

Arrivals from those countries will have to produce a negative coronavirus test, but from Saturday it will also be possible to cross the border with a positive PCR test dating at least 21 days but no more than six months back, or with a doctor's note proving the person has recovered from Covid-19 that should be no older than six months.

Also valid will be negative tests issued by labs in third countries approved by the National Institute of Public Health, while only doctor's notes are required for arrivals from EU and Schengen countries.

Those immunised against the virus who produce proof they have received a second jab will also be allowed to cross without restrictions.

All other conditions for entering the country continue to apply

STA, 11 February 2021 - The government has decided that all stores will be allowed to reopen in Slovenia on Monday, while consumers will no longer have to produce a negative coronavirus test, whereas now this is required for several services. However, skiing will be an exception to this, with skiers required to produce a negative test no older than 7 days.

All retail services will be allowed without restrictions from Monday, Economy Ministry state secretary Ajda Cuderman told the press after the government session in Thursday.

While consumers will no longer be required to show a negative test, those working in retail, beauty and massage services, as well as hairdressers, will still have to get tested regularly.

So will staff in manufacturing, maintenance and installation, real estate, training and animal grooming services, which are now reopening. Apart from car shops, services are limited to 400 square metres of surface area, said Cuderman. Staff training will be allowed for up to 10 people.

Retail and service staff required to get tested, will get priority treatment in testing, the government decided today. Moreover, testing will be paid for by the state.

The restriction of one customer per 30 square metres remains in place in closed spaces and one customer per 10 square metres in open air markets.

The government also decided to loosen restrictions currently in place for ski lift operators. From Monday, skiers will be able to buy fares with a negative test no older than 7 days, whereas until now the test had to be no older than 24 hours.

Ski lift staff in direct contact with clients will also need to have test no older than 7 days, Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec said.

Changes have also been made to the rules applying to taxi services and driving schools. Taxi drivers will have to be tested every three days, while driving school students will require a test no older than three days, whereas now it is limited to 24 hours. The rules remain unchanged for driving school instructors, who need a test no older than three days.

Moreover, the minister said changes are planned for public transport, as schools will once again reopen on Monday. "When schools open, public transport will run flawlessly."

Those who have recovered from Covid-19 will not have to get tested for six months and will be able to access services with a doctor's note. Negative tests will also not be required for those who have been vaccinated.

"This is important, considering that we have at least 200,000 people who recovered from Covid-19," said Vrtovec.

The Chamber of Craft and Small Business (OZS) welcomed the loosening of restrictions for services, above all the abolishment of tests for customers, noting that many beauty salons did not reopen while this requirement was in place.

However, the retail section of the OZS is less pleased and has sent a letter of protest to Prime Minister Janez Janša, objecting to regular testing imposed recently on staff in shops selling essentials, which have been open throughout the epidemic without the staff having to be tested.

Primary schools fully reopening on Monday

STA, 11 February 2021 - Primary schools throughout the country will fully reopen on Monday after almost four months of closure. Final year secondary school students will also return to school and exams will again take place at the university level along with seminars for up to 10 students, a government official said on Thursday.

Primary schools will reopen in the western half of the country for about 107,000 pupils, while 83,000 pupils from the eastern half of the country will start a one-week winter holiday, Education Ministry State Secretary Damir Orehovec told the press.

Some 6,000 teachers will thus also return to schools.

Strict safety measures will be adhered to at schools. Pupils will not be leaving their classrooms for different lessons to avoid contacts outside their class. Schools also are urged to organise school meals in a way to minimise contacts outside the bubbles.

No other activities will be organised at schools, and excursions and swimming and other additional lessons have been cancelled. However, individual music and art lessons will be allowed.

Some 11,000 high school students in the final year are also expected to return to their classrooms next week as are 655 students of vocational schools. Practical classes for secondary school students and adult education will be allowed again.

Exams will again take place at the university level along with seminars for up to 10 students. The same exceptions will apply for student dormitories.

Universities have already welcomed the changes. Ljubljana university chancellor Igor Papič sees this as an important step forward, which however is not essential, as the exam period ends this week and the summer semester begins next week. Still, the changes are welcome as universities will have to make up for the last three months, he told the STA.

Maribor university chancellor and the head of the Chancellors' Conference Zdravko Kačič said the possibility of assembly of up to ten people would enable them to organise courses to make up for any backlogs and conduct exams with up to 10 students.

There will be no changes for kindergartens and the first three grades of primary school, which are already open. According to Orehovec, kindergartens had 74% of the children there this week and the first three grades 90%.

As of Monday, non-contact sports will be allowed again for up to 10 people if the two-metre distance can be maintained at all times. Exercising will no longer be limited to families or individuals.

Schools and universities were first closed on 16 March last year when the Marjan Šarec government declared an epidemic. Pupils returned to school after two months of remote learning. On 18 May, the first three grades returned to school along with the final year secondary school students.

A week later the final year primary school pupils returned to their classroom, and than gradually all other grades. Secondary school students remained at home until the end of the school year.

The new school year started on 1 September as usually but schools were forced to switch to remote teaching soon. On 19 October, pupils from up to 6th grade could no longer go to school, and after the autumn break all other pupils staid home as well.

As the epidemiological situation in the country finally improved somewhat, the first three grades of primary school reopened in the regions faring the best on 26 January and also in other regions this Tuesday.

Slovenia scrapping Schengen checkpoints

STA, 11 February 2021 - Slovenia is scrapping checkpoints on internal Schengen borders starting from Saturday and those who have recovered from Covid-19 or have been vaccinated against it will be able to enter the country without having to quarantine or provide a negative coronavirus test, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs has announced.

Hojs, addressing reporters on Thursday as the government lifted a series of coronavirus restrictions, said it would be possible to cross the border with Austria, Hungary and Italy via all border crossings rather than just designated checkpoints from Saturday.

STA, 5 February 2021 - One day into the implementation of a decree that sets the public health rules for border crossing, the government has changed the decree to make it simpler for daily cross-border commuters and students, after complaints that the system was unsustainable due to insufficient testing capacity.

The changed rules that entered into force today required that cross-border commuters and students must provide a negative test no older than seven days, a requirement similar to than put in place by Austria that takes effect next week.

Under the changes expected to enter into force on Saturday, the negative test will only have to be submitted for arrivals from countries whose 14-day number of cases per 100,000 population is higher than Slovenia's, government spokeswoman Maja Bratuša said Friday evening.

The same rules apply to EU and Schengen zone nationals who cross the border to help family, maintain contact with children, perform maintenance on property, and some other, smaller groups of exemptions.

The list of countries whose coronavirus statistics are worse than Slovenia's is very short at present and includes only Spain, Portugal and Czechia. The list will be updated on a weekly basis, Bratuša said.

The decision comes after cross-border commuters living along the borders with Austria and Italy started complaining about potentially insurmountable hurdles, a point also raised by centre-left opposition parties.

In the Nova Gorica area in western Slovenia people lined up for hours today to get a free rapid antigen test before free-testing sites close for three days.

Slovenia has a bank holiday on Monday and those working or going to school in Italy on Monday would not be able to get tested on time otherwise.

Simon Vendramin, a senior member of the civil protection force in the region, said the local community health centre was overstretched and would not be able to handle large groups of daily commuters on top of all walk-in tests and regular testing of teachers each start of the week.

The changed government decree is to be published in the Official Gazette this evening and take effect today, according to Bratuša.

STA, 24 December 2020 - The government has shortened the list of exemptions allowing people from red-listed countries to enter Slovenia without having to quarantine or produce a negative PCR coronavirus test. Moreover, in terms of classification, the green and orange lists will have been scrapped on Friday, as entry from low-risk countries is considered safe.

See the list of red countries here, as of 19 December 2020

The Government Communication Office (UKOM) said in a press release Wednesday evening that the government has shrunk the list of exemptions down to seven. The changes will take effect on Friday.

Daily commuters who work in an EU or Schengen country will still be able to cross the border without having to quarantine or produce a negative test if they return to Slovenia within 14 hours.

People working in transport and logistics are also exempt from the quarantine rule, with hauliers obligated to pass through the country within eight hours.

Persons passing through the country may also enter without quarantine or a negative test, but must exit the country again in a maximum of six hours.

Foreign security officers (police or justice department officers) may also enter the country without restrictions but must leave immediately after completing their official business.

An exemption is also in place for persons transported into the country by paramedics and the accompanying staff.

Holders of diplomatic passports may also enter the country without restrictions.

The government has scrapped exemptions applying to those having to cross the border due to education, for urgent business reasons, for a scheduled medical procedure, owners of land across the border, those with close family members across the border and for access to services which are closer to one's home across the border than within Slovenia.

The government also simplified the classification of countries by risk, abolishing the green and orange lists of low-risk countries. This means that entry from countries or administrative units not listed as red is unrestricted.

The government updated the red list, which continues to include all EU member states, including all four of Slovenia's neighbouring countries.

The only parts of the EU not on the list are individual administrative units: Finnish Uusimaa, the Subcarpathian region in Poland, Madeira in Portugal, France's Brittany and Corsica, the Greek island of Crete and islands of the South Aegean.

While a majority of Norway is not on the red list, travel is restricted from the administrative units of Oslo and Viken.

The red list also includes virtually all non-EU members in Slovenia's proximity, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Canada, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the US are also on the red list, UKOM said.

STA, 16 November 2020 - Public transportation in Slovenia is suspended from Monday, with the exception of taxis and organised transport services for workers. New border crossing restrictions also become effective on Monday as part of stricter measures to stem the epidemic. Exemptions from mandatory quarantine for people entering Slovenia have been narrowed.

All inter-city and city transport services are suspended same as they were during the spring lockdown. What is allowed is transport services organised by employers for their workers and taxi services.

Up to six co-workers may share the same vehicle when driving to or from work, according to the Infrastructure Ministry.

Regarding the toughening up of border restrictions, a special exemption that allowed owners of property or a vessel in neighbouring countries to visit for 48 hours without needing to quarantine has been scrapped by a government decree passed on Thursday.

Moreover, 72-hour visits to relatives across the border are no longer allowed unless in the case of visits to EU and Schengen zone countries.

Cross-border migrant workers now have a 14-hour window to return to Slovenia after going to work in a neighbouring country.

Certain types of emergency business and personal visits used to be exempt from mandatory quarantine for stays of up to 48 hours. This time window has now been narrowed to 12 hours and only emergency business visits are allowed.

Persons who arrive from a red-listed country are still able to end quarantine prematurely if they get tested, but they need to quarantine for at least five days.

They can still avoid quarantining if they produce a negative test on arrival that was not done more than 48 hours ago.

All Slovenia's neighbouring countries are on its red Covid-19 list.

All our stories on Slovenia and coronavirus

STA, 26 October 2020 - The Nova Gorica municipality in the west and Slovenian minority organisations in Italy have called on the Slovenian interior and foreign ministries to coordinate anti-corona measures in the border area where cross-border ties are strong with the Italian government and Friuli-Venezia Giulia authorities.

"We would like to see coordination between Ljubljana, Rome and Trieste that would show understanding for people's lives, particularly those of both ethnic communities, the Slovenian in Italy and the Italian in Slovenia, and for the economy in the border area.

"The first wave of infections already showed that the state border in the Goriško area cuts across the Slovenian-speaking area and intense cross-border economy, cultural and social activities," reads the appeal, signed by Nova Gorica Mayor Klemen Miklavič and the heads of the Slovenian Cultural and Economic Association (SKGZ) and of the Council of Slovenian Organisations (SSO), Ksenija Dobrila and Walter Bandelj, respectively.

Gorizia Mayor Rodolfo Ziberna has already addressed a similar appeal to the Italian government.

The mayors of Nova Gorica and Gorizia, twin towns, separated by the border, have noted the ramifications of poor coordination between Slovenia and Italy, highlighting that citizens do not see the need for restrictions within the community since both the spread of coronavirus and preventive measures are similar on both sides of the border.

Today's appeal points out that even if unilateral measures by Ljubljana or Rome are taken in good faith, they pose a risk of casting doubt on support for turning the area into the European cross-border region.

Moreover, border restrictions interfere with day-to-day activities and urgent errands in the cross-border urban centre of Gorizia and Nova Gorica as well as weaken economic and other ties between the twin towns.

Both towns were relatively successful in tackling the first wave. They are doing relatively well in stemming the second wave as well, with Gorizia being even more effective at the moment. The Italian town is thus surprised over Slovenia's border restrictions in the area.

Nova Gorica and the minority organisations have thus called for measures that would not result in economic damage or hamper the progress of long-term development in the cross-border region.

Miklavič added that the government had taken into account the nature of cross-border regions when imposing movement restrictions. There will be no physical barriers at small border crossings or between the twin towns as a result.

All our stories on coronavirus and Slovenia

STA, 8 September 2020 - Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese has announced that Italy will not close small border crossings on the Italian-Slovenian border due to increased migration, but will bolster the presence of the military and police in the border area. She has also announced that mixed border patrols will be reintroduced.

Joint Slovenian-Italian border police patrols were discontinued when the Covid-19 situation started to escalate.

But Lamorgese said in Trieste on Tuesday that the joint activities would be renewed "already this evening", lauding cooperation with the Slovenian police, reported Primorski Dnevnik, the Trieste-based newspaper of the Slovenian minority in Italy.

The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region will see the arrival of additional soldiers "to monitor the region more efficiently", she said during her visit to Trieste, where she mostly discussed illegal migrations with regional authorities, according to the Italian press agency Ansa.

Additional soldiers will be primarily deployed to small border crossings as well as to roads and expressways to upset the apple cart for migrant smugglers.

Lamorgese said that the authorities needed to be one step ahead of the smugglers, who are inventive in coming up with new routes.

More than 3,000 illegal migrants have taken the Western Balkan route to arrive in Italy this year, which compares to 2,100 migrants crossing the Slovenian-Italian border illegally in the same period last year. Some 850 were handed over to the Slovenian authorities, said Lamorgese.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia President Massimiliano Fedriga is meanwhile disappointed that small border crossings remain open, reported Ansa. But he said the minister had told him she would see no alternative to closing them if sending additional manpower did not prove efficient.

Lamorgese hopes the move will bring positive results though. A total of 21 small border crossings will see reinforced border control already tonight.

STA, 17 July - As of Friday Montenegro and Luxembourg are on Slovenia's red list of Covid-19 highly risky countries given their epidemiologic status. Croatia has meanwhile remained on the yellow list, which indicates a higher level of caution is advised, said the government on Thursday after a correspondence session.

Poland and the UK have been placed on Slovenia's green list of Covid-19 safe countries after the government was acquainted with a National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) report on the epidemiologic situations in member states, most notably Italian regions, Schengen area countries and Western Balkans countries.

Apart from Montenegro and Luxembourg, China, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Honduras, Israel, Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, Colombia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Azerbaijan, Iraq, the Virgin Islands, Kyrgyzstan, Argentina, Seychelles, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Eswatini and Suriname have been removed from the yellow list and moved to the red list.

A country is on the yellow list if it’s not on the red or green lists. You can see the most up-to-date lists on the police site, in English, here - noting that this story was pubished 17 July, 2020

If a person regardless of their citizenship enters Slovenia coming from one of the countries on the red list, they are put in a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Exemptions apply in certain cases.

As of Friday, Slovenia's list of Covid-19 safe countries has seen additions of Poland, Australia, Georgia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Uruguay, San Marino, Vatican City and Morocco (all previously on the yellow list).

Certain countries have acquired or retained their status as a Covid-19 safe country even though their epidemiologic situation has slightly exceeded 10 infections per 100,000 citizens in a 14-day incidence period. The exceptions have been granted because cases are trending upward only slightly, epidemiologic data is reliable and coronavirus imports from those countries into Slovenia have been rare or non-existent.

Therefore, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain and the Czech Republic remain on the green list, whereas Canada, Monaco (both previously on the yellow list), as well as Andorra and the UK (both previously on the red list) have been moved to the green list.

Meanwhile, Iceland has been removed from Slovenia's list of Covid-19 safe countries.

Interior Minister Aleš Hojs announced at today's government coronavirus briefing that Slovenia would introduce a new model for categorising countries according to the level of safety regarding coronavirus contagion.

The limit of 10 coronavirus cases per 100,000 citizens in the past fortnight will not be amended, however the new model will put more focus on determining the source countries of infections recorded in Slovenia and the distance between the country in question and Slovenia.

Hojs also presented changes to the border policy under which people ordered to quarantine could enter Slovenia at any border crossing with Croatia as of Monday. Police officers will be the ones serving the quarantine orders on the border and inland under the new decree.

The authorities are striving to ensure the orders are issued and served as soon as possible, said Hojs, adding that even if the order was potentially served at a later time, the individual had still been informed of the mandatory quarantine measure.

On Thursday, more than 300 quarantine orders were served on the border and only 22 inland, the minister said.

Follow all the news on coronavirus and Slovenia

STA, 6 July 2020 - The government has re-instated France and the Czech Republic, with the exception of the Moravian-Silesian Region, to the green list of the epidemiologically safe countries, with the decision effective as of Tuesday.

Announcing the news, the Government Communication Office said that the decision had been made following a briefing on the Covid-19 situation in the two countries by the National Public Health Institute.

France and the Czech Republic were put on the so-called yellow list along with Croatia on Saturday. The Moravian-Silesian Region in the east of the Czech Republic remains on the list.

Slovenian citizens and foreigners with permanent or temporary residence in Slovenia arriving from yellow-listed EU or Schengen zone members are not quarantined under certain conditions.

These include proving they own a piece of property or a vessel there or producing an original bill for accommodation etc.

If they are not able to prove this, they are considered as arriving in Slovenia from a high-risk country and subjected to two-week quarantine.

Slovenian citizens and foreigners with permanent or temporary residence in Slovenia arriving from green-listed EU or Schengen zone members are not quarantined.

Persons who have temporary or permanent residence in these countries are free to enter Slovenia without any restrictions or quarantine either.

More details on the green, yellow and red lists here - but be sure to click the links for updates