A1 certificate – checking registration of residence in Slovenia

A1 certificate – checking registration of residence in Slovenia

With a company in Slovenia you can also do business in Europe. You can post your workers on short-term projects in other EU countries. A1 certificate is a confirmation for a worker in your company who is posted to work in another EU country. The certificate proves that the worker is enrolled in Slovenian social security but is actually working outside of Slovenia. When applying for the A1 certificate the institutions (Insurance office – ZZZS) often conditioned issuing the certificate by checking the registered residence of the employee. The legal department at Data d.o.o. has questioned the legality of these check-ups.

Data d.o.o. is the leading service provider in company registration support to entrepreneurs who start their business in Slovenia. Additionally, we also provide professional tax consultation and accounting services. Our legal department has vast experience in obtaining A1 certificates for our clients. We can guide you through the entire process of posting workers abroad.

Victory of the legal department of Data d.o.o.: The Insurance Office (ZZZS) cannot check the registered address anymore!

The most common reason for which the Insurance office rejects issuing the A1 certificate is when foreign workers in a Slovenian company do not have a registered residence address in Slovenia. Hence, the reason is the check-ups of registered residences of applicants. The legal department at Data d.o.o. does not back off even in cases of negative decisions from governmental institutions. Especially when there is reasonable doubt or different possibilities of interpretation. As Data d.o.o. did not agree with the Insurance Office regarding the check-ups of registered addresses in the process of issuing A1 certificates, the legal department conducted their investigation.

This case is specific, as the employee was a Croatian citizen and Croatia is a part of the European Union, hence the movement of workers is unrestricted. These workers do not have to obtain a work and residence permit for employment in Slovenia. Because of these reasons, the legal department of Data d.o.o. turned to the Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. They asked whether having a temporary or permanent address in Slovenia is a condition to issue the A1 certificate and whether the Insurance office has basis for their check-ups.

We have received the answer from the Ministry that in the past the institutions did in fact check the legally established temporary residence permit of posted workers. However, in 2018 another interpretation of the EU regulations came into force and since then the check-ups of temporary addresses in Slovenia in the process of issuing the A1 certificate is no longer a condition.

This type of perseverance proves that is pays off to be persistent when acquiring certain right, especially when there are various possibilities for interpretation.

Are the check-ups justified when issuing the A1 certificate?

The legal department at Data d.o.o. has had experience in obtaining A1 certificates for our clients. In one of the recent procedures, we have also received a similar rejection. In that particular case, the employee was employed in a Slovenian company that offers international transportation with trucks. The employee was a Croatian citizen, who did not register his address in Slovenia. This is because the nature of his work as he is on the road frequently.  He spends around 1 month in different EU countries and then he returns home to Croatia. Our legal department did not accept the negative decision from the Insurance office and turned to the responsible ministry. Given the decision of the ministry, we successfully appealed. We now also have precedent for future cases of A1 certificate applications.

Turn to Data d.o.o. for support in company registration in Slovenia!

Our legal team would be happy to support you in every legal requirement for your Slovenian company. For more information on company registration in Slovenia, EU, you can write to our email [email protected]. You can also contact us over the phone 00386 1 6006 270 or 00386 40 530 718 (Viber, WhatsApp). You can also follow us on Facebook.

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