Slovenian Consulate Cleveland, Ohio – 5 Easy Steps to Apply for Slovenia Schengen Visa
Slovenia is a small Schengen country in south-central Europe and borders Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Croatia. There is plenty of exciting things to see and do. The capital, Ljubljana, is a small city, but it’s perfect for walking around to see unique buildings and picturesque canals and bridges. Logar Valley Natural Park is full of beautiful valleys to explore. You can also go hiking or skiing in the Julian Alps. Whatever you do in Slovenia, you’ll have a lot of fun! In this article learn more about how to apply for Slovenia visa at the Slovenian consulate in Cleveland, Ohio, Slovenia visa appointment booking, Processing time at the Slovenia visa application center, flight itinerary for Slovenia visa, hotel bookings for Slovenia visa, Schengen travel insurance for Slovenia visa application, and Slovenia Visa Application Process at the Cleveland Consulate.
Slovenia Schengen Visa
In 2017, a total of 29,257 Slovenia Schengen visa applications were received worldwide. 2,481 (8.48%) of these were rejected. The Consulate General of the Republic of Slovenia in Cleveland received 28 applications and they were all accepted.
Applying for a Schengen Visa from the United States
If you are a US citizen by birth, you do NOT need to apply for a Slovenia visa. If you were not born in the US, but you live in the United States on a permanent basis, you DO need a visa for Slovenia.
You have to make sure you apply at the right Slovenian embassy and consulate. If you live in the following areas, you may apply for your visa at the Consulate General of the Republic of Slovenia in Cleveland:
- Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin
Types of Schengen Visas Offered at the Consulate General of the Republic of Slovenia in Cleveland
There are 2 types of visa offered at the Slovenian consulate in Cleveland. The one you apply for will depend on the duration of your trip and why you are traveling there:
- Schengen Travel visa (Visa-C) – this visa is for a maximum of 90 days for the purposes of tourism, business or attending a conference, and personal visit to family/friends
- Long-term National visa (Visa-D) – this visa is for stays exceeding 90 days up to a maximum of 1 year for the purposes of education, employment, unification of family, diplomatic accreditation, business or academic reasons, professional sports, journalism, religious reasons or other mission work
Please note, if you wish to stay in Slovenia for more than 1 year or engage in paid employment OR your reason does not fall under the above categories, you need to apply for a residence permit. See the consulate’s website for further information.
Visas are usually issued as:
- Single entry – 1 entry permitted
- Double entry – 2 entries allowed
- Multiple entry – unlimited entries
Schengen Visa Application Process at the Consulate General of the Republic of Slovenia in Cleveland
The consulate takes around 15 days to process visa applications, but this timescale could be increased to as many as 60 days depending on your nationality. It is recommended that you submit your application 3-4 weeks before your intended travel date. You can apply up to 90 days beforehand, so apply well in advance. Applications received more than 90 days ahead will not be accepted. Similarly, if you submit your file less than 15 days before, your application will not be accepted because there will not be enough time to process it.
Inquiries regarding the status of your application will not be answered earlier than 10 days from when you handed over your file.
To help you apply for your Slovenia visa, here are a few steps to follow:
Step 1: Complete your application
The first thing you need to do is to complete your application form. Go to the consulate’s website and click on: “Consular services, Visas”:
Next, click on either: “Short-term visa information” or “Long-term visa information”:
Then, scroll down the page and you will find the link for the application form for a short-term (Schengen) visa:
Or the application form for a long-term National visa:
Step 2: Make an appointment
Step 2 is to make an appointment in order to submit your visa application to the consulate in Cleveland. All you need to do is send an email to sloconsulate.cleveland@gov.si and suggest a day and time within the consulate’s opening hours – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, Wednesday 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. If the date is not available, the consulate will suggest another day.
Please note, appointments are scheduled at least 5 days after your request has been received. Requests received less than 5 days ahead will not be accepted.
Step 3: Prepare your documents
It is your responsibility to submit all the relevant documents for your visa application. If you hand over an incomplete file, the consulate will not accept it. It’s a good idea to spend time looking at the requirements on the consulate’s website before you begin this step. This will lower the chances of your application being rejected.
You also need to provide original documents AND photocopies of everything, so don’t forget to do this!
Documents include:
- Filled out and signed visa application form
- Valid national passport – must have 3 months remaining after return to the US, issued within the last 10 years, have 2 free pages
- One recent color photo – passport size and not older than 6 months
- Proof of legal residence in the USA and re-entry document – valid US alien registration card or valid US residence visa with 3 months remaining after return to the US
- Proof of travel arrangements – detailed travel itinerary and confirmed accommodation if different than a hotel
- Proof of accommodation – confirmed hotel reservations or certificate of the travel agency (group travel) or other proof of accommodation e.g. rental agreement
- Signed permission to copy documents
- Signed permission to return the passport by mail, if you want the passport return by mail.
- Prepaid express courier envelope in order to receive the passport back by mail
- Proof of employment – reference letter from employer stating your position and salary
- Proof of studies – certificate of enrollment/sponsorship from home university
- Schengen medical travel insurance document for at least €30,000 to cover hospitalization, medical care, and repatriation
- Proof of sufficient financial means – bank account statements for the last three months OR last tax return or proof economic activity OR pension certificate
- Proof that expenses are covered
- Letter of guarantee for business visits signed by the person/organization inviting you to Slovenia (must be notarized)
- Letter of invitation
- Marriage/birth certificate and proof of citizenship of the family member in the EU
- A notarized parental authorization signed by both parents or legal guardian for minors traveling alone
- Proof of participation in any type of event
If you’re planning to obtain your flight reservation for visa without paying for the ticket, all you have to do is follow the 3 simple steps below:
- Visit the Visa Reservation website to choose the right package
- Submit the travel details and make the payment online
- Receive flight itinerary in email
Step 4: Attend your appointment
Here are a few tips for a successful appointment:
- Take your application and ALL of the required documents including photocopies – if you forget anything, you will have to reschedule your appointment
- Arrive early – if you are late, you will have to make a new appointment
- Dress smartly – if you turn up dressed too casually, it might come across that you aren’t serious in wanting to get a visa
The visa staff will examine your application and documents and if they need any further information, they may ask you questions like:
- Is this your first time traveling to Slovenia?
- What do you know about Slovenia?
- Are you married?
- What do you do in the US?
- Are you meeting anyone in the Schengen area?
Don’t jeopardize your Schengen visa interview at the last minute. Use this comprehensive and thorough visa interview guide to crack the visa interview!
Simply answer the questions honestly and politely. The consulate needs all the facts from you in order to make a decision about your visa application.
You will also pay the relevant fee for your visa. You can pay by cashier’s check, certified check or money order payable to the “Consulate General of Slovenia Cleveland”. The fee is non-refundable, even if your application gets refused.
Slovenia Visa Fee
Type of Visa | Fee |
Short-stay Schengen visa | $69 |
Long-stay National visa | $88 |
Citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine | $40 |
Children up to 12 years old, Diplomatic and official passport holders | Free |
If this is your first time applying for a Schengen visa, you will have to provide biometric data which is a scan of your fingerprints and a photograph. If you have previously applied, your data can be reused for 5 years.
Step 5: Receive your visa
Once a decision has been made about your visa application, you will be notified and you have 2 choices:
- Have your passport mailed back to you
- Collect your passport from the consulate
There are 2 outcomes:
- Approved – you will find your Slovenia visa attached to one of the pages inside your passport
- Rejected – your visa application would have been rejected for a reason. You will be notified in writing about the rejection reason. You have the right to appeal the decision within 8 days. See the consulate’s website for more information
Typical rejection reasons include:
- Invalid passport – your passport must be valid as per the requirements listed above. If it isn’t, you must obtain a new passport before applying for your visa
- Birth certificate not included – if the type of visa you are applying for and/or anyone is a minor you must include a birth certificate
- The wrong type of visa has been applied for – you must apply for the correct visa depending on the duration of your trip and the reason you are traveling to Slovenia
- Hotel booking missing – with any visa application, you must provide evidence of where you are staying for the entire trip, so you MUST include a hotel booking and/or proof of other accommodation
Contact details for the Slovenian Consulate in Cleveland, Ohio
Address: 1100 Superior Avenue, Suite 720, Cleveland, OH 44114
Telephone: (+) 1 216 771 7010
Fax: (+) 1 216 771 7701
Email: sloconsulate.cleveland@gov.si
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, Wednesday 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Conclusion
All in all, applying for your Slovenia Schengen visa is a simple procedure:
- Complete your application
- Make an appointment
- Prepare your documents
- Attend your appointment
- Receive your visa
Once you reach the end of step 5, you’ll have your visa in your hand and you can start to think about all the wonderful things you’ll be doing in Slovenia!
At Visa Reservation, we strive to simplify the visa process by providing free visa consultations, cover letter templates and no objection letter templates for our clients from US, UK, Canada, Philippines, India, China, UAE, Europe, Nigeria and globally. We also offer flight itinerary for visa, travel medical insurance, hotel reservations for visa , Book Visa Appointment, Travel Guides, Visa Interview Guides and many more. To learn more about how we can help you with our visa services, please feel free to contact us today.