Text file: 7183.txt
author: Izbrisan Uporabnik 12672
downvotes: 4
end consideration date: 2016-01-08
id: '7183'
number comments: 9
number views: 1799
proposal type: Competent authority response
response: "Response by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities\n\
  First of all, we would like to clarify that in the Republic of Slovenia we have\
  \ a social security system consisting of:\n the social insurance system (entitlements\
  \ based on insurance - e.g. pension insurance, disability insurance, unemployment\
  \ insurance, parental care insurance) and the social protection system (cash assistance\
  \ and family benefits - e.g. cash social assistance, child allowance, reduced kindergarten\
  \ fees).\nOnly people who have paid the relevant insurance contributions are entitled\
  \ to insurance benefits.\nThe primary function of pension schemes is to provide\
  \ financial security in old age or disability, when an individual is no longer able\
  \ to earn a living from his or her work. Pension insurance is the most important\
  \ area of the social security system after health insurance. The very concept of\
  \ pension and invalidity insurance implies that these are rights that derive from\
  \ insurance and are the result of contributions paid into this form of insurance.\
  \ For example, an insured person can only be entitled to an old-age pension at the\
  \ statutory age if he has completed 15 years of insurance. Compulsory insurance\
  \ rights are inalienable personal rights which cannot be transferred or inherited.\n\
  Social insurance rights also include parental care insurance rights, which are available\
  \ to all persons insured for parental care in the Republic of Slovenia:\n the right\
  \ to (maternity, paternity, parental) leave, the right to (maternity, paternity,\
  \ parental) allowance, part-time work rights, the right to contributions in the\
  \ case of four or more children, the right to a breastfeeding break allowance.\n\
  The conditions for entitlement to social security rights (for foreigners) vary according\
  \ to the purpose of the right. As most of the transfers in our field are social\
  \ in nature, we consider it inadmissible to grant a lower level of social transfers\
  \ to foreigners, as this would be contrary to the constitutional prohibition of\
  \ discrimination before the law (financial situation). In accordance with the legislation\
  \ in force, it is permissible to restrict foreigners' access to individual rights\
  \ (if justified), but not to different levels of entitlement.\nWith regard to social\
  \ assistance (including all its exceptional forms) and the protection allowance,\
  \ we would like to clarify that they are entitled to this entitlement (Article 3\
  \ of the Act on Social Security Benefits; hereinafter: the Act on Social Security\
  \ Benefits):\n citizens of the Republic of Slovenia who have permanent residence\
  \ in the Republic of Slovenia, foreigners only if they have a permanent residence\
  \ permit and permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia, persons granted international\
  \ protection and their family members, who, on the basis of the right to family\
  \ reunification, have obtained a residence permit in the Republic of Slovenia and\
  \ have a registered permanent or temporary residence in the Republic of Slovenia,\
  \ and the right to cash social assistance and the protection supplement may also\
  \ be claimed by persons who may claim these social security benefits on the basis\
  \ of international instruments binding on the Republic of Slovenia. \nIt follows\
  \ from the above that immigrants are usually the foreigners referred to in the second\
  \ indent, who may qualify for social assistance (and the protection supplement)\
  \ only on condition that they have a permanent residence permit and permanent residence\
  \ in the Republic of Slovenia. It should be noted that Article 52 of the Aliens\
  \ Act provides that a permanent residence permit may be issued to an alien who has\
  \ resided continuously in the RS for five years on the basis of a temporary residence\
  \ permit, which is a safeguard with regard to the granting of rights to aliens.\n\
  As regards the foreigners referred to in the second indent, we would like to point\
  \ out that this is a relatively small group of people who are granted refugee status\
  \ with international protection under the Law on International Protection, which\
  \ is in the process of being amended (the proposal is partly aimed at reducing the\
  \ rights of these people) - the law is under the competence of the Ministry of the\
  \ Interior. This special category of foreigners is entitled to a minimum subsistence\
  \ allowance for the duration of their stay in our country due to exceptional circumstances.\n\
  The last indent refers to foreigners who are citizens of EU Member States. It follows\
  \ from Article 3(2) of the ZSVarPre that the Republic of Slovenia, as a signatory\
  \ to the EU Treaties, is also bound by Regulation No 492/2011 on freedom of movement\
  \ for workers within the Union and Directive 2004/38 EC on the right of citizens\
  \ of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory\
  \ of the Member States. It should be noted that the Regulation is fully binding\
  \ and directly applicable in all Member States, while the Directive has to be implemented\
  \ in the legal order, but if a country fails to implement it, it only has direct\
  \ effect against the Member State and can be invoked by an individual (e.g. The\
  \ Regulation and the Directive distinguish between EU citizens who are workers and\
  \ those who are not. Article 3 of the MPRS covers only workers (employees) from\
  \ other EU Member States, not unemployed EU citizens. Thus, foreigners (EU citizens)\
  \ who have the status of workers in the country are also entitled to social assistance\
  \ and other rights under the MPRS. EU citizens who have the status of workers in\
  \ the country are entitled to social assistance and other rights under the MPRS\
  \ (workers).\nThe following rights are also closely linked to social assistance\
  \ and the protection allowance:\n the right to payment of the compulsory health\
  \ insurance contribution and the right to coverage of the difference up to the full\
  \ cost of health services.\nThese entitlements are subject to the same conditions\
  \ as the cash social assistance/care allowance. As regards the rent subsidy, we\
  \ would like to clarify that, in principle, only citizens of the Republic of Slovenia\
  \ are eligible, except in the case of foreigners, EU citizens, who may be entitled\
  \ to this right subject to the condition of reciprocity (in accordance with Article\
  \ 160 of the Housing Act; hereafter: SZ-1) - according to our information (so far),\
  \ there is no reciprocity in any EU Member State, so in principle this provision\
  \ does not apply.\nAll children are eligible for the snack and lunch subsidy, regardless\
  \ of nationality - asylum seekers are entitled to free snacks. We consider that\
  \ this area is adequately covered.\nForeigners may also be eligible for reduced\
  \ kindergarten fees if they are liable for income tax. The \"basic conditions\"\
  \ for obtaining this entitlement (also for foreigners) are laid down in the Kindergarten\
  \ Act, whereas the Act on the Exercise of Public Entitlements only contains an income\
  \ scale. The Kindergartens Act is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education,\
  \ Science and Sport.\nThe Parental Care and Family Benefits Act sets out various\
  \ conditions for entitlement to family benefits, namely:\n the right to parental\
  \ allowance is granted to the mother/father 77 days after the birth of the child\
  \ if the mother and child have permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia and\
  \ actually live in the Republic of Slovenia; the right to childbirth assistance\
  \ is granted to the mother or father with permanent residence in the Republic of\
  \ Slovenia who actually live in the Republic of Slovenia; the right to child benefit\
  \ is granted to a parent or other person for a child with a registered residence\
  \ in the Republic of Slovenia who actually lives in the Republic of Slovenia; the\
  \ right to a large family allowance is granted to a parent if the parent and the\
  \ children have a common residence in the Republic of Slovenia and actually live\
  \ in the Republic of Slovenia; the right to a child care allowance is granted to\
  \ a parent or other person if the child has a permanent residence in the Republic\
  \ of Slovenia and actually lives in the Republic of Slovenia; the right to a partial\
  \ payment for loss of income is granted to a parent or other person if the child\
  \ and the parent or other person have a permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia\
  \ and actually live in the Republic of Slovenia. \nIn most cases, the permanent\
  \ residence of one of the parents and/or the child is a condition, but only the\
  \ registered residence (temporary or permanent) of the child is a condition for\
  \ entitlement to child benefit. In all cases, however, the actual residence of one\
  \ of the parents and/or the child is a condition for entitlement. We consider that\
  \ the above-mentioned regulation of the rights to family benefits is appropriate,\
  \ as a distinction based on nationality would be contrary to the constitutional\
  \ prohibition of discrimination before the law.\n "
response date: 2016-03-22
response due date: null
sent date: 2015-12-10
title: Social rights of immigrant women in Slovenia
upvotes: 24
url: https://predlagam.vladi.si/predlog/7183
