Slovenia Consulate General in Cleveland-Acquire Visa in 4 Easy Steps

Introduction

Slovenia has become the first country in the world to be declared as a ‘Green Destination’ based on Green Destination Criteria. The country encompasses an area of 20,273 kilometers and is home to just 2.07 million people. Its unique location, mesmerizing natural scenes, rich history, gothic architecture and over 11,000 karst caves attract thousands of US tourists every year and therefore, a US-resident—who is not a permanent citizen—requires visa approval from Slovenia Embassy in Washington DC, Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland and Slovenia Consulate General New York to enter the country.

The country joined the Schengen Area on 16 April 2003 and started the full implementation of the convention four years later on 21 December 2007.

The country achieved yet another milestone back then in 2016 when its capital Ljubljana was declared “European Green Capital”.

Schengen Area

Haunted by the nightmares and horrors of World War Two, five states of Europe abolished their borders in favor of single external border. The agreement was signed The agreement was signed on the Princess Marie-Astrid boat on the river Moselle near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, where the territories of France, Germany, and Luxembourg meet.

Thus far, the number of signatory states to the Schengen Agreement has augmented to 26 with many more willing to join the bandwagon due to the agreement’s enormous diplomatic, economic and cultural success.

Also, the signatory states to the Agreement apply uniform rules and have adopted similar policies for short-stays, asylum requests, and border controls.

Difference between Embassy and Consulate?

Both embassy and consulate refer to a government’s representation in a foreign country. However, there are some differences between the nature of the tasks and functions performed by them.

A country is authorized to open only one embassy in a foreign country whereas it can open a number of consulates in the various cities of the foreign country.

Furthermore, an embassy usually has big representation in terms of staff whereas consulate is a smaller version of the embassy.

An embassy is always located in the capital city whereas consulates are open in big cities and not in the capital.

An embassy is a permanent diplomatic mission but consulate isn’t.

Embassies deal with major diplomatic tasks whereas consulates usually deal with minor diplomatic tasks.

Jurisdiction of Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland

The Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland covers the following states:

 Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Usually, officials at the Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland issues two types of visa to the applicant. They are:

Schengen Visa

A Schengen Visa’s holder can roam freely in as many as 26 European countries without being subjected to the internal border checks for up to 90 days. A Schengen Visa is further classified into sub-categories depending upon the applicant’s nature of the purpose.

A Schengen Visa is issued as single, double or multiple entry allowing its holder to enter the host nation as many times as the visa allows. A permanent citizen of the USA does not need a short-term visa to enter the Czech Republic.

National Visa

A permanent citizen of the USA is bound to apply for the National Visa of the Czech Republic if his/her stay exceeds 90 days period. A national visa can be issued for the purpose of the study, residence, medical, etc.

Schengen Visa Application Process at the Slovenia Embassy Cleveland

After classifying your visa’s nature in accord with the purpose, you must first find the accurate embassy or consulate. Then you simply need to follow these four steps to get your Slovenian Schengen Visa.

Before we move to the steps, you need to understand that embassies and consulates usually take up to 15 days to process a visa application. However, the aforementioned duration is not an absolute law. The processing time for your visa application could take longer than 15 days depending upon the nature of the visa you are applying for.

You can apply any time from 90 days prior before your departure.

Step One: Make an Online Appointment

Like all other Schengen states, you must first make an online appointment with the Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland’s staffers for a formal interview. For securing an appointment, send a mail at sloconsulate.cleveland(at)gov.si with the following information:

• Your name and surname,
• Name of the country which issued your passport,
• Passport number and expiration date,
• Type of visa/permit you are applying for (long-term visa, residence permit, employee card, etc.),
• Purpose of your stay (study, scientific research, employment, business, family reunification, etc.),
• Intended date of arrival to the Slovenia,
• Preferred date for the appointment at the Consulate. Appointment via mail

 Appointments are usually scheduled at least 5 days after the request has been received.

A personal interview may be required upon receipt of the complete visa application by mail. You will be notified promptly if an interview is to take place or not.

If the personal interview is not required you will receive your passport back by mail using the prepaid envelope provided with the application once the visa is issued.

Step Two: Prepare Documents

Application form: Download the application form and fill the information with utmost care.

The embassies and consulates of the Slovenia issue these types of application forms:

• Application for a Schengen visa (also used for the airport transit visa)
• Application for a long-term visa
• Application for a long-term residence or permanent residence
• Application for a Blue card and Green card is generated by the system of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

All applications must be filled in Latin letters in all points where the information is available. Every application form must be signed by the applicant or by his/her legal representative.

Roundtrip Flight Itinerary for visa application: A document illustrating applicant’s entrance and departure dates from the host countries along with airline’s booking number and detail route plan is called roundtrip flight itinerary. The document is also dubbed as flight reservation.

Travel Visa Health Insurance: All signatories to the Schengen Agreement have made travel visa health insurance mandatory for entrance in their respective territories. The travel insurance availed by the applicant should offer minimum coverage equivalent to 30, 000 EUR or 45, 000 USD.

Besides, the insurance document should clearly illustrate the name of the insured person, its coverage, validity, and benefits offered.

Hotel Booking Reservation/Proof of accommodation: Being one of the key supporting document in the visa application, a hotel booking reservation or proof of accommodation displays that the applicant has made premeditated arrangements for accommodation in the host nation. The document is also dubbed as proof of accommodation and it includes:

A hotel/hostel booking; and

A rental agreement; and

A letter of invitation from a host at whose house you will be staying.

Bank statement/proof of financial means: Staffers at the embassies or consulates are very keen to see evidence that the applicant has sufficient financial means to sponsor his/her trip in the host nation. And for this purpose, they demand a six-month bank statement from the applicant.

Cover Letter: A cover letter simply summarizes applicant’s intention of visiting the host nation. A cover letter can be called crux of the visa application.

Means of subsistence: The European Commission, Article 7 of “The Instructions” states that if a foreigner is planning a visit to Slovenia, then he is required to attest owning cash equivalent to 56 euros per day.

Affidavit of Support: This piece of paper is demanded by the staffers of the embassy or consulate when the applicant does not possess a valid bank account or lacks sufficient financial means to support his/her stay in the Schengen Area.

In the aforementioned context, the relative or friend of the applicant—who is also a permanent resident of the host nation—penned down affidavit of support for the applicant.

Proof of paid visa fee: €60 for adults and €35 for children from 6 to 12 years old. These fees are not reimbursable in case visa application gets rejected.

If employed:

Employment contract; and

Current bank statement of the latest 6 months; and

Leave permission from the employer; and

Income Tax Return (ITR) form or Certificate of Income Tax deducted at the source of salary; and

Letter of Invitation.

If self-employed:

A copy of your business license; and

Company bank statement of the latest 6 months; and

Income Tax Return (ITR).

If a student:

Proof of enrollment; and

No-objection certificate from school or university.

If retired:

Pension statement of the latest 6 months.

If applicable:

Regular income generated by property proof of the latest 6 months.

*Note: The signed application form must be accompanied the rest of the above-mentioned mandatory documents and handed personally at the appropriate embassy/consulate or its representative in your home country.

Apart from the general documentation required, accompanying should be other additional documents depending on the nature of your visa application.

Recent nationwide criminal history check.

US work permit

Confirmation of participation in any type of event or activity

Self-addressed, pre-paid US express mail envelope (if applicable)

Documents proving the legal status in the US – original Alien Registration Card (Green Card), a Green card Stamp in your passport, an Advance Parole, or a valid US Visa must be provided along with a valid I-94 departure record. Students should also submit the original validated I-20, DS-2019 or IAP-66.

The US residence permit or visa should be valid at least 3 months beyond the intended departure from the Schengen member state territory.

Letter of continued employment including income statement. If you are self-employed a business license and tax return forms are required.

Step Three: Submit File

Once you are done with preparing your documents, approach Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland to submit your file. Follow these simple points for submitting visa application:

• Try to reach Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland at the earliest possible official hours.
• Dress appropriately.
• Answer all the interview questions with confidence, calm and ease. If the interviewer wants to confirm any of the documents or details, he/she might field some extra questions before you.

For further information, you can visit the website of the Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland.

As mention earlier, the embassy or consulate will take up to 15 business days to arrive on a decision of your visa application. However, exceptions exist under which the Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland may take extra time if the staffers are not satisfied with or seek additional information.

As of May 15, 2014, each individual applying for a Schengen visa in the USA must appear in person, so that the necessary biometric data – ten fingerprints and a digital photo – can be collected. The biometric data are stored for a period of 59 months and can possibly be reused. This means that future applications during that period of time may be filed through correspondence, provided your data are of good quality and can be retrieved from the VIS.

San Francisco, Atlanta, and Washington: visaonweb.diplomatie.be (printed application form and documentation must be sent by postal mail or courier service

San Francisco: by postal mail or courier service only

Exemptions for the fingerprinting requirements are granted to:

• Children under the age of twelve;
• Persons for whom the collection of fingerprints is physically impossible;
• Heads of State and members of National Governments and their accompanying spouses, as well as the members of their official delegation when invited by Member States’ governments or by international organizations for an official purpose.

Furthermore, the applicant can extract the aforementioned data from the Visa Information System (VIS) if he/she has submitted it within the duration of five months. In such a case, you can forward application either by mail or courier.

Step Four: Appear for Interview

The Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland will promptly notify the applicant via mail whether a personal interview is required or not.

However, if the interview is not required, the Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland will send the passport by using the prepaid envelope provided with the application once the visa is issued.

Step Five: Receive Your Visa

As mentioned earlier, the Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland usually takes up to 15 days to process your visa application.  The Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland will notify you once they arrive on a decision on your visa application. The applicant has the option to collect his passport and visa (in case the application is approved) via UPS or USPS in the envelope that the applicant has provided.

Possible Reasons for Visa Rejections

We at FIFV wish you all the best for your visa application but there are certain reasons upon which your visa application may get rejected by Slovenia Consulate General Cleveland:

These reasons include (but are not limited to):

• The applicant forget to sign the application
• Invalid passport
• Damaged passport
• Invitation Letter is missing
• Sponsorship Letter is missing
• NOC is missing
• Consulate General fails in establishing a clear reason for your travel

Address

1100 Superior Avenue

Suite 720

44114 Cleveland, OH, USA

Telephone: (+) 1 216 771 7010

Fax: (+) 1 216 771 7701

Email: sloconsulate.cleveland(at)gov.s