Where else to go IT shnik: Slovenia
Recently, posts about moving to different countries of the world have slipped here. I decided to share my experience.
In 2007, I moved to Slovenia. Slovenia, about which they joke that no one knows where she is. And this is one of its main advantages, to be serious.
The country is currently in the EU and in Schengen. What opens up the possibility of free movement. Its population is 2 million people. What is both a plus and a minus. Plus - small, funny distances, you can safely live in one city and go to work in another. The road will take half an hour or even less. Traffic jams are here, but - this is no comparison to what traffic jams in megalopolises are.
But the size and small population are also a minus at the same time. The market is too small - and it will logically flow out all the flaws - a much smaller choice of places to go, what to see and what to buy. At higher prices.
')
The main plus for me was security - it was calm here. Drivers drive by the rules, you can walk anywhere, anytime (although they stole a bicycle a week after I bought it). Clean and beautiful. Drinking water flows from the tap. In the north - the mountains and ski resorts, in the south - the sea. Center for winemaking (wines are not inferior to the famous French). Caves. Forests (with bears!). Roe deer are not uncommon here, but pests are quietly coming to the fields to eat in the fields in the villages.
There are not many opportunities to go to Slovenia - to get a work visa, get a business visa or get a visa for training. I walked the first path. He is probably the most difficult. All the design, which was done by the employer, took 9 months. You need a nostrified diploma so that you can be employed. For this, it was necessary to take a curriculum from a local university with a detailed description of all the subjects and hours spent for all the years of study. Naturally, it was not available, and I had to compose it myself from memory (6 years had passed since its release at that time).
In this case, the employer must release a vacancy on the local market, and after it is not closed within a certain time, he will be allowed to issue a work permit for a foreigner. Plus for such work permits there are quotas. After obtaining a work permit, you can return the documents for the actual visa. For the first two years, the work permit will be tied to the employer, and upon dismissal will be canceled along with the visa. Two years later, you can apply for an individual work permit that is no longer tied to anything, and after five years of living in Slovenia, you can get a permanent residence permit, in which a work permit is no longer required.
One of the biggest drawbacks of Slovenia is taxes. For those employed, the tax scale is progressive, with a gross income above 1500 euros per month reaching 41% for everything above 1500. Additionally, 22% of social insurance is paid - consider yourself. There are still small tax benefits for children and non-working family members, but they are quite small - about 200 euros per month per person. Only for the fourth child the allowance will be 600, not 200. The average salary in Slovenia is 1,500 euros gross. Salaries in IT from the average at times, as we have, do not differ. And as a result of high taxes, the IT industry in Slovenia itself is developed, let's say, very weakly.
The advantage is that the Slovenian language belongs to the Slavic group, and it is tolerable to begin to speak, read and understand it in two months of your life here. German does not compare! And for work in IT, the exam on knowledge of the Slovenian language is not needed. He will need only for citizenship, for which you need to live for at least 10 years. For the speedy integration of foreigners into the culture of Slovenia, there are free language courses (very good ones, by the way), the right to which you acquire, having lived in Slovenia for 2 years (no joke, by the way - this is exactly what the law says, “for speedy integration”).
Rent housing almost all collected on one site: nepremicnine.net. Price level: an apartment in Ljubljana (the capital, where, like in any other capital, all the main businesses are collected) from 300 euros, you can easily find a good good location for 500, for about the same you can find a house or floor in a house in the suburbs minutes 10-15 drive from Ljubljana. Utility payments - separately, really meet the 100 euros per month, plus heating, which strongly depends on what is heated, and what. Living in an apartment and being heated by an individual gas boiler, in the summer I paid 30 euros for gas (hot water), in winter - 100 in the coldest months. Heating the floor of the house with a boiler on the pellets, I pay about 1000 euros per season. Rental conditions - most often requires a deposit in the amount of 1-3 months and can ask for the first time prepayment for 1-3 months. If you contact the agency, then another 1 month + VAT to pay the agent - but I really do not see the point of doing this. Only on the indicated site it’s really possible to find a good option in a couple of months, and in 3-4 months it’s excellent.
Boo. You can also buy a car on one website - avto.net. A machine at the age of 10 years can easily cost a couple of thousand, while still being fully functional. But you have to choose. The annual payment for the road depends on the car, but on average about 100 euros. A vignette (fare on the Slovenian autobahn) costs 110 euros per year. Mandatory insurance - about 400-600 euros, depending on various factors.
In general, the minimum standard of living for a family in a rental housing is 2,000 euros per month. But with such a life, there will be neither a vacation nor a delay. For the amount of twice as much, you can live very comfortably - but getting such a salary here, alas, is not trivial.
A business visa is somewhat simpler, somewhat more complicated. To obtain it, it is enough to open an analogue of OOO here (this will require a statutory fund of 7,500 euros) and add another 22,500 to the balance of fixed assets. This is enough to apply for a working permit as a founding director. His term will be 1 year, after its expiration it is necessary to demonstrate that the company had a movement on bills and paid taxes. You still have to pay yourself at least the minimum salary (750 euros), and if you live with your family, then the salary should not be less than the subsistence minimum (emnip, 500 euros per person). Taxes on wages also need to pay, about their interest, I already wrote above. Recently, there are a lot of intermediaries of openers, with their help the turnkey company will cost about 6,000 euros. Although, as it seems to me, this quest can really be completed in a couple of days - the bureaucracy works quite well here. Maximum - you will need translation services, because in the state. English authorities can not speak. Consideration of documents from the time of filing can take up to 4 months. At this time, the company is already open, but its director does not have a working permit - and there is no right to sign. This conflict will also have to somehow be solved. What is nice is that you do not need any diplomas and nostrification to open a company.
Visa for study is also a very real option. Local universities often publish applications for postgraduate studies, and because Slovenia is not very famous, the competition there is not too high. After graduation, you can get a work permit and stay.
A serious problem for many - having received a visa for yourself, you can get a family visa only after a year in Slovenia. This item in the law then appeared (just shortly before my decision to leave), then disappeared, then appeared again. Now he is.
Having received an individual work permit, you can register as an individual entrepreneur. And if you work in IT (or any other service direction), then you can switch to a simplified taxation scheme. This system takes into account only income, and expenses are taken equal to 80% of income, regardless of their actual value. Taxes are paid from the remaining 20%. Since for IT Schnika costs are insignificant, it becomes much more interesting. But working with I.P. instead of the usual employment of local firms do not like.
Yes, for I.P. Social insurance payment rises to 38% (in fact, the employer pays another 16 percent!), with a minimum of 350 euros. Those. even if you have not received any income, 350 euros per month will have to pay in any way.
There is still the opportunity, being employed, to become an “entrepreneur after dinner”. In this case, instead of 38% of social insurance, you will have to pay a fixed amount of 60 euros per month (since you already pay social insurance on your main job). And everything else will remain as for the usual I.P. A very good option to earn money legally in the evenings, being employed.
Medicine is insurance, basic insurance is included in the above 22%, while if one person works in the family, his partner and children automatically receive this insurance. Add. insurance costs about 30 euros per month and covers a little more. There are no other options. Medicine here, alas, is not up to par. If your life is not in danger, get ready for a waiting time, measured in months. Wait for X-rays with a suspicion of a fracture a couple of days - and I heard about that. Most drugs are more serious than paracetamol and saline - only by prescription. So in Slovenia it is better not to get sick!
With the education of children, too, the situation is twofold. Kindergartens accept children from 11 months - but there are fewer places in kindergartens than children. Having submitted an application to the kindergarten, when the child was 2 years old, we were in the queue of those who did not have enough seats for 130 places. The following year were already on the 30th. The factors in the series are influenced by whether one parent or both work, how many children in the family, whether they go to the same kindergarten, etc. The cost of the program in the kindergarten is about 400 euros, but depending on the income per family member, the city administration pays part of the amount. Two workers on the average salary will pay about 200 euros for a garden. There are private kindergartens, but they are few and need to pay the full cost. Private nanny with a group of 3-5 children will cost about 300 euros per month.
School in Slovenia is free and compulsory, from the age of 6. Since the country is small, there are practically no alternatives. There is one Waldorf school, one Montessori school, one English and one French. All alternative schools are paid, from 120 euros (if the school is accredited) to 500 euros per month, if not. However, a big plus is that home schooling is allowed and legal. In general, schools are much more child friendly than ours. Some see this as a minus.
Summarizing. Slovenia is a very interesting place to live, especially if you are a supporter of a quiet and peaceful life. But to go here for a high salary, to put it mildly, is not worth it.
If you have questions - ask, I will try to answer.
In 2007, I moved to Slovenia. Slovenia, about which they joke that no one knows where she is. And this is one of its main advantages, to be serious.
The country is currently in the EU and in Schengen. What opens up the possibility of free movement. Its population is 2 million people. What is both a plus and a minus. Plus - small, funny distances, you can safely live in one city and go to work in another. The road will take half an hour or even less. Traffic jams are here, but - this is no comparison to what traffic jams in megalopolises are.
But the size and small population are also a minus at the same time. The market is too small - and it will logically flow out all the flaws - a much smaller choice of places to go, what to see and what to buy. At higher prices.
')
The main plus for me was security - it was calm here. Drivers drive by the rules, you can walk anywhere, anytime (although they stole a bicycle a week after I bought it). Clean and beautiful. Drinking water flows from the tap. In the north - the mountains and ski resorts, in the south - the sea. Center for winemaking (wines are not inferior to the famous French). Caves. Forests (with bears!). Roe deer are not uncommon here, but pests are quietly coming to the fields to eat in the fields in the villages.
There are not many opportunities to go to Slovenia - to get a work visa, get a business visa or get a visa for training. I walked the first path. He is probably the most difficult. All the design, which was done by the employer, took 9 months. You need a nostrified diploma so that you can be employed. For this, it was necessary to take a curriculum from a local university with a detailed description of all the subjects and hours spent for all the years of study. Naturally, it was not available, and I had to compose it myself from memory (6 years had passed since its release at that time).
In this case, the employer must release a vacancy on the local market, and after it is not closed within a certain time, he will be allowed to issue a work permit for a foreigner. Plus for such work permits there are quotas. After obtaining a work permit, you can return the documents for the actual visa. For the first two years, the work permit will be tied to the employer, and upon dismissal will be canceled along with the visa. Two years later, you can apply for an individual work permit that is no longer tied to anything, and after five years of living in Slovenia, you can get a permanent residence permit, in which a work permit is no longer required.
One of the biggest drawbacks of Slovenia is taxes. For those employed, the tax scale is progressive, with a gross income above 1500 euros per month reaching 41% for everything above 1500. Additionally, 22% of social insurance is paid - consider yourself. There are still small tax benefits for children and non-working family members, but they are quite small - about 200 euros per month per person. Only for the fourth child the allowance will be 600, not 200. The average salary in Slovenia is 1,500 euros gross. Salaries in IT from the average at times, as we have, do not differ. And as a result of high taxes, the IT industry in Slovenia itself is developed, let's say, very weakly.
The advantage is that the Slovenian language belongs to the Slavic group, and it is tolerable to begin to speak, read and understand it in two months of your life here. German does not compare! And for work in IT, the exam on knowledge of the Slovenian language is not needed. He will need only for citizenship, for which you need to live for at least 10 years. For the speedy integration of foreigners into the culture of Slovenia, there are free language courses (very good ones, by the way), the right to which you acquire, having lived in Slovenia for 2 years (no joke, by the way - this is exactly what the law says, “for speedy integration”).
Rent housing almost all collected on one site: nepremicnine.net. Price level: an apartment in Ljubljana (the capital, where, like in any other capital, all the main businesses are collected) from 300 euros, you can easily find a good good location for 500, for about the same you can find a house or floor in a house in the suburbs minutes 10-15 drive from Ljubljana. Utility payments - separately, really meet the 100 euros per month, plus heating, which strongly depends on what is heated, and what. Living in an apartment and being heated by an individual gas boiler, in the summer I paid 30 euros for gas (hot water), in winter - 100 in the coldest months. Heating the floor of the house with a boiler on the pellets, I pay about 1000 euros per season. Rental conditions - most often requires a deposit in the amount of 1-3 months and can ask for the first time prepayment for 1-3 months. If you contact the agency, then another 1 month + VAT to pay the agent - but I really do not see the point of doing this. Only on the indicated site it’s really possible to find a good option in a couple of months, and in 3-4 months it’s excellent.
Boo. You can also buy a car on one website - avto.net. A machine at the age of 10 years can easily cost a couple of thousand, while still being fully functional. But you have to choose. The annual payment for the road depends on the car, but on average about 100 euros. A vignette (fare on the Slovenian autobahn) costs 110 euros per year. Mandatory insurance - about 400-600 euros, depending on various factors.
In general, the minimum standard of living for a family in a rental housing is 2,000 euros per month. But with such a life, there will be neither a vacation nor a delay. For the amount of twice as much, you can live very comfortably - but getting such a salary here, alas, is not trivial.
A business visa is somewhat simpler, somewhat more complicated. To obtain it, it is enough to open an analogue of OOO here (this will require a statutory fund of 7,500 euros) and add another 22,500 to the balance of fixed assets. This is enough to apply for a working permit as a founding director. His term will be 1 year, after its expiration it is necessary to demonstrate that the company had a movement on bills and paid taxes. You still have to pay yourself at least the minimum salary (750 euros), and if you live with your family, then the salary should not be less than the subsistence minimum (emnip, 500 euros per person). Taxes on wages also need to pay, about their interest, I already wrote above. Recently, there are a lot of intermediaries of openers, with their help the turnkey company will cost about 6,000 euros. Although, as it seems to me, this quest can really be completed in a couple of days - the bureaucracy works quite well here. Maximum - you will need translation services, because in the state. English authorities can not speak. Consideration of documents from the time of filing can take up to 4 months. At this time, the company is already open, but its director does not have a working permit - and there is no right to sign. This conflict will also have to somehow be solved. What is nice is that you do not need any diplomas and nostrification to open a company.
Visa for study is also a very real option. Local universities often publish applications for postgraduate studies, and because Slovenia is not very famous, the competition there is not too high. After graduation, you can get a work permit and stay.
A serious problem for many - having received a visa for yourself, you can get a family visa only after a year in Slovenia. This item in the law then appeared (just shortly before my decision to leave), then disappeared, then appeared again. Now he is.
Having received an individual work permit, you can register as an individual entrepreneur. And if you work in IT (or any other service direction), then you can switch to a simplified taxation scheme. This system takes into account only income, and expenses are taken equal to 80% of income, regardless of their actual value. Taxes are paid from the remaining 20%. Since for IT Schnika costs are insignificant, it becomes much more interesting. But working with I.P. instead of the usual employment of local firms do not like.
Yes, for I.P. Social insurance payment rises to 38% (in fact, the employer pays another 16 percent!), with a minimum of 350 euros. Those. even if you have not received any income, 350 euros per month will have to pay in any way.
There is still the opportunity, being employed, to become an “entrepreneur after dinner”. In this case, instead of 38% of social insurance, you will have to pay a fixed amount of 60 euros per month (since you already pay social insurance on your main job). And everything else will remain as for the usual I.P. A very good option to earn money legally in the evenings, being employed.
Medicine is insurance, basic insurance is included in the above 22%, while if one person works in the family, his partner and children automatically receive this insurance. Add. insurance costs about 30 euros per month and covers a little more. There are no other options. Medicine here, alas, is not up to par. If your life is not in danger, get ready for a waiting time, measured in months. Wait for X-rays with a suspicion of a fracture a couple of days - and I heard about that. Most drugs are more serious than paracetamol and saline - only by prescription. So in Slovenia it is better not to get sick!
With the education of children, too, the situation is twofold. Kindergartens accept children from 11 months - but there are fewer places in kindergartens than children. Having submitted an application to the kindergarten, when the child was 2 years old, we were in the queue of those who did not have enough seats for 130 places. The following year were already on the 30th. The factors in the series are influenced by whether one parent or both work, how many children in the family, whether they go to the same kindergarten, etc. The cost of the program in the kindergarten is about 400 euros, but depending on the income per family member, the city administration pays part of the amount. Two workers on the average salary will pay about 200 euros for a garden. There are private kindergartens, but they are few and need to pay the full cost. Private nanny with a group of 3-5 children will cost about 300 euros per month.
School in Slovenia is free and compulsory, from the age of 6. Since the country is small, there are practically no alternatives. There is one Waldorf school, one Montessori school, one English and one French. All alternative schools are paid, from 120 euros (if the school is accredited) to 500 euros per month, if not. However, a big plus is that home schooling is allowed and legal. In general, schools are much more child friendly than ours. Some see this as a minus.
Summarizing. Slovenia is a very interesting place to live, especially if you are a supporter of a quiet and peaceful life. But to go here for a high salary, to put it mildly, is not worth it.
If you have questions - ask, I will try to answer.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/290756/
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