Zbornica - Zveza (Slovenian nurses): Licence, Exams and Fees
Zbornica - Zveza keeps Slovenia's register of nurses and midwives and licenses graduate nurses and midwives. Here is how a nurse trained outside the EU gets onto it.
Overview
The Nurses and Midwives Association of Slovenia (Zbornica zdravstvene in babiške nege Slovenije, usually shortened to Zbornica - Zveza) keeps the register of providers in nursing and midwifery care and issues licences, under a public authority delegated to it by the state.
Its rules come from the Rulebook on the register and licences of providers in nursing or midwifery care (Pravilnik o registru in licencah izvajalcev v dejavnosti zdravstvene ali babiške nege, Uradni list RS 152/20 and 195/21), and it decides under the general administrative procedure law.
Zbornica - Zveza does not recognise foreign nursing degrees. For nurses and midwives trained in a third country, the Ministry of Health decides on recognition under the Act on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications in Healthcare (ZPPKZD) and sets any traineeship and professional exam. Only after you pass the exam do you apply to Zbornica - Zveza to be entered in the register and, for graduate professions, to receive a licence.
This page is for nurses and midwives trained outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, including those from the Philippines, India, Nigeria, Kenya and those working in the Gulf, who want a clear view of the registration side of the Slovenian route. The Ministry of Health page explains the recognition decision and the professional exam in detail.
Slovenia distinguishes between register entry alone and register entry with a licence. Nursing technicians (tehnik zdravstvene nege), nursing assistants (bolničar negovalec) and midwife nurses with secondary education only need register entry. Graduate nurses (diplomirana medicinska sestra), graduate midwives (diplomirana babica) and senior nursing technicians must hold both register entry and a valid licence to work independently.
Slovenian is the main hurdle. Graduate nurses and midwives in contact with patients ultimately need C1 for speaking and B2 for writing, but B2 in both is accepted until 31 December 2027, and nursing technicians and assistants can work towards B1 until the same date. Zbornica - Zveza runs its own professional Slovenian test for nursing and midwifery, with written and oral parts on the same day, for €300.
Official website: zbornica-zveza.si
Who it registers
- Graduate nurse (diplomirana medicinska sestra, diplomiran zdravstvenik): register entry and licence.
- Graduate midwife (diplomirana babica, diplomirani babičar): register entry and licence.
- Senior nursing technician: register entry and licence.
- Nursing technician (tehnik zdravstvene nege): register entry only.
- Nursing assistant (bolničar negovalec): register entry only.
- Midwife nurse with secondary education: register entry only.
- Temporary one-year register entries for EU, EEA and Swiss nurses and midwives providing occasional or temporary services, after notification by the Ministry of Health.
Eligibility
- A Ministry of Health decision allowing you to sit the traineeship and professional exam, or a decision recognising your qualification.
- A passed Slovenian professional exam for health workers, where your decision required it.
- A certificate of good standing from your home authority, no more than three months old.
- A certificate from your home authority that you are not subject to disciplinary proceedings or a ban on practice, no more than three months old.
- Proof of Slovenian: B2 in speaking and writing for graduate nurses and midwives until 31 December 2027 (C1 speaking and B2 writing after that); B1 for nursing technicians and nursing assistants until 31 December 2027.
- The completed application form for qualifications from third countries or the former Yugoslavia, a certified copy of your diploma, the professional exam certificate and proof of the administrative fee.
How to apply
1. Apply to the Ministry of Health for recognition
Send the ministry your diploma, programme content, any traineeship and exam records, good standing certificate and CV, with sworn translations into Slovenian and the €22.60 fee. The ministry decides whether you need supplementary exams, a traineeship and the professional exam, and sets a deadline of up to three years. Zbornica - Zveza gives the ministry's contacts as Štefanova ulica 5, Ljubljana, phone 01 478 60 01, [email protected].2. Learn Slovenian and pass a recognised test
Prove Slovenian with a Zbornica - Zveza professional test certificate, a certificate from a public university that examines Slovenian as a foreign language, or Slovenian secondary schooling. For the Zbornica - Zveza test, apply online by the 15th of the month before the session, with your diploma, a certified translation and proof of payment or a statement that your employer is covering the cost. You can cancel up to 10 days before.3. Complete the traineeship and the professional exam
If your decision requires a traineeship (pripravništvo), you work on a trainee post under a mentor. Graduate nurses and midwives then take the professional exam at the Ministry of Health; nursing technicians and assistants at an authorised public health institution. Applications go through your employer by the 20th of the month before, and you must enclose the decision and proof of Slovenian.4. Collect fresh good standing documents
Before you apply to the register, obtain a certificate of good standing and a certificate confirming no disciplinary proceedings or practice ban from your home authority. Both must be no more than three months old, so order them close to the date you apply.5. Apply for register entry and licence
Use the form for qualifications from third countries or the former Yugoslavia (version 4 on the Zbornica - Zveza website) and enclose a certified copy of the diploma, the exam certificate and proof of the €22.60 administrative fee, paid to the Ministry of Health's account. Questions go to [email protected]. The ZPPKZD says the decision on registration or a licence must be issued within 30 days of a complete application.6. Keep your licence valid
A licence runs for a seven-year licence period. To renew it you need at least 70 licence points in that period, including at least 6 hours each of health legislation and professional ethics, basic resuscitation, and quality and safety in healthcare. If you qualify, Zbornica - Zveza issues the renewal decision automatically 30 days before expiry; if not, you may have to pass a test of professional competence.
Exams and assessments
Zbornica - Zveza professional Slovenian test
Written and oral parts on the same day at Ob železnici 30A, Ljubljana. The fee is €300. Remaining 2026 date: 23 October; 2027 dates: 15 January, 19 February, 16 April, 28 May, 19 August and 15 October.
Professional exam at the Ministry of Health
For graduate nurses and midwives: professional content of nursing or midwifery, selected emergency care topics, basics of quality and safety, and basics of the legal framework of health care. The full exam costs €200, or €50 per part, and the first attempt is paid by the employer where you did the traineeship.
Supplementary exams
If the ministry finds your nursing programme does not match the Slovenian one, it can require up to five supplementary exams at a Slovenian institution that runs the accredited nursing or midwifery programme.
Test of professional competence at renewal
Licence holders who lack points or mandatory training at the end of the seven-year period may be required to pass a test of professional competence (preizkus strokovne usposobljenosti) before renewal.
Language requirements
- No English test is accepted. The legal basis for the language rules is Article 63 of the Health Services Act (ZZDej) and Articles 26 and 29 of the Act on Additional Intervention Measures in Healthcare (ZDIUPZ).
- Graduate nurses and graduate midwives: C1 for speaking and B2 for writing, with B2 in speaking and writing accepted until 31 December 2027.
- Nursing technicians and nursing assistants: B1 in speaking and writing until 31 December 2027, and B2 after that.
- Accepted proof: secondary school (at least) completed in Slovenian in Slovenia, the Zbornica - Zveza professional language test certificate, or a certificate from a public higher education institution in Slovenia or abroad for a Slovenian as a second or foreign language exam.
- If a public health institution has offered you a job, the ZPPKZD says it pays for one Slovenian course and one language test.
Fees
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Professional Slovenian test (Zbornica - Zveza)Your employer can cover it with a written statement. | €300Your employer can cover it with a written statement. |
| Register entry and licence applicationAdministrative fee paid to the Ministry of Health's account, as Zbornica - Zveza lists it. | €22.60Administrative fee paid to the Ministry of Health's account, as Zbornica - Zveza lists it. |
| Ministry recognition applicationSeparate fee at the start of the procedure. | €22.60Separate fee at the start of the procedure. |
| Professional exam (Ministry of Health)€50 per part; the first attempt is paid by the traineeship employer. | €200€50 per part; the first attempt is paid by the traineeship employer. |
| Temporary services notification (EU, EEA, Swiss) | €4.50 |
| Membership and licence renewal | See the Zbornica - Zveza price listThe pages reviewed refer to a price list (cenik) without stating amounts. |
Timeline
- Slovenian test sessions: about six a year; apply by the 15th of the month before.
- Ministry professional exam: monthly except August and December; apply by the 20th of the month before.
- Supplementary conditions: within the deadline in your ministry decision, at most three years.
- Register entry or licence: within 30 days of a complete application, under the ZPPKZD.
- Licence period: seven years; renewal decided automatically 30 days before expiry if you meet the conditions.
Questions
No. The Ministry of Health recognises third-country nursing and midwifery qualifications. Zbornica - Zveza enters you in the register and issues your licence after you have the ministry's decision and, if required, have passed the professional exam.
As a graduate nurse or midwife, B2 in speaking and writing until 31 December 2027, then C1 speaking and B2 writing. Nursing technicians and assistants need B1 until the same date.
€300. The written and oral parts are taken on the same day in Ljubljana, and your employer can pay if it gives a written statement.
Graduate nurses, graduate midwives and senior nursing technicians need both. Nursing technicians, nursing assistants and midwife nurses with secondary education need register entry only.
Seven years. You need at least 70 licence points in that time, including mandatory training in legislation and ethics, basic resuscitation, and quality and safety.
The certificate of good standing and the certificate of no disciplinary proceedings or ban from your home authority must be no more than three months old.
Yes. EU, EEA and Swiss nurses can notify the Ministry of Health before providing occasional or temporary services, with a €4.50 fee. The ministry forwards the complete notification and Zbornica - Zveza registers the nurse temporarily for one year.
By email at [email protected], or at Ob železnici 30A, 1000 Ljubljana during office hours on Tuesday to Thursday.
Sources
- 1Zbornica - Zveza: Register in licence
- 2Zbornica - Zveza: Licence
- 3Zbornica - Zveza: Tujci, kvalifikacije iz tujine
- 4Zbornica - Zveza: Preizkus znanja slovenskega jezika
- 5GOV.SI: Strokovni izpit za zdravstvene delavce in sodelavce
- 6GOV.SI: Priznanje poklicne kvalifikacije iz tujine
- 7Uradni list RS: ZPPKZD
Keep exploring
Working in Slovenia after registration