Documents and resources for this meeting will appear on this page in due course.

(see French and Spanish translations here)

We encourage all delegates who require a visa to start their process as early as possible.

Slovenia is a member of the Schengen area and entering into one Schengen member state allows persons to travel freely to all Schengen member states. Countries within the Schengen area are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland. Click here for general information on the Visa policy.

Visa Exemptions

Citizens of certain countries must hold a short stay visa. The EU has a common list of countries whose citizens must have a visa when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement. There are national derogations from the visa requirements for certain travellers.

Holders of a valid Schengen visa

Foreign nationals holding a valid visa issued by any Schengen country may also enter Slovenia, they only need to take into account the Schengen visa restriction limiting a holder's stay to up to 90 days within a period of any 180 days. Third country nationals who are holders of a valid residence permit or a long-stay visa of any Schengen country are also allowed to enter Slovenia for up to 90 days within a period of any 180 days.

Holders of service and diplomatic passports

There are national derogations from the visa requirements for holders of service and/or diplomatic passports of certain countries. If you are a holder of a diplomatic or service passport, you may verify if you need a visa here (check: Sheet 1.Exemptions Article 6(1): you are visa-exempted for Slovenia if there is a "yes" in the column SI). Note: if you transit through other Schengen countries, you need to verify the visa regime for those countries as well. If there is no visa-free regime for the transit countries, you will need to obtain a visa at the Consulate of the relevant transit Schengen country.

If you do not hold a valid visa or if there is no visa exemption

The first step is to inform the IWC Secretariat by email of your need for a visa, including the following information (name, address, nationality, affiliation, date of birth, passport number). The Secretariat will forward your data to the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, which will then issue an invitation letter for you. This invitation letter is required for the visa procedure (see below).

If you are not in possession of a valid Schengen visa, you can apply for one at any Slovenian diplomatic mission or consular post, or at the missions of other Schengen countries with which Slovenia has concluded agreements for issuing short stay visas. There are more than 140 such missions all over the world:

Some countries have neither a Slovenian embassy nor a visa agreement with missions of other Schengen countries, in which case the applicant needs to apply for a visa at the nearest Slovenian embassy. Applicants from these countries are advised to immediately inform the Secretariat about this situation, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia will try to facilitate the visa procedure.

Visa fee

Regular visa fee is EUR 80 Based on the agreements between the EU and certain countries, a reduced visa fee of EUR 35 or even an exemption from the fees can be applied for.

Visa procedure 

The visa procedure is usually concluded within 15 days, provided that all required documents have been submitted. The application can be filed up to three months in advance and no later than four (4) weeks in advance of the planned trip.

General visa information is available at the following links: 

• https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy_sl
• https://www.gov.si/en/topics/entry-and-residence/
• https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy/required-documents_sl

In order to apply for a visa, you need:

• a passport with at least two empty pages. The passport should have been issued within the last 10 years. The passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the date on which you intend to leave the Schengen territory, or, in the case of multiple journeys, the date on which you intend to leave after the last stay.
• a visa application form completed and signed.
• a recent identity photograph conform to ICAO standards.
• a visa fee to be paid when you submit your application.
• a service fee to be paid if you are requested to submit your application at the offices of a service provider.
• a travel medical insurance covering emergency medical, hospitalisation and repatriation (including in case of death). The minimum cover should be of 30.000 EUR. This insurance must be valid for the entire Schengen area and throughout the duration of the stay.
• Invitation, required for the visa process, by the organiser in Slovenia
• Note verbale of the sending country

The complete list of documents is available on the website of the consulate. During the processing time the consulate may, in individual cases, ask you to submit additional information or documents or you may be contacted for an interview.

Important notice

To receive an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, the applicants needing a Schengen visa must write to the IWC Secretariat and provide the following information (name, address, nationality, affiliation, date of birth, passport number).

The deadline for registration for applicants needing a Schengen visa is 26^th August 2022. Should you have any difficulties in obtaining a visa, please contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Consular Department, at the following e-mail: iwc.mzz@gov.si  

All delegations and observer organisations are required to supply credentials in accordance with the requirements of the Commission’s Rule of Procedure D which states:

D. Credentials

1.(a) The names of all representatives of member and non-member governments and observer organisations to any meeting of the Commission or committees, as specified in the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, Technical and Scientific Committees, shall be notified to the Secretary in writing before their participation and/or attendance at each meeting. For member governments, the notification shall indicate the Commissioner, his/her alternate(s) and advisers, and the head of the national delegation to the Scientific Committee and any alternate(s) as appropriate.  

The written notification shall be made by governments or the heads of organisations as the case may be.  In this context, ‘governments’ means the Head of State, the Head of Government, the Minister of Foreign Affairs (including: on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs), the Minister responsible for whaling or whale conservation (including: on behalf of this Minister), the Head of the Diplomatic Mission accredited to the seat of the Commission or to the host country of the meeting in question, or the Commissioner appointed under Rule A.1.

(b) Credentials for a Commissioner appointed for the duration of a meeting must be issued as in D.1(a). Thereafter, until the end of the meeting in question, that Commissioner assumes all the powers of a Commissioner appointed under A.1., including that of issuing credentials for his/her delegation.

(c) In the case of members of delegations who will attend the Biennial Commission Meeting and its associated meetings, the notification may be made en bloc by submitting a list of the members who will attend any of these meetings.

(d) The Secretary, or his/her representative, shall report on the received notifications at the beginning of a meeting.

(e) In case of any doubt as to the authenticity of notification or in case of apparent delay in their delivery, the Chair of the meeting shall convene an ad hoc group of no more than one representative from any Contracting Government present to decide upon the question of participation in the meeting.

Commissioners (or their alternates) and Heads of Observer delegations must present original copies of credentials at the meeting. Advance notification by email is helpful but will not replace the need to provide original documents.

Letters of Credentials must indicate: (1) The identity of the Commissioner; (2) The identify of any Alternate Commissioners; (3) the specific meeting to which the credentials apply (i.e. the 68^th Meeting of the International Whaling Commission taking place in 2021); (4) and they must be signed by the Head of State, Head of Government, Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, Whaling, or Whale Conservation (including on behalf of the Minister), the Head of the Diplomatic Mission accredited to the UK or Slovenia, or the permanent IWC Commissioner.

Instructions for Opening Statements

Contracting Governments and observer organisations are welcome to provide opening statements. Excepting for Governments which have recently adhered to the Convention, time is insufficient during plenary for allowing statements to be read out. Instead, statements should be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 17.00Hrs local time on Monday 17th October 2022. They will be meeting documents, available for download from this webpage. Following the meeting they will be retained as part of the Commission's archives.
 
Opening statements should not exceed three pages in length and their content shall be relevant to matters under consideration by the Commission.

Please check with your local advisory service for relevant vaccinations and travel restrictions and ensure you have the appropriate insurances and travel documentation in place before you travel.

NOTE: Slovenia has 2-pin type F EU-style electricity sockets (230V) - please bring the appropriate adapters for your devices. The Secretariat does not provide these

The nearest airports to the conference venue are:

• Friuli Venezia Giulia airport – TRIESTE, Italy: about 50 mins - see here for public transfer options
• Jože Pučnik airport - LJUBLJANA, Slovenia: about 100 mins - see here for public transfer options
• Marco Polo airport - VENICE, Italy: about 120 mins - see here for public transfer options

If desired, transfers from any of these airports to the conference venue can be booked through the following company:
 
Sun-tours d.o.o., Grand hotel Bernardin, Obala 2 - 6320 Portoroz
Contact person: Boris Rolc, e-mail: suntours@siol.net
Tel: +386-56 748 510, Fax: +386-56 746 411, Emergency telephone number: +386-40 710 560
 
Sun-tours asks that bookings include name, time & date of arrival and flight number for both journeys.