Internal migration and COVID-19

On 29 March 2020, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted Ordinance on the Temporary Prohibition of the Gathering of People at Public Meetings at Public Events and Other Events in Public Places in the Republic of Slovenia and Prohibition of Movement Outside the Municipalities in order to contain and control the COVID-19 epidemic. The ordinance, with a few exceptions, prohibited the movement of residents outside the municipality where they have registered permanent or temporary residence; movements between the two residences were also prohibited. Interesting events followed, which we also detected in demographic statistics.

More registrations of temporary residence

In the hours and days immediately after the adoption and entry into force of the ordinance, the number of registrations of temporary residence surged as many residents rushed to register their actual residence in order to avoid possible penalties. The registration of temporary residence is a simpler procedure than the registration of permanent residence and does not even require new personal documents. However, since the validity of the registration of temporary residence for the majority of the population of Slovenia is usually two years, it fits statistical criteria to be considered internal migration by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.

In the first week after the adoption of the ordinance, i.e. between 30 March and 5 April 2020, according to provisional data, 9,310 residents of Slovenia migrated to another municipality, of whom 92% moved from permanent to temporary residence. In the comparable period of 2019, 1,287 residents migrated to another municipality, of whom 36% from permanent to temporary residence. In the first half of 2020, according to provisional data, there were two-thirds more inter-municipal migrations than in the same period in 2019.

It is also interesting to note that, according to provisional data, on Sunday, 29 March 2020, we recorded 335 inter-municipal migrations from permanent to temporary addresses; on Sunday, 31 March 2019, there were three such migrations.

The municipality of Kranjska Gora gained the most

The ordinance prohibiting the movement outside municipalities caused noticeable movements of the population. This is not to say that residents moved en masse as a result of the ordinance; they had moved earlier and chose to register their moves when the ordinance was adopted. The municipality of Kranjska Gora gained the most population with the internal migrations registered in the first half of 2020 in both absolute and relative terms: internal net migration was nearly 370 or close to 70 per 1,000 population. Municipality Ljubljana had the absolute highest negative internal net migration at almost 2,200, while municipality Celje lost the most in relative terms: more than 12 per 1,000 population.

Reverse internal migrations in the spring of 2022?

The ordinance encouraged many to register their actual place of residence. It is expected that at least some of these migrants will convert their registration to permanent eventually, or will regularly extend their temporary residence. However, a part of these registrations of temporary residence no longer reflect the actual situation after the withdrawal of the ordinance: these are most likely registrations at secondary residences and holiday homes. Although an individual should deregister such a temporary residence according to the current legislation, mass deregistration is unlikely.

However, we can expect to record more internal migrations than usual in the spring of 2022: the registrations of temporary residence from this spring will expire and those who fail to extend them or convert them into permanent residences will statistically be considered internal migrants then, even though they will have been living at the same location for a long time.