As of the 2021-22 academic year, students from non-EU countries wishing to study in Slovenia will have to have at least €402 deposited in their bank accounts every month to serve as proof that they can cover their costs of living and studying in Slovenia.

The move, announced by senior Interior Ministry official, Bozo Predalic, was interpreted as tightening of rules for foreign students in the country run by right-wing Prime Minister, Janez Jansa, who had campaigned on an anti-immigration platform in 2018.

“Predalic said that the government could not accept the opposition’s proposal that a statement by students’ parents or custodians that they would cover their costs would suffice, because this rule had been abused in the past,” Croatian state agency Hina reported.

At Slovenian universities, about 10 percent of students are foreigners, and about half of them come from former Yugoslav countries. Hina did not report how many students this would amount to.

Opposition parties claimed that the stricter requirements would put an additional burden on non-EU students who have been studying in Slovenia for some time now and who may be coming from low-income families.