Moving to Slovenia

Money transfers can be expensive but by shopping around with debit card you can find many places, especially credit unions, that do not charge fees for withdrawing cash from your accounts. Are you sure you can make the transfer from a student visas to a permanent residency? I assume this has been well research.

Let me offer a little perspective from someone who recently moved to the eurozone. Withdrawing money from an ATM while on vacation is easy enough. But actually paying rent and bills with a US account is very cumbersome. I will add to one of the mantras of this website about traveler's checks being obsolete in Europe. It's not just traveler's checks, but paper checks in general are useless. The only way I have found to transfer money from a US bank to a European account is through an international wire, and this has to be done on the phone and it always involves a surcharge. I don't think there's anyway to avoid it. Because my income is split between euros and dollars, I maintain my old US bank account, but I opened one here to pay my bills. And note that I had to show proof of residency before I could open the European account. I then wire money to myself every month. Echoing what Frank mentioned, I assume you've done your research and you know about Schengen employment laws? If not... well, you need to read them because as you wrote it in your original post, your plan will not work. Unless you have some other arrangement, a student visa usually precludes the possibility of employment. You would need to find a potential employer who is willing to justify to the government why he should hire you instead of a citizen of the Schengen Zone and then sponsor you for a work visa.

Sue, As the others mentioned, I presume you've checked out the legalities of permanent residency in Slovenia. Student Visas are usually only valid for a year and as Tom mentioned these usually preclude employment. Proof of health insurance is usually required also. A few thoughts regarding the Banking issue. I assume you'll be keeping your U.S. Bank account open indefinitely, in order to allow deposits from U.S. sources (Pension)? Despite the ATM fees, that might be the least expensive method of obtaining cash (cheaper than wire transfers). In the same situation, I'd choose a Bank with low ATM fees and high daily withdrawal limits. Obtain cards for both of you on the same chequing account. I'd also arrange for a trusted family member to have "Power of Attorney" on the account so they can deal with any issues that might occur. One potential problem area is whether your U.S. Bank will allow you to maintain an account if you no longer live in the U.S.??? Good luck and hope it all works out for you!