The following contribution analyses the history of emigration from the Slovenian ethnic space to the countries of the former Yugoslavia and its contemporary consequences. The main thesis builds on the understanding that the Slovenian emigrant community in the “Yugoslav state” was largely neglected from the viewpoint of operative politics as well as from the scientific study perspective. The analysis is divided into four historical periods, which differed significantly as far as the migration dynamics is concerned: the first migration stage (1850–1914), dominated by economic reasons; the second migration stage (1919–1941), when the political and cultural reasons also became important; the third migration stage (1945–1991), when the main reasons for migration were economic and ideological; and, finally, the article is concluded with the analysis of policy towards the Slovenian immigrants to the Yugoslav territory in the time of the independent Slovenia, together with all of its advantages and shortcomings.