A permanent residence card in Serbia makes the holder eligible to live in the country for as long as he/ she desires. A foreigner with a residence permit has access to Serbian social, insurance, and healthcare programs. S/he can also use banking services and find employment in Serbia.
Foreigners relocate to Serbia for the following main reasons: employment, purchase of property, company registration, and family reunification. The country attracts foreigners by affordable prices and comfortable living conditions. A permanent residence permit can turn into a passport of Serbia with time and the country is planning to join the EU one day.
Serbia’s immigration policies
The conditions for acquiring Serbian visas and residence permits are specified in the Foreigners Act. The authorities of the country are interested in attracting new residents and their immigration policies are inviting. For instance, Serbia is among few countries that grants temporary residence permits to foreigners buying real property on its territory. At the same time, the abovementioned Act clearly specifies who cannot establish legal residence in Serbia:
-
Foreigners with invalid or false passports;
-
Insolvent foreigners;
-
Those who have been deported from Serbia before;
-
Foreigners posing threat to national security;
-
Foreigners who have not registered at their residential address or failed to by a medical insurance policy;
-
Foreigners unwilling to pay the state duties associated with residence acquisition;
-
Foreigners suspected of using Serbian residency for illegal purposes;
-
Foreigners found to have used false data;
-
Foreigners systematically breaking Serbian laws.
Advantages of permanent residence in Serbia
If you choose Serbia for residence and obtain a permanent residence permit, you will gain access to the following advantages:
-
Participation and social security and pension programs;
-
Access to free primary and secondary education for your children;
-
Assistance with finding a job and unemployment compensations;
-
Access to free healthcare services (for children, pregnant women, women on maternity leaves, parents of children below 7, and retirees);
-
Legal protection from the Serbian authorities;
-
Access to mortgages and loans from Serbian banks;
-
An opportunity to apply for Schengen visas in the consulates in Serbia;
-
An opportunity to become a citizen of Serbia in the future.
A holder of a permanent residence permit cannot vote and hold public office in Serbia. In all other respects, he/ she has the same rights as Serbians do.
Who can qualify for a residence permit in Serbia?
The following groups of foreigners are eligible to apply for residence permits in Serbia:
-
Employees of local companies;
-
Individual entrepreneurs;
-
Founders, owners, and shareholders of Serbian companies;
-
Property owners;
-
Spouses and children of legal residents of Serbia;
-
Investors;
-
Startup founders;
-
Volunteers and religious service representatives;
-
Professional sportspeople;
-
Accredited journalists;
-
Scientists and researchers.
Applicants for legal residence in Serbia have to conform to the following requirements:
-
Be of age (above 18);
-
Register at a residential address in Serbia;
-
Be solvent (have a salary, a pension, a passive income, etc.);
-
Hold a medical insurance policy;
-
Be a law-abiding individual at home and in Serbia.
How to establish legal residence in Serbia
If you need a visa to Serbia (many nationalities do not), you should first obtain a long-term visa, then a temporary residence permit, and then a permanent residence permit. After holding a permanent residence permit for 5 years, you are eligible to apply for citizenship of Serbia.
Preparing the documents to apply for a residence permit in Serbia
You have to obtain a temporary residence permit first to legalize your stay in Serbia and live in the country for several years (see below) before you can apply for a permanent residence permit. The Central Police Office located in Belgrade handles applications for Serbian residency. You can apply at a branch office in another location but the documents are going to travel to Belgrade anyway as decisions are made there. You’d better have to following documents when applying for Serbian residency:
-
Your passport (that has to be valid for at least 15 more months);
-
Confirmation of your solvency (a salary or pension certificate, a bank statement, a job agreement, etc.);
-
Your registration at a residential address in Serbia;
-
A medical insurance policy;
-
2 color photos enface 35 x 45 mm;
-
A completed application form;
-
Receipts confirming payment of state duties;
-
Other documents (in special cases).
You can apply for legal residence in Serbia electronically. Documents issued outside Serbia have to be translated into Serbian by a sworn translator and notarized.
Conditions for extending a temporary residence permit
One of the key conditions that you have to meet to be able to extend your residence permit is as follows: the original grounds on which you have been granted residence have to be preserved. If you’ve been granted residence as a company owner, the company should still be going when you apply for a permit extension. If you’ve been granted residence as a property owner, the property should still be in your possession, and so on. You have to apply for a residence permit extension within the period between 3 and 1 months before the permit expires. If you are late with filing an application for permit extension, you may get yourself into hot water. Applications can be filed in person or online.
When you have lived in Serbia for 5 years (3 years if you are the spouse of a Serbian citizen or legal resident), you can apply for a permanent residence permit. Your temporary residence permit should be still valid when you apply for permanent residence.
Please note that you cannot have been away from Serbia for too long if you are to qualify for a permanent residence permit. Over the last 5 years, no single trip to another country should last for more than 6 months. The total time that you have spent in other countries over the last five years should not exceed 10 months. An application for a permanent residence permit has to be filed in person at the police station nearest to the place of your residence in the country. The application form can be downloaded from the official website.
How much money you need to relocate to Serbia
The key condition to meet is to have a monthly income that exceeds the minimum wage in Serbia (543.64 EUR in the 1st quarter of 2024). Without doubt, you are going to need money to buy or rent residential accommodations and medical insurance. Besides, you will have to cover your everyday costs.
The state duties that you have to pay when applying for temporary and permanent residence are not large at all in Serbia. You have to pay around 160 EUR for a temporary residence permit (the amount is due every time you apply for permit extension) and around 120 EUR for a permanent residence permit.
Most foreigners settle down in Belgrade and Novi Sad when they relocate to Serbia. We suggest, however, that you should look beyond these two cities because there are many other wonderful locations in the country.
