How to get a residence permit in Serbia and why is it needed?

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Since December 2021, Serbia has resumed flights with Russia and opened its borders to all foreign tourists, including Russians.

Thermal and ski resorts have become even closer. For ease of travel, direct flights Moscow – Belgrade have been launched.

We constantly monitor the developments of the situation in the world and immediately update all information about entry rules.

Before the trip

The rules for entry into Serbia for Russians in 2021 now require a negative result of a PCR test for coronavirus infection taken 48 hours before departure from the country. The test is not required for children under 12 years of age.

After receiving a negative test result, you must present it at the airport of departure in English. The certificate must have the original blue seal of the laboratory (clinic) and the signature of the doctor.

The PCR test for coronavirus must indicate your full last name, first name and patronymic. Be sure to check whether the date and time of collection of biological material are indicated correctly in the certificate.

If you are flying from another region of Russia with a transfer, then you have the opportunity to take an urgent PCR test for COVID-19 directly at Moscow airports, which is very convenient when calculating the validity period of the test results.

Serbian citizenship

To find out how to obtain Serbian citizenship, you need to follow several sequential steps:

• Go to the website of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the “Citizenship” section, information is presented in Serbian and English. The Citizenship Law (adopted in 2004) and amendments to it have been published here. First of all, understand whether your case qualifies for simplified acquisition of citizenship or not (that is, you were born on the territory of Serbia or your nationality is Serbian);
• Study the legal documentation, that is, the procedure for obtaining Serbian citizenship if you are not a Serb and were not born in the country; in your case, two other grounds remain: either naturalization (including marriage or business), or receiving the title of honored resident of the country (to be a philanthropist from 70,000 euros, for example);
• Collect information on forums and, perhaps, in personal conversations with people who have already left for Serbia and settled their lives; their feedback and advice will help you.

You can become a citizen:

• A child, if one or both parents were citizens of Serbia at the time of his birth; the certificate must be registered at the Serbian Consulate or its diplomatic mission in the country of birth;
• A foreign citizen who has permanent residence (hereinafter referred to as permanent residence) in Serbia; The citizen must be over 18 years of age, he is not a person deprived of legal capacity, has renounced the citizenship of his country, has lived in the country for more than three years and recognizes the Republic as his homeland;
• A foreigner who has married a citizen of the Republic and has been married for at least 3 years; who has received a temporary right of residence (hereinafter referred to as a residence permit) in the country, in other words, a residence permit in Serbia, and recognizes it as his homeland;
• An emigrant from the former Yugoslavia or, since 2005, current Serbia, wishing to return to Serbia; may have dual citizenship if the second country does not recognize the renunciation of his passport;
• Serbian by nationality, but living in another country; you must be over 18 years old and recognize Serbia as your homeland.

The application is submitted either at the place of permanent or temporary residence of the applicant, or is submitted to the consular service of the host country with the aim of sending it to the Ministry for consideration.

The decision to grant citizenship of the Republic of Serbia lies with the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs

If the request is submitted by a minor or incapacitated person, a parent or guardian will sign for it. A parent must recognize Serbia as their homeland for a child under 14 years of age; over the age of 14 years - self-confirmation.

What are the advantages

The main advantages look like this:

• the opportunity to participate in the political life of the country;
• official employment;
• obtaining education under the same conditions as provided for local residents;
• opportunity to open your own company.

In addition, a person receives an internship from the state, a pension, insurance, and the opportunity to travel to Europe without visas.

Find out from the video: how to get a Serbian passport in 2021.

Reasons

Serbian citizenship can be obtained:

• upon birth;
• the applicant is a descendant of immigrants from Serbia (in this case he has the opportunity to become a citizen of Serbia under a simplified scheme);
• the applicant has been living in Serbia on the basis of a permanent residence permit for 3 years;
• The applicant married a Serbian citizen.

Birth and origin

If one of the parents is a citizen of this country, the child automatically receives Serbian citizenship.

Naturalization

Citizenship is issued on the basis of:

• of legal age;
• legal capacity and solvency;
• permanent residence in the country for 3 years.

Marriage

Citizenship is issued on the basis of a document confirming the fact of marriage. You should be prepared for migration police officers to check the marriage for fictitiousness.

Refugee

To obtain citizenship, it is required to provide evidence that the applicant is in serious danger in his home country.

A person is recognized as a refugee if he comes from a country in which hostilities are ongoing. A foreigner is also a refugee if he is persecuted in his home country for his beliefs.

Special Merits

Foreigners who have invested in the economy, as well as philanthropists, can apply for Serbian citizenship. If a person has made a contribution to the country’s economy in the amount of 70.0 thousand euros or more, he has the right to obtain citizenship in an accelerated manner.

The project for obtaining citizenship in exchange for investment is still in development. There are 3 possible investment options:

• Opening your own business.
• Investment in a real estate project (it must be approved by the Serbian government). The optimal investment amount is 250.0 thousand euros, the period is 5 years.
• Donation to the government development fund.

Depending on the type of investment, the foreigner will have to pay the cost of checks: 7.5 thousand euros for the applicant, 4.0 thousand euros for his family members.

If citizenship is denied, the fee is not refundable.

The basis for a residence permit is business

A foreigner can open a company and rent an office for a period of 12 months. In this case, he becomes a tax resident of the country, and the entrepreneur has the opportunity to obtain Serbian citizenship.

Legal requirements for registering an LLC are the minimum investment amount when opening a business in Serbia: 500.0 thousand euros. A business plan must be attached to the main list of documents. A foreigner is also required to hire at least 4 Serbian citizens, whose annual salary will be at least 100.0 thousand euros.

other methods

Highly qualified specialists who permanently work under contract in one company can obtain Serbian citizenship.

Students also have a chance to obtain Serbian citizenship. But in their case, they need to stay in the country after studying and work in their specialty for several years.

Do you need a hotel reservation in Serbia?

It is best to make a “hotel reservation” for at least the first 1-2 days in order to show at passport control where you will be staying (even if you plan to travel around the country in a rented car).

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What does the process of obtaining a Serbian residence permit look like?

You need to prepare a package of documents to obtain a residence permit and submit it to the department for work with foreigners MUP (Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia).

At the time of submitting documents, you can be in the country on a tourist basis.

If you managed to submit documents before the expiration of the visa-free entry stamp, then after submitting the documents you no longer need to leave the country.

All documents (application, CV, etc.) are provided in Serbian. Documents in a foreign language must be translated into Serbian and properly legalized.

There is an agreement on mutual legal assistance between Russia and Serbia, so legalization of a document occurs in a simplified manner - a translation, seal and signature of an official (court) translator is enough. You can make such a translation already in Serbia.

As far as I know, there is no such agreement between Serbia and Belarus. Accordingly, it is necessary to have documents translated and legalized (apostille) before entering the country.

Typically, the processing time for documents is 3 weeks. During this period, the police may come to the place of residence you indicate to check whether you really live there.

Holiday rules due to COVID-19 and restrictions in Serbia

To ensure safety and prevent new diseases, Serbia now has a mandatory mask regime in enclosed public places. For non-compliance - a fine of 50 €.

Wearing masks outdoors is recommended, but not required.

Grocery stores are open daily until 21:00. Shopping centers and markets are open until 20:00.

Beauty salons, spas and sports grounds are open until 20:00, but there are restrictions on the number of visitors depending on the size of the premises.

Necessary documents for obtaining a Serbian passport

A more specific procedure for obtaining citizenship, a list of documents and deadlines are determined in each specific case.

You can find out more information on the official website of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

But there is also general information available:

• Completed application for citizenship.
• A copy of the applicant's foreign passport.
• Applicant's birth certificate.
• 2 photographs 3.4 x 4.5 cm.
• Marriage certificate with a Serbian citizen.
• Certificate of good conduct in your country.
• Medical certificate confirming your state of health and absence of HIV infection.
• Document of education (secondary certificate or higher diploma).
• Documents on family composition (if any).
• Biography (like a resume).

Basic documents

The main list of documents looks like this:

• statement;
• certificate from the registry office (if a marriage was concluded);
• medical insurance;
• certificate from place of work;
• international passport.

Depending on the specific situation, the migration police officer may request additional documents.

Where to contact

An application for Serbian citizenship should be submitted to the Foreigners Police Department.

Terms and cost of obtaining citizenship

On average, Serbian citizenship is obtained in 6–8 months . But in some cases, foreigners are forced to wait 1–1.5 years for an answer.

The state fee for filing documents is 145 euros.

What to do after your citizenship application is approved

Having become a citizen of Serbia, it is recommended to immediately make a biometric personal card - this document proves your identity within the country. Then you can receive a foreign passport.

Rules for traveling from Serbia to Russia

Before departure from Serbia

to Russia, you must fill out a form for those arriving in the Russian Federation on the State Services website, which indicates personal data and symptoms (cough, temperature, etc.). It must be filled out before boarding the plane and presented upon arrival at the control point.

Upon returning to Russia

after Serbia, you must do a PCR test for the presence of coronavirus infection COVID-19 within 3 days and upload the result to State Services. An express test can be done at Moscow airports upon arrival or in any laboratory recommended by Rospotrebnadzor.

According to the new rules, which come into force on July 7, 2021, upon arrival in Russia from any country in the world: • for vaccinated

during the year and citizens who have been ill for six months - PCR testing is cancelled;
• for unvaccinated
citizens - the re-take of the PCR test is canceled; the first and only test must be taken within 3 days upon arrival. Until the results of the study are received, self-isolation is required. The rule of taking a PCR test twice upon arrival from abroad, which was in force until 07/06/2021, has been cancelled.

Options for obtaining a Serbian passport

The migration legislation of Serbia provides many opportunities for those wishing to obtain citizenship. However, not all options are available to a potential candidate - much depends on the applicant’s status. Therefore, to clarify the current immigration program, it is necessary to clarify each of the provided methods.

By birth

After birth, a child automatically receives Serbian citizenship if:

• born on the territory of the Republic of Sakha, parents are citizens of Serbia;
• born outside the territory of the RS, parents live permanently in Serbia;
• adopted in a foreign country by a citizen of the Russian Federation.

If the birth took place in Serbia, but the mother and father are not considered subjects of the republic, then automatic assignment of status does not occur. However, parents have the right to apply for Serbian citizenship for their child. It can be satisfied if the applicants plan to reside permanently in the territory of the state in the future.

By origin

Almost every country strives to preserve its national designation, therefore it provides maximum privileges for its main ethnic group. The same is true for the republic. Ethnic Serbs can count on a simplified procedure. The basic requirements for them are:

• age restrictions – at least 18 years;
• full legal capacity;
• recognition of Serbia as homeland.

The procedure for issuing citizenship in this case usually takes up to 1.5 years.

Naturalization

A representative of another state can acquire a RS passport after living for 3 years in the territory of Serbia as a permanent resident. However, to obtain this status, you first need to obtain a residence permit and live in the republic for 2 years under this document.

As a result, this option will take at least 5 years, which in world practice is considered not too long, but still not every person will want to wait that long to obtain citizenship.

Read more: Naturalization of citizenship

Through marriage with a resident of the country

One of the simplest options that does not require virtually any financial investment. However, to acquire citizenship you must be officially married to a Serbian citizen for at least 2 years . Moreover, the right to initiate the procedure arises only after 3 years have passed after the applicant’s permanent residence in the territory of the republic.

The main disadvantage of this method is the likelihood of divorce. Then the candidate will have to rely only on long-term naturalization. The second important point is the recognition of the fact of registration of relations as invalid. In current practice, it is still not uncommon for fictitious marriages to take place. Therefore, migration service employees carefully monitor such cases.

The violator, in addition to deportation from the territory of the Republic of Serbia, may be prosecuted under Serbian legislation. Therefore, it is important to avoid the desire to obtain citizenship through a fictitious marriage.

It is also useful to read: All about the procedure for obtaining a temporary residence permit for marriage

Refugee

Now the republic is not a member of the EU, which means there are no quotas for refugees. Therefore, acquiring citizenship in this way will be problematic .

The relevance of this method is also reduced due to the closure of the borders with Hungary, which led to the accumulation of a considerable number of refugees in Serbia and, as a result, to a deterioration in the political situation.

Despite the apparent rejection of people from Middle Eastern countries, migration policy still favors people fleeing Russia, Belarus or Ukraine. In this case, citizenship is issued after 3 years of stay in the republic with refugee status.

For special services to the republic

The Serbian government monitors individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of the country or contributed to increasing prestige in the international arena, be it athletes, diplomats, scientists, artists, etc. The terms and conditions of registration for this option are specified exclusively on an individual basis.

Residents of the former Yugoslavia

Repatriates are persons who left Yugoslavia and decided to return to their homeland, can count on obtaining citizenship in a simplified manner. For example, there is no need to undergo procedures to clarify the level of proficiency in the state language and determine the degree of adaptation in Serbian society.

When submitting an application, you will need to document the existence of citizenship in the past and indicate the circumstances of its loss. Thus, if during the proceedings it is revealed that the applicant was deprived of citizenship by a decision of state authorities for violating the law, then he will not be able to use the simplified option.

Read more: What is repatriation

When purchasing real estate

The acquisition of real estate also helps speed up the process of obtaining citizenship. To do this, a foreigner needs to spend at least 200 thousand euros on real estate for any purpose, be it:

• commercial premises;
• House;
• production facility;
• economic building.

The cost is specified according to the indicators reflected in the state real estate register. However, the privileges are not so significant. In any case, the applicant first needs to acquire a residence permit, wait a year, obtain permanent residence, and only after another 2 years can he apply for citizenship.

This video talks about obtaining permanent residence based on owning real estate in Serbia:

It is also useful to read: Purchase of real estate in Russia by foreign citizens

For investors and businessmen

To improve the country’s economic indicators, the Serbian government has envisaged a program to attract investors - considerable privileges are assigned to persons who have invested an amount of 300 thousand euros in the republic’s economy. They and their family members can expect the desired status after just one year as a permanent resident of the country.

This video describes the main migration programs of Serbia:

What does a residence permit in Serbia give?

A residence permit in Serbia opens up for migrants not only the right to long-term residence in the republic, but also many opportunities. Among them:

• buying real estate in your favorite region of the country;
• quick opening of a bank account (the process takes 7-10 days);
• open and honest business conduct without corruption and the danger of raiding;
• favorable taxation;
• obtaining medical insurance and the right to use medical services on an equal basis with citizens of the country;
• ease of opening a Schengen visa;
• the opportunity to purchase a car and register it.

Having a residence permit in Serbia is the first step towards acquiring permanent residence and citizenship of the country in the future.

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