In case a foreigner wants to live and work in Serbia, this text will give him useful information about the necessary documentation to obtain:
- temporary residence permits in the Republic of Serbia,
- and work permits in Serbia.
The stay of foreigners in Serbia is regulated by the Law on Foreigners. According to the provisions of the Law on Foreigners, a foreigner whose stay does not require a visa can stay in Serbia for a maximum of 90 days, in a period of 180 days, which is the case when a visa is approved for a shorter stay of a foreigner.
If you want to stay in Serbia longer in order to work, you are obliged to submit a request for a temporary residence permit.
Registration of foreigner
Before submitting the Application for a temporary residence permit as a foreigner, you will first have to register. Registration is done at the police station in the municipality where the apartment where you will stay is located. For this registration from the documentation you need the following:
- Completed form (better known as white card)
- Passport
- Identity card of the person to whose address you are applying
- Proof of ownership or other legal basis for the real estate to which the alien is registering.
After obtaining a white card, a request for a temporary residence permit can be submitted.
Application for temporary residence
As it is possible to submit a request for temporary residence on various grounds, the necessary documentation can be subdivided into two categories:
- Required documentation and
- Special documentation, which is attached in relation to the basis on which the temporary residence permit is requested.
The request for approval, i.e. extension of temporary residence shall be submitted by the alien in person or electronically to the competent authority on the prescribed form.
The request for extension of temporary residence is submitted no earlier than three months, and no later than 30 days before the expiration of the temporary residence.
Temporary residence may be granted for up to one year and may be extended for the same period of validity. It depends on the basis of the stay and the existence of reasons for which the temporary stay is granted.
Temporary residence is granted by stamping the temporary residence sticker on a foreign travel document. The travel document in which the temporary residence sticker is imprinted is picked up in person. Exceptionally, if there are justified reasons for that, the travel document in which the temporary residence sticker is stamped can be picked up by the foreigner’s attorney. The period of validity of the travel document must be at least three months longer than the period for which temporary residence is granted.
The following are attached as mandatory documentation:
- Completed form;
- Valid alien passport;
- Proof of means of subsistence during the planned stay;
- Registration of residence address in Serbia;
- Proof of health insurance during the planned stay;
- Two photos (35x45mm)
- Proof of payment of administrative fee.
According to the Law on Republic Administrative Fees, the fee for temporary stay up to three months is 11,740 dinars, while for temporary stay over three months up to one year the fee is 17,570 dinars.
If the basis for requesting a temporary residence permit is employment, then there are several subcategories, while the special documentation differs only slightly.
For employment, special documentation is required:
- Excerpt from the employer’s APR;
- Employment contract, work contract or other contract on the basis of which the foreigner is engaged, provided by the Labor Law;
- When the employment relationship is established for the first time, a report of the National Employment Service on the fulfillment of the conditions for employment is also required – a labor market test.
For self-employment of a foreigner, who is the founder of a company or is registered in Serbia as an entrepreneur, it is necessary to submit from the special documentation:
- Excerpt from the APR register
For employment on the basis of a contract on business-technical cooperation with a foreign legal entity for a foreigner who is sent to work in Serbia, the following shall be submitted from special documentation:
- Excerpt from the APR register for a legal entity established in Serbia;
- Agreement on business-technical cooperation with a foreign legal entity;
- Decision of a foreign legal entity on sending a foreigner, if it is not contained in the Agreement on Business-Technical Cooperation;
- Certificate of a legal entity from Serbia on the employment of a foreigner.
While for the employment of a foreigner moving within a company established abroad, which is sent or temporarily transferred to work in a legal entity established in Serbia, the following shall be submitted from special documentation:
- Excerpt from the APR register for a legal entity established in Serbia;
- Decision of a foreign legal entity on sending or delegating a foreigner to work in a legal entity in Serbia;
- Certificate of a legal entity from Serbia on the employment of a foreigner.
After submitting the request, the decision of the competent authority is waited for 30 days. As the competent authority is authorized to request additional documentation in order to determine the fulfillment of the conditions for granting temporary residence, in this case it would be best to contact a lawyer.
Evidence required to obtain temporary residence
The registration of a foreigner’s residential address is made when submitting a request for temporary residence permit to the competent authority on whose territory the foreigner’s residential address is, with the written consent of the apartment owner or a person authorized by him to register the residential address at his address.
Proof that a foreigner has secured means of subsistence during his planned stay in the Republic of Serbia is considered to be:
- confirmation of salary (salary calculation, etc.);
- employment contract, employment contract or other contract proving the employment of a foreigner in the Republic of Serbia in accordance with labor regulations;
- proof of pension insurance payments;
- proof of scholarship;
- proof of entry in the Register of Agricultural Holdings;
- certificate or statement of possession of funds on the account of a bank registered in the Republic of Serbia in the amount of the minimum wage in the Republic of Serbia;
- a certified guarantee of the employer or a natural person who is a member of the household of a foreigner who has submitted a request for approval, i.e. extension of temporary residence, that he will bear the costs of supporting the foreigner during the stay.
Proof of health insurance for foreign citizens with whose countries the Republic of Serbia has concluded an international agreement on social insurance is considered to be the European Health Insurance Card, i.e. another document proving that they are insured in their country, in accordance with the regulations of the Republic of Serbia on health insurance.
Proof of health insurance for foreign citizens with whose countries the Republic of Serbia has not concluded an international agreement on social insurance, is considered a health insurance policy of a foreigner; proof of possession of funds that can cover the costs of providing emergency medical care, or treatment of chronic diseases; a certified guarantee of the employer or a natural person that he will cover the above costs, as well as a valid health insurance card of the Republic of Serbia.
Application for a work permit
After a foreigner has been granted temporary residence, a procedure for obtaining a work permit may be initiated before the competent National Employment Service. The basic condition, therefore, for obtaining a work permit for a foreigner is that the foreigner is granted temporary residence. Depending on the type of work permit, the documentation that accompanies the request differs. Below we present in more detail the necessary documentation for obtaining a work permit.
Employer at whose request the work permit was issued:
- cannot send a foreigner to work for another employer;
- is obliged to register a foreigner for compulsory social insurance, in accordance with the law;
- bears the costs of issuing a work permit and cannot transfer it to a foreigner.
An employer who has employed a foreigner without an appropriate residence permit and work permit is obliged to pay him all monetary claims, in accordance with labor regulations, with the payment of the corresponding taxes and contributions for compulsory social insurance. Assumption that the employment relationship lasted at least three months, unless proven otherwise.
According to the Law on Republic Administrative Fees, the amount of the decision fee (work permit) for the employment of foreign citizens in the Republic of Serbia is 13,970 dinars.
If an application for the issuance of a work permit for employment is submitted, the application shall be accompanied by:
- Solution from the employer’s APR;
- Foreign passport;
- Temporary residence permit;
- Proposal of employment contract or other contract on the basis of which the foreigner is hired;
- A statement by the employer that he did not dismiss the workers due to technological, economic or organizational changes for the specific job for which the foreigner is employed or a CROSO certificate if he fired the employees;
- Excerpt from the Rulebook on job systematization, and if the employer has less than 10 employee statements containing the name and description of the job, the necessary education, or special requirements for a specific job;
- Diploma, ie. certificate of education of the foreigner;
- Proof of fulfillment of special conditions required for a specific job;
- Proof of payment of administrative fee.
If, on the other hand, an application for the issuance of a work permit for self-employment is submitted, in that case, in addition to the request for additional documentation, the following shall be submitted:
- Foreign passport;
- Temporary residence permit;
- Statement of the foreigner on the type, duration and scope of activities he wants to engage in, which should contain the number and structure of persons he planned to employ;
- Certificate by which the foreigner proves that he has the appropriate qualifications for performing a specific activity and its certified translation;
- Contract or pre-contract on ownership or lease of business premises;
- Proof of paid administrative fee.
A work permit for self-employment is issued for the period of the temporary residence permit, and for a maximum of one year, with the possibility of extension, provided that the foreigner proves that he continues to perform the same work under the conditions under which he received the permit.
A foreigner who obtains a work permit for self-employment is obliged to start performing the work for which the work permit was issued, within 90 days from the day of obtaining that permit.
When submitting an application for a work permit for referred persons, in addition to the application itself, the following shall be submitted:
- Solution from the employer’s APR;
- Foreign passport;
- Temporary residence permit;
- Agreement on business-technical cooperation between a foreign employer and an employer from Serbia, which contains the place and deadline for performing the work, as well as a certified translation of the agreement;
- Employment contract of a foreign employer and a foreigner or a certificate that the foreigner has been employed for more than a year;
- A contract between a foreign employer and an employee or a certificate from a foreign employer that the foreigner has been provided with food, as well as a certified translation of the contract or certificate;
- Decision of a foreign employer on sending a foreigner to temporary work in Serbia, as well as a certified translation;
- Lease agreement or other proof of provided accommodation for a foreigner in Serbia;
- Proof of paid administrative fee.
Finally, if the issuance of a work permit for movement within a company is required, then in addition to the request, the following additional documentation is submitted:
- Solution from the employer’s APR;
- Foreign passport;
- Temporary residence permit;
- Contract or certificate from a foreign employer that the foreigner has been employed for at least one year as a manager, manager or specialist in certain fields and certified translation, unless the issuance of a work permit is required for trainees;
- Decision of a foreign employer on sending a foreigner to temporary work in Serbia, as well as its certified translation;
- Proof of paid administrative fee.
The submitted request is decided within 30 days. After that, the Decision on approval of the work permit is delivered to the applicant.
