planning on staying longer in serbia?

Obtaining a temporary residence permit is mandatory for all foreigners who are staying in Serbia for more than 90 days – for the ones who need a visa to enter Serbia, as well as for the ones who don’t. The only difference is that the ones who need a visa to enter, together with other required documents, must first obtain a long-term D visa, since it is a prerequisite for temporary residence – temporary residence cannot be granted on the basis of a short stay C visa.

If the reason for your application for temporary residence permit is work, please go through our work section where you can find guidelines for obtaining a work permit, which is a process that is usually done at the same time.

Before you come to Serbia, bear in mind that for Serbian authorities, the reason of your visit (be it leisure, work, family reasons, education, etc.) is very important, so you can expect this question every time you face an official – at the border, at customs, from police officers in every possible situation, in a bank and all other situations when you have to deal with administration. Therefore, make sure that you have the correct answer and that your legal status is in line with what you are saying.

Grounds for temporary residence permit are:

• employment,
• education,
• learning the Serbian language,
• participation in international exchange of scholars or students,
• specialization and practice,
• science and research,
• family reunification,
• religious service,
• health care,
• ownership over a real estate property,
• humanitarian stay,
• human trafficking victims.

Temporary residence, regardless of the grounds, may be granted to foreigners who work in the innovation industry and for foreign investors:

1. foreigners who have established a company in the Republic of Serbia, the innovation activity of which has been recognized (confirmed) by a registered science and technology park ('startup');
2. foreigners who are investing in an already registered company in the Republic of Serbia, or in the activity of that company by investing in tangible and intangible assets ('investor') – a certificate or a statement of the possession of funds in the account of a bank registered in the Republic of Serbia in the amount of at least EUR 50.000,00 must be submitted;
3. foreigners who have a certificate of professional recognition of a higher education document issued by the competent authority of the Republic of Serbia ('talent').

From December 1st 2020, a new system shall be introduced in order to facilitate the entry of foreign workers in Serbia – it will be possible to file both requests (temporary residence together with a working permit) electronically, at the same time and in one application.

For now, it is still separate, but it is already possible to initiate the process electronically on the website of the Ministry of Interior.

Of course, you can always do it in person – in Belgrade at the Directorate for Foreigners (which is a department of the Ministry of Interior), located in Savska Street no. 35.

Before indulging in this endeavor, please check the general and particular requirements that you have to meet and the documents that you have to collect in order to successfully complete the process on the following link.

The working hours are Monday to Friday from 09h until 13h, so make sure you go within this time frame, otherwise you will have to come back another day. You don’t need to book an appointment as it works on a first-come, first-served basis. This first meeting will last about an hour.

PLEASE NOTE:

Every time you want to renew your temporary residence permit, you have to submit a new application at least 30 days prior to the expiry date of your permit. The process will be the same as described above, but it should be quicker, as the Directorate will already have your data.

When you enter the main office to submit the documentation you will get the payment instructions at the main desk in the entrance of the building. If you are filing for a temporary residence permit up to 3 months, the fee is 11.670,00 dinars (cca 100 euros) and if it is for a stay between 3 to 12 months, it amounts to 17.470,00 dinars (cca 150 euros).

When you complete the payment, you have to come back to the office and show the certificate of payment to the officers, since they do not have the insight into the electronic database of executed payment orders.

Within the next few minutes, you will be called for a short interview. When you finish the interview, the officers will give you a certificate (written in the official cyrillic alphabet) with the date of your next appointment.

On that date, you have to come back to the Directorate (from 9 to 13) to learn the decision - on granting or denying residence. Please make sure that you bring your passport with you, because if the decision is positive (temporary residence granted) you will be asked to leave your passport there, so they can put a sticker in it, and come back to pick it up from 14h until 15h.

As mentioned in the beginning of this section, filing an application for temporary residence permit is mandatory for all foreigners who are staying in Serbia for more than 90 days.

Citizens of countries that need a visa to enter Serbia, before entering Serbia with a plan to file for temporary residence, first need to obtain a long-term D visa. You can check the visa requirements for every country on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Therefore, it is of utter importance to first identify what is the main reason for your stay in Serbia for more than 90 days. If that reason is of such a nature that you need to file for a temporary residence permit, the second step is to determine if you need a visa to enter Serbia.

If the answer to the second question is YES, it is crucial for you to obtain a long-term D visa, because you cannot file for a temporary residence permit with a short stay C visa.

If the answer to the second question is NO, you can directly file an application for a temporary residence.

All visa applications (A, C, and D) must be submitted to the embassy or consulate general of the Republic of Serbia abroad.

You should start the procedure at earliest 3 months and at least 4 weeks before your trip. Official arrangements before the competent authority (embassy or consulate) might take time and the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a discretion to request last minute documentation, if they estimate that it is justified in a particular case.

In order to submit a complete application, you must fill in a VISA APPLICATION FORM together with the following documents:

• Valid passport (must be valid at least 90 days from the issue date of VISA and not older than 10 years)
• Letter of invitation:
  • For a private visit, it needs to be certified by the relevant authority of the Republic of Serbia
  • For a business visit, it needs to be provided by a company in Serbia
  • For a tourist trip, you will need a proof of payment for the trip issued by your travel agency 
• Evidence of the purpose and reasons for staying in the Republic of Serbia;
• Photo (size 3.5 x 4.5 cm)
• Return ticket or travel itinerary (copy of driving license and insurance if you're traveling by car)
• Proof of sufficient funds for staying in Serbia – Sufficient funds are considered to be 50 euros per day of stay, proved by the possession of the appropriate amount of cash, a bank statement, traveler’s cheques, credit cards, or a letter of guarantee
• Health insurance – a proof that it covers the costs of emergency treatments and return to the country of origin for health issues; the insurance must cover your entire stay in Serbia, covering possible medical costs to the amount of not less than 20,000 Euros.
• Proof of payment for the VISA fee

The deadline for the issuance of a visa is 15 days from your complete application, but it can be extended for additional 30 days for legitimate reasons.

Once you have been granted a long-term D visa, you will get a sticker which will be placed on the first available page of your passport.