Serbia temporary residence permit

Temporary residence is requested on one legal basis and a closer reason. Apart from employment, education and family reunification, the government portal lists: investor; Serbian origin; start-up; talent; property owner; independent stay; religious service; and medical treatment or care. Choosing the basis automatically decides whether you will receive a single permit (employment grounds) or an ordinary temporary residence permit. The card states whether you have the right to work.

Among these, foreigners with residence based on owning real estate, religious officials and people on humanitarian stays are listed as having a legally approved right to work without a single permit. For grounds not covered in detail on this page, the portal’s guide and the police foreigners’ office of your area tell you which documents apply.

Every request consists of the prescribed form and attachments. The passport, or an identity card of a country whose citizens may enter Serbia with one, must be valid at least three months longer than the period requested; if you have several citizenships, you are treated as a citizen of the country whose document you used to enter. You add a photograph, the documents proving the specific ground (for example the real estate ownership extract for property owners), the landlord’s statement or your own ownership document for address registration, and proof of the fees.

Requests for an ordinary temporary residence permit can be filed online on eforeigner.welcometoserbia.gov.rs with an eID account, or in person at the Ministry of the Interior unit for foreigners responsible for your registered address, after booking an appointment by email. Requests for minors are filed only in person by their legal representatives. A foreigner who entered on a D visa must apply on the same ground as the visa while it is still valid; visa-exempt nationals apply during their lawful visa-free stay. You pay RSD 430 and RSD 23,450 when filing.

If the conditions are met, you go to the police foreigners’ office at the scheduled time to give biometric data and receive a certificate with your foreigner registration number. The biometric card and form are paid after you are informed of the outcome.

Extensions are filed no earlier than three months before and no later than the day the permit expires. The new period starts the day after the old permit ends, and a timely request lets you stay until the decision. To change ground, you file a new request during your lawful stay with documents for the new ground. If the ground ceases while the permit is valid, contact the police foreigners’ office.

A request is refused if the passport is valid less than three months beyond the period requested, general conditions are not met, an entry ban or expulsion applies, security requires it, documents are false or illegally obtained, or there is justified suspicion that the residence will not be used for its purpose. Under the Law on Foreigners an appeal can be filed within 15 days of receiving the decision and suspends enforcement. If your card is lost, report it at once; it is declared invalid and you apply for a new one.