Serbia self-employed and freelancer permit

Self-employment applies if you are entered in the register of the Business Registers Agency (APR) as a member of a company or as a sole proprietor (preduzetnik), or as the sole or controlling member in another form of business. Company registration itself is handled by APR, also online. The government portal warns that founding a company is a valid purpose of stay but does not guarantee a visa or permit, so it recommends having an authorised person in Serbia who can handle the company’s obligations if your application is refused.

Independent professional applies if you are self-employed or a sole trader registered abroad and perform work in Serbia under a contract made directly with a Serbian employer or end user of services. This suits freelancers who keep their business at home but serve a Serbian client on site.

Self-employment: application form, passport valid 90 days beyond departure and issued in the last 10 years, photo, fee, invitation letter (for the visa), the APR registration certificate of your company or business, a power of attorney if someone files for you, and the landlord’s statement for address registration.

Independent professional: the same basic documents plus the decision on your registration as an independent professional abroad, the contract with the Serbian employer or end user stating the time limit of the work, a diploma or certificate of higher education or technical qualification from an accredited institution, and a certificate of work experience in the profession, each with a certified translation.

Visa-required nationals apply for a D visa for employment on the chosen ground at a Serbian mission or online, paying EUR 50, and can work from arrival for up to 180 days. Visa-exempt nationals file the single permit straight away. The single permit is requested only on Welcome to Serbia with an eID account; the fees are RSD 430 and RSD 22,770, and a complete request is decided within 15 days. You then give biometric data at the police foreigners’ office.

Register your address within 24 hours and keep living and working according to the permit’s ground. The company or sole proprietorship must stay active: an extension may be refused if the previous permit was not used for its purpose or if you spent less than half the period in Serbia without justification. Extensions are filed in the three months before expiry. After three years of continuous temporary residence you can request permanent residence.

The employment service assesses whether the conditions for self-employment are met, and a reasoned negative assessment leads to refusal. Other grounds include a passport valid less than three months beyond the permit, suspicion that the permit will not be used for its purpose, and false documents. An appeal can be filed within 15 days of the decision under the Law on Foreigners.