Information for Foreigners

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Information for Foreigners

Rights and Obligations of Foreign Citizens

Information for Foreign Nationals

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

As of 1 February 2024, the application for an approval of temporary residency, based on a single permit to reside and work (single permit) is issued, shall be submitted exclusively electronically by filling in the application form for the approval of temporary residency on the Foreign Nationals’ Portal for the following reasons specified below:

• Employment on the grounds of an employment contract or another contract that exercises workplace rights

• Self-employment
• Assigned or delegated persons
• Intra-corporate transfer
• An independent professional
• Professional training and development

Temporary residency and a single permit to reside and work may be granted for a period of up to three years and therefore extended for the same period of time depending on the reasons for which the temporary residency is granted.

Addresses and telephone numbers of regional police directorates of the Ministry of Interior – police activities regarding foreign nationals

We would hereby like to inform you that the application for temporary residency shall be submitted on the single portal.

A foreign national is any person who does not hold the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia.

Law on Foreign Nationals ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", No. 24 of 26 March 2018, 31 of 29 April 2019 and 62/2023 of 28 July 2023) (Word, PDF)

The law governs the conditions for entry, movement, residence and return of foreign nationals, as well as the jurisdiction and activities of state administrative bodies of the Republic of Serbia with regards to entry, movement and residence of foreign nationals in the Republic of Serbia. (Subordinate legislation...).

Registration of a foreign national’s short-term residential address

(Form 1)

A foreign national’s short-term residential address shall either be registered at a 24/7 police station in whose territory the address of a foreign national’s accommodation is located or in a regional police directorate, i.e., organizational unit that conducts activities regarding the movement and temporary residency of foreign nationals (more ... ) or electronically.

Change of residential address

A foreign national’s residential address shall be changed at the competent authority in whose territory a foreign national's new residential address is located by registering the change of a foreign national's residential address (Form 2).

Change of a foreign national’s permanent residential address

The change of permanent residential address shall be registered in the Change of Permanent Residential Address Registration Form (Form 3) at the competent authority in whose territory the new permanent residential address of a foreign national is located followed by a certified written consent of either a real estate owner or a person authorized by the owner.

A foreign national in the Republic of Serbia may reside on the grounds of:

short-term residence
residence based on a long-stay visa
temporary residency supported by a temporary residence permit, i.e., single permit to reside and work
permanent residency

Short-term residence

means residence without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180- day period including the day of first entry unless otherwise agreed in an international agreement, as well as residence based on issued short-term residence visa.

Long-stay visa

means an approval for both entry and residence in the Republic of Serbia between 90 and 180 days issued to a foreign national who needs a visa in compliance with the visa regime for entry into the Republic of Serbia and who intends to apply for temporary residency in the Republic of Serbia.

A foreign national, who has been issued a long-stay visa on the grounds of employment, shall exercise the right to employment in compliance with regulations governing the employment of foreign nationals.

Temporary residency (temporary residence permit, i.e., permit to reside and work – single permit)

means a foreign national’s residence permit in the Republic of Serbia and as such it may be granted to a foreign national who intends to reside in the Republic of Serbia longer than 90 days within a 180-day period, i.e., longer than a residence period of time envisaged in the international agreement, i.e., longer than the period of time for which a long-stay visa is issued unless otherwise prescribed by law. i.e., to a foreign national who intends to both reside and work in the Republic of Serbia (more ...)

Permanent residency

means a permanent residence permit issued to a foreign national in the Republic of Serbia. The application for permanent residency shall be submitted by a foreign national in person to the competent authority on the prescribed application form in a territory where a foreign national had been granted temporary residency in the Republic of Serbia (more ... )

Asylum – information:

Travel document for refugees

Legislative framework

From February 1, 2024, foreigners who have been granted asylum - the right to residence and protection in the Republic of Serbia in accordance with the Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 24/2018) (Word) can submit a request for issuance of travel document for refugees.

A refugee is a foreigner who, owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, sex, language, religion, nationality, or membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her origin, and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, as well as a stateless person who is outside the country of his/her habitual residence, and who is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to that country;

Asylum - forms of protection granted to foreigners in the Republic of Serbia, based on the Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 24/2018) are the right to refuge and subsidiary protection.

The right to refuge is the right to residence and protection granted to a refugee in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, with respect to whom the competent authority has determined that his/her fear of persecution in the country of his/her origin or the country of his/her habitual residence is well-founded

Subsidiary protection is a form of protection granted by the Republic of Serbia to a foreigner who would be, if returned to the country of his/her origin or habitual residence, subjected to serious harm, and who is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, in accordance with Article 25 of the Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 24/2018).

Information for issuing travel documents for refugees

The competent organizational unit of the Ministry of Interior - Police Directorate, Border Police Directorate, Asylum Office, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection, issues a travel document for refugees on the form prescribed by the Rulebook on the Appearance and Content of a Travel Document for Refugees ("Official Gazette of the RS", No. 104/2023), to a person who has been granted the right to refuge or subsidiary protection in the Republic of Serbia, at his request (PDF).

The request for the issuance of a biometric travel document for refugees is submitted in person, to the competent organizational unit of the Ministry of Interior, Police Directorate - outside the headquarters, which performs tasks related to the movement and residence of foreigners, according to the place of residence of the person who has been granted the right to refuge, i.e. subsidiary protection in the Republic of Serbia.

Required Documents:

In the process of resolving the request, the contents are inspected and copies of the following documents are retained:

decisions on the granted right to refuge or granted subsidiary protection,
certificates of possession of the registration number for a foreigner who has been granted the right to refuge or subsidiary protection,
identity cards for persons who have been granted the right to refuge or identity cards for persons who have been granted subsidiary protection.

In the exceptional cases of a humanitarian nature, the travel document for refugees can also be issued to persons who have been granted subsidiary protection, and who do not possess a national travel document, with a validity of maximum one year. A person who has been granted subsidiary protection proves the existence of humanitarian reasons by submitting documentation on illness, in case of unforeseen events with the foreigner and members of his immediate family (severe illness, death, etc.), i.e. by other document that proves the validity of the reasons why he needs a travel document.

If the foreigner does not attach the above-mentioned documents when submitting the request, the acting police officer will obtain data on the facts necessary for making a decision, ex officio.

The applicant also submits proof of the paid compensation for the costs of making the travel document form and the prescribed issuance fee, in accordance with the law. The specified monetary amount is paid through the generated payment slip, which is available on the eUprava portal.

The Regulation on the Types of Services provided by the Ministry of Interior and the amount of fees for the services provided ("Official Gazette of the RS" No. 8/2024) prescribes the amount of the fee for the cost of making a travel document issued in accordance with the regulations on asylum and temporary protection, which is 5,880 RSD, and the Law on Republican Administrative Fees ("Official Gazette of RS" No. 92/2023) prescribes the amount of the issuing fee for a travel document in accordance with the regulations on asylum and temporary protection, which is 1,000 RSD, so the total amount that needs to be paid for the preparation and issuing a travel document for refugees is 6,880 RSD.

Along with the request, the applicant can attach a photo that faithfully depicts his face, if it is not older than six months. If a photo is attached to the request, it must have a size of 50x50 mm.

For a person under the age of 16, the request is submitted by his/her parent or guardian, with the mandatory presence of the minor.

When the request is submitted by a person who has reached the age of 16 but not yet reached the age of 18, as well as when collecting the travel document, the presence of one parent or guardian, or legal representative, is mandatory.

At the request of a person who has been granted the right to refuge in the Republic of Serbia, Asylum Office issues a travel document for refugees in a prescribed form, valid for 5 years.

Delivery of the document, travel document for refugees, is carried out with the mandatory personal presence of the applicant, in order to check his biometric data in the competent organizational unit of the Ministry of Interior - outside the headquarters, which performs tasks related to the movement and residence of foreigners, according to the place of residence of the person who has been granted the right to refuge, i.e. subsidiary protection in the Republic of Serbia.

Invalid travel document for refugees

The holder of a travel document for refugees will be issued a new travel document for refugees if the previously issued document is damaged or if the photo no longer matches its appearance, i.e. when it cannot serve to its purpose for other reasons.

A person who has lost travel document for refugees is obliged to immediately report the loss of travel document for refugees to the nearest police directorate of the Ministry of Interior. After reporting the disappearance of the travel document for refugees, the competent authority will declare the missing travel document for refugees invalid by making a Decision.

A travel document for refugees declared invalid is announced on the official website of the Ministry of Interior.

Invalid travel documents for refugees