Your guide to living in Serbia. Serbia visas, citizenship and more.

Why live in Serbia?

A Slavic country with a rich history and more wonders than you could ever imagine. There are mountains, rivers, lakes, churches, temples and fortresses that offer a wide variety of activities.

Still worried you’ll get bored in your free time? Add skiing, swimming in the lakes and visiting one of the many museums to your list of options. Serbia is diverse and offers a lot of things to do, see and discover.

Locals love coffee and football and are known to be among the friendliest people worldwide, traditional beliefs included that a failure to treat guests well would upset the gods. Serbians love to party and the capital city Belgrade is famous for its nightlife.

Trade is very important to the Serbian economy and they’re the largest raspberry exporter worldwide. Employment rates have been rising after the financial crisis and the country’s economy is getting stronger.

A sign of modernisation is Serbia’s aim to become a wind power powerhouse with aims of 500MW of wind capacity by the year of 2020.Business culture is similar to the rest of Europe; which means handshakes and dressing formally.

If you are invited to a colleague’s house, bring a small gift such as wine. Serbians generally speak English very well so communication is seldom an issue.

Serbian Visas and Permits

Serbian work visas

Immigrants who want to work in the country for a period longer than 90 days must apply for a work permit. The work permit is bound to one employer and position and changing jobs means you will have to apply for a new permit as it loses its validity. The employer is responsible for the cost of the application and the process takes about two weeks.

There is also a permit for self-employed immigrants and to apply expats must first have a temporary residence permit.

Serbian Family Visas

If your spouse is a citizen or permanent resident of Serbia, you are probably eligible for residency. If your spouse is a citizen, you can apply for citizenship after living together in Serbia for a period of 3 years. Please note that your status of spouse needs to be legally recognised in this country.

Short Term Visas to Serbia

To find out if you need a tourist visa to visit Serbia, please use the VisaHQ tool below

Here are some of the ways to get citizenship in Serbia:

If one or both of your parents were citizens when you were born, you are probably also a citizen.
If your spouse is a citizen or permanent resident of Serbia, you are probably eligible for residency. If your spouse is a citizen, you can apply for citizenship after living together in Serbia for a period of 3 years. Please note that your status of spouse needs to be legally recognised in this country.

Serbian Citizenship by Investment visa

There is no official Citizenship by Investment programme but what does exist is a “Citizenship by exception” programme. What this means is that if you can convince the government that it is in their best interests to grant you citizenship then you may well get it.

A moving abroad checklist is critical to a successful move overseas.

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Useful Facts about Serbia