As we are all witnesses to the increasing number of foreign citizens in our country, with this short text we wanted to point out the legal provisions related to the residence and employment of foreign citizens in our country, in accordance with the Law on Foreigners (Official Gazette of RS”, no. 24/2018 and 31/2019) and the Law on the Employment of Foreigners (“Official Gazette of RS”, no. 128/2014, 113/2017, 50/2018 and 31/2019).

  1. Residence of foreign citizens in the Republic of Serbia

A foreign citizen (hereinafter: “foreigner”) can stay in the Republic of Serbia for up to 90 days on the basis of a short-term stay, on the basis of a visa for a long stay (90-180 days), on the basis of a temporary residence permit (up to one year) and on basis of granted permanent residence.

A foreigner who intends to apply for a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Serbia is advised to  obtain a visa for a longer stay (90-180 days), due to the complexity and duration of the procedure.

Temporary residence Temporary residence is a residence permit for a foreigner in the Republic of Serbia and can be granted to a foreigner who intends to stay in the Republic of Serbia for longer than 90 days, e.g. on the basis of employment. The request for extension of the temporary stay shall be submitted no earlier than three months, and no later than 30 days before the expiration of the validity period of the temporary stay.

A valid passport, proof of adequate means of support during the planned stay, registration of residence or residential address in the Republic of Serbia, and a number of other proofs must be submitted with the request for approval along with the proof of the prescribed administrative fee payment.

Temporary residence may be granted for up to one year and may be extended for the same period of validity, depending on the basis of residence and the existence of the reasons for which temporary residence is granted. Temporary residence is approved by stamping a temporary residence sticker in the foreign travel document.

  1. Employment of foreigners

Employment of a foreign citizen is possible on the condition that the foreigner has a visa for a long stay based on employment, a temporary residence or permanent residence permit and a work permit.

Evidence of fulfillment of the conditions for employment of a foreigner in accordance with this law must be kept in the business premises where the foreigner works.

A foreigner who stays in the Republic of Serbia for up to 90 days in a period of 180 days, and who intends to exercise the right to work for a period of less than 90 days is obliged to submit an application for temporary residence in accordance with the provisions of Law. A work permit is a type of work permit issued as:

1) work permit for employment;

2) work permit for special cases of employment;

3) work permit for self-employment.

A foreigner with a work permit can only perform the jobs for which he received a permit in the Republic of Serbia.

A work permit for employment is issued at the request of the employer, in accordance with the state of the labor market, under the conditions that the employer: 1) before submitting the application for a work permit for employment, did not fire employees due to technological, economic or organizational changes in the jobs for which the application is made work permit for employment, in accordance with labor regulations; 2) ten days before submitting the application for a work permit for employment, he did not find citizens of the Republic, persons who have free access to the labor market or foreigners with a personal work permit, with appropriate qualifications from the records of the organization responsible for employment affairs; 3) attach a proposal for an employment contract or other contract that implements rights based on work, in accordance with the law.

A work permit for employment is issued for the employment of a foreigner who has a visa for a long stay based on employment, approval for a temporary stay and meets all the requirements of the employer’s requirements related to appropriate knowledge and abilities, qualifications, previous experience, etc.

A work permit for employment is issued for the planned period of employment.

A work permit for self-employment is issued at the request of a foreigner who has a visa for a long stay based on employment or an authorization for a temporary stay in the Republic.

In the process of issuing a work permit for self-employment, a statement on the type, duration and scope of activities that he plans to engage in, proof that he has the appropriate qualifications for performing a specific activity, a pre-contract or a contract proving the right of ownership or lease of business premises is submitted with the application. to whom the activity will be performed, a statement on the number and structure of persons who plan to employ (especially citizens of the Republic, persons who have free access to the labor market and foreigners with a personal work permit).

A work permit for self-employment is issued for the period that the temporary residence permit lasts, and for a maximum of one year with the possibility of extension, provided that the foreigner proves that he continues to perform the same job under the conditions under which he received the permit.

A foreigner who receives a work permit for self-employment is obliged to start performing the work for which the work permit was issued within 90 days from the date of obtaining the permit.

For the employment of foreigners beyond the prescribed procedure and conditions, fines are foreseen for the employer (50,000 to 1,000,000) as well as for the foreigner.

Disclaimer:  This text is written for informational purposes only as well as to give general information and understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. For any additional information feel free to contact us.

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