Different Serbian Visa Types And How To Get Them
OVERVIEW
If you're considering a move to Belgrade, it’s vital to determine which VISA is necessary for your home country before you embark on your Serbian adventure. Certain nationalities are required to obtain a VISA before even a short visit, and regardless of your citizenship you will definitely need a VISA for a long-term relocation to the white city.
HOW IT WORKS
Requesting a Serbian VISA includes a fair amount of documentation, money and patience, but fear not – we’ve compiled all the necessary information into an easy-to-read guide. And if you’re not required to obtain a short stay VISA, you can enter the country with a valid passport and apply for your specific VISA once you’ve arrived in Belgrade.
First things first, let’s take a look at the purpose of each type of VISA available.
A) TRANSIT VISA: If you’re passing through Serbia
Only needed for certain citizens. You can find details on whether or not you need a transit VISA in the relevant section here.
B) SHORT STAY VISA: If you want to stay in Serbia up to 3 months
You can find details on whether or not you need a short stay VISA in the relevant section here.
If you come to Serbia and plan on staying for up to 90 days over a period of 6 months, the first thing you need to do is report your stay in the nearest police station (solicitation of white card) and fill out a residence application.
Details on the registration of residence can be found here.
If you’re coming to visit someone, your host has the obligation to report your stay and if you’re staying in a hotel, hostel or Airbnb, the people providing you with accommodation services are obliged to report your stay.
If your case doesn’t follow the ones explained above, you must fulfill the application yourself.
Below is an example of the residence application form (white card) and a list of every police station where you can submit the application.
If you are already in Serbia (without a VISA or with short stay VISA) and want to stay here, you have two options depending on the length of your planned stay:
C) TEMPORARY STAY VISA: If you want to stay in Serbia more than 3 months
You can find details on the registration for temporary stay VISA in the relevant section here.
If you plan to stay in Serbia for more than 90 days, you are required to report your temporary stay. On this basis you can stay in Serbia for up to one year, with the possibility of extension of stay in certain situations to another year.
For this type of VISA you must follow the entire procedure once you are in Serbia, therefore you cannot apply for it from abroad.
In general, you can request a temporary stay VISA for the following reasons:
Education or studying
Employment or work
Joining of family members
In most of the cases, the reasons mentioned above are linked with the working permit, which is another process that normally occurs in a parallel way.
1. You are coming for studying, specialization, work in international organizations or on international projects, etc. In this case, you do not need a work permit but you can get a temporary stay VISA.
2. You are coming to work in Belgrade. In this case you need a work permit and temporary stay VISA.
TYPES OF WORK PERMIT:
Work permit for employment: Issued at the request of your employer, with the main condition that you have a temporary stay VISA.
Personal work permit: Issued on your request if you have a permit for permanent stay VISA.
Work permit for self-employment: Issued on your request if you have a temporary stay VISA.
D) PERMANENT STAY VISA: If you want to stay in Serbia for a long period of time
You can find details on the registration for permanent stay VISA in the relevant section here.
In case you wish to have permanent residence on the territory of Serbia, you need to meet one of the following conditions:
- That until you submitted your request, you stayed in Serbia for more than five years continuously on the basis of temporary stay.
- That you are married for at least three years to a Serbian citizen or a foreigner that has permanent residence.
- That you are a minor and one of your parents is a Serbian citizen.
- That you originate from the territory of Serbia.