Serbian Residence Through Business: Terms and Renewal

Your own business is one of the most dependable grounds for living in Serbia. The owner or director of a DOO and a registered sole proprietor (preduzetnik) can obtain a single permit for temporary residence and work (jedinstvena dozvola), which since 2024 has replaced the separate residence and work permits. The permit is issued for up to three years, can be renewed, and after three years of continuous residence opens the way to permanent residence.

The rules have become simpler, but the requirements around the business being real have become stricter. Below we go through how the application works, what documents are needed, what is examined at renewal and which mistakes most often lead to refusal.

What changed in 2024

• The single permit combines residence and the right to work: a separate work permit is no longer issued for a business owner.
• The application is filed online through the portal for foreigners (Portal za strance) on e-Uprava; biometrics and collection of the card take place at the police administration for your place of residence.
• The maximum term of the permit has been raised to three years (previously one year).
• The period of continuous temporary residence required to apply for permanent residence has been cut from five years to three.
• A statutory review period has been set: 30 days from the filing of a complete package.

Grounds: owner, director, sole proprietor

The business grounds cover three situations. The first: you are a member of a DOO and at the same time its director — the most common configuration among relocators. The second: you are a member but not the director; the grounds still exist, but you need to show what you do in the company. The third: you are a sole proprietor working for yourself, and the permit is issued on the basis of registration with the APR.

In every case the key question is the same: does the business carry on real activity. For a first application a recent registration and a plan are enough; for renewal the inspector expects to see turnover on the account, taxes and contributions paid, and an address at which the company can be found. We looked at how to choose between a sole proprietorship and a company with residence in mind in our article sole proprietor or DOO in Serbia.

Documents for a first application

• A passport valid for at least the term of the permit you are requesting, and proof of lawful entry (a stamp or registration).
• Registration of stay (prijava boravišta, the white card), completed within 24 hours of moving in.
• An APR extract for the company or sole proprietorship showing you as owner or director.
• Proof of accommodation: a residential lease with the owner’s certified signature, or a certificate of ownership.
• Proof of means of subsistence: a personal account statement, an income certificate, an agreement on the director’s remuneration.
• Health insurance valid in Serbia for the whole term.
• The receipt for the administrative fee.
• A photograph and biometric data — submitted at the police administration when you are called in.

Health insurance can be private — a policy from a Serbian insurer covering the whole term of the permit — or state-provided: a director or sole proprietor for whom health insurance contributions are paid receives a health insurance fund card, and that is accepted as proof. Proof of means most often raises questions for those whose income arrives in foreign accounts: attach statements with a translation and an explanation of the source, and where possible show payments arriving in a Serbian account.

How the procedure runs

1. Registration of the company or sole proprietorship with the APR and opening a bank account.
2. Arranging accommodation and completing the registration of stay.
3. Creating an account on the portal for foreigners and filing the electronic application with scans attached.
4. An invitation to the police administration to give biometrics and present the originals.
5. The decision — within 30 days. If it is positive, the single permit card is issued.
6. After receiving the card — registering as a resident with your bank and, if required, registering with the tax authority as a resident.

While the application is under review the applicant is entitled to stay in Serbia, even if the visa-free period expired after filing. Leaving the country during this period is not advisable without taking advice: questions may arise at the border on your return.

Renewal: what gets checked

The renewal application is filed in advance, before the current permit expires. It is accompanied by the same documents as the first application, plus proof of the business’s activity. In practice inspectors look at the following things:

• Payment of taxes and contributions: a tax clearance certificate, payment slips for contributions for the director or sole proprietor.
• Turnover on the company account: receipts from clients, payments for rent and services, salaries.
• Annual financial statements filed with the APR on time.
• A real registered seat: the tax authority may have inspected it; companies at “mass” addresses attract questions.
• Formal grounds for the director’s work: an employment contract or an agreement on rights and duties, with contributions paid.
• Actually living in Serbia: long absences will have to be explained.

A company with no turnover, nil reports and a director with no contributions is the classic portrait of a refusal at renewal. If the business is not yet generating income, it is important to show at least expenses and intent: rent for an office or a workplace, contracts, payments to the accountant. Options with a genuine lease agreement are described on the office rent in Belgrade page.

Permanent residence after three years

After three years of continuous temporary residence you can apply for permanent residence (stalno nastanjenje). Continuity does not mean you cannot travel: the law allows a certain amount of absence from the country over the three years — the exact limits are worth checking against the current wording of the law on foreigners before filing. Permanent residence is not tied to the business: once you have it, the company can be sold or closed without losing the status.

Tax residency is a separate matter. It arises not from holding a residence permit but from actual presence: 183 days within 12 months, or your center of vital interests being in Serbia. A tax resident declares worldwide income in Serbia, so a business owner with income in other countries should plan this out in advance with an accountant — there is more on company taxes in our article on DOO taxes in Serbia.

Family

A spouse and minor children receive a residence permit on family reunification grounds, for the same term as the main applicant. The application goes through the same portal; you will need apostilled and translated marriage and birth certificates, proof of accommodation and means for the whole family, and insurance for each family member.

Typical mistakes

• Failing to arrange the white card within the first 24 hours — one of the most common grounds for refusal and a fine.
• Filing the application a day before the visa-free period ends, without a complete package.
• Registering a company and then carrying on no activity until renewal.
• Stating an address with the APR at which the company cannot be found.
• Forgetting about insurance, or taking a policy that does not cover the whole term of the permit.
• Confusing residence with tax residency and failing to file a return as a resident.

Serbia remains one of the few European countries where grounds for residence are created by your own business within a few weeks and with no investment threshold. There is one condition: the business must be genuine. If you would like to go through this path with support, take a look at how our residence permit through company formation and residence permit support work.