How to Obtain Residency in Serbia
Why seek to obtain residency in Serbia?
- A lovely country with mountains, rivers, historical towns and a people with strong character.
- A low cost of living; Serbia is competitively ranked in the Numbeo Cost of Living Index.
- Quality real estate.
- Geographic location – in the heart Europe. Between East and West.
- 15% corporate income tax, 15% personal income tax – amongst the lowest in Europe.
- Multiple international schools.
- Affordable healthcare.
What are the Residency options in Serbia?
- Residency through the ownership of local real estate.
- Residency by creating a local company and appointing yourself a director.
1. What documents to you need to obtain residency in Serbia
You’ll need the following documentation to obtain residency in Serbia:
- Passport
- Letter of application for registration
- Marriage and birth certificates for your family members if you apply for family reunification afterwards
- A diploma which demonstrates your education level such as university or high school (in some cases)
- For residency through real estate – a copy of the real estate title deed
- For residency through a local company – the company documents and proof you are registered as the director and a business plan
- Medical insurance
All documents needs to be translated into Serbian. Your lawyer will take care of this. Documents from back home must be apostilled.
The whole process takes about a month. It’s quite a bureaucratic process.
2. How Mr. Sekulovic and his team of lawyers can help you obtain residency in Serbia
I interviewed Mr. Sekulovic (video below) on how to obtain residency in Serbia. The key takeaway is that obtaining residency in Serbia is easy, whether through real estate ownership or through company formation.
However, renewal is not easy. For example:
- Through real estate ownership: The government checks that you spend at least half of the approved residency period in Serbia. Then again, they are more lenient if you bought an expensive apartment in downtown Belgrade, than if you bought a cheap house in the countryside. There is no set rule.
- Through company formation: The government wants to see that you have a business that is actually creating value and that you are paying taxes. Same thing with minimum time spent on the ground; they can be more or less lenient. Generally, if you are a businessman and can demonstrate why you needed to spend X amount of time outside of the country, then you should get your renewal.
3. Such complexity is exactly why you need competent lawyers who know how the system works
I generally find lawyers that offer interesting prices. In this particular case, for Serbia, I found competent, but expensive lawyers. You can definitely find more affordable lawyers out there. However, because there is so much nuance, I would not want to cut corners.
If you are interested in obtaining residency in Serbia through either real estate ownership or company formation, feel free to get in touch with Mr. Sekulovic and his team using the form below. However, do note that they charge at least €3,300 for the process.