A foreign national is any person who does not hold the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia.

Law on Foreign Nationals  ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", No. 24 of 26 March 2018, 31 of 29 April 2019 and 62/2023 of 28 July 2023) (Word, PDF)

The law governs the conditions for entry, movement, residence and return of foreign nationals, as well as the competence and affairs of state administrative bodies of the Republic of Serbia with regards to entry, movement and residence of foreign nationals in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. (Subordinate legislation...)

Registration of a foreign national’s short-term residence address (Form 1)

A foreign national’s short-term residence address shall either be registered at a 24/7 police station in whose territory the address of a foreign national’s accommodation is located or in a regional police directorate, i.e., organizational unit that conducts activities regarding the movement and temporary residence of foreign nationals (more ... ) or by eGovernment portal.

Change of residential address

A foreign national’s residential address shall be changed by the competent authority in whose territory a foreign national's new residential address is located by registering the change of a foreign national's residential address (Form 2).

Change of a foreign national’s permanent residence address

The change of permanent residence address is registered in the Change of Permanent Residence Address Registration Form (Form 3) issued by the competent authority in whose territory the new permanent residence address of a foreign national is located followed by a certified written consent of either a real estate owner or a person authorized by the owner.

A foreign national in the Republic of Serbia may hold a:

• short-term residence
• residence based on a long-stay visa
• temporary residence (up to one year also called ‘definite leave to remain’)
• permanent residence (‘indefinite leave to remain’)

Short-term residence

means a residence without requiring a visa and as such it lasts for up to 90 days in any 180- day period counting from the day of the first entry, unless otherwise agreed in an international agreement, as well as a residence based on an issued short-term residence visa.

Long-stay visa

means an approval for both entry and residence in the territory of the Republic of Serbia for a period between 90 and 180 days issued to a foreign national who requires a visa in accordance with the visa regime for entry into the Republic of Serbia and who intends to apply for a temporary residence in the Republic of Serbia.

Temporary residence

means a temporary residence of a foreign national in the Republic of Serbia and may be granted to a foreign national who intends to reside in the Republic of Serbia for a period longer than 90 days within a 180-day period, longer than a residence period envisaged in the international agreement, i.e., longer than the period for which a long-stay visa is issued, unless otherwise prescribed by law (more ...)

Permanent residence (‘settling or an indefinite leave to remain’)

is an approval of a long-term residence to a foreign national in the Republic of Serbia. The application for permanent residence shall be submitted to the competent authority in person by a foreign national on the prescribed application form in a territory where a foreign national had been granted temporary residence in the Republic of Serbia (more ... )