December 04, 2008

Law on Foreign Nationals

The new Law on Foreign Nationals was adopted by the National Assembly on October 23, 2008 and was published in the Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia no. 97 on October 27, 2008 (hereinafter the “Law”). Pursuant to Article 92, the Law shall take effect on April 1, 2009.

The Law regulates the conditions of entrance, movement, and residence of foreign nationals within the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter the "RS"), as well as the competence and the activities of the state authorities in that respect. Pursuant to the Law, a foreign national is obliged to act in compliance with laws and regulations of the RS during his/her stay in the RS.                             

Under Article 8 of the Law a foreign national is required to allow a border control at the point of his/her entrance into the RS. In accordance with the Law, the entrance into RS and residence of foreign nationals in the RS may be subject to visa requirement; however, subject to international treaty or a decision rendered by the Government, citizens of certain countries may visit the RS without any visa. The Law also provides for the Government to decide whether citizens of certain countries may enter the RS with other valid IDs in lieu of passports. Furthermore, a foreign national who has obtained a type C visa (whether for tourism, business or other purposes of travel, whether for one or multiple entrances into the RS), and a foreign national who does not need to obtain an entrance visa prior to his/her visit, or does not need to present his/her passport to the border police, may reside in the RS, continuously, or with interruptions, up to 90 days in the period of 6 months counting as of the day of his/her first arrival in the RS.

Pursuant to Article 13 of the Law, a foreign national may be temporarily prevented from leaving the RS if: he/she owns an invalid, untrue or someone else's passport or other document of identification; he/she does not have a visa necessary for entering another country (in cases of transit); or there is a justified doubt that by leaving the RS the foreign national shall avoid to appear in a criminal or other court case, imprisonment, execution of a court order, or execution of outstanding a financial or legal obligation, all pursuant to some court order.

The new Law recognizes four types of visas: an airport transit visa (visa A), a transit visa (visa B); a temporary stay visa (visa C), and a temporary residence visa (visa D). The new Law does not mention term "business visa"; therefore, it is not clear whether the category of business visa for foreign nationals registered as representatives of domestic companies with the Agency for Commercial Entities will cease to exist, or whether it will be later implemented through some amendments to the new Law, or through amendments to other existing laws or regulation.

Registration of residence and change of residence address in the RS

Pursuant to the Law, all legal and physical persons accommodating foreign nationals for compensation, as well as persons who are privately visited by foreign nationals, are obliged to report the stay of a foreign national within 24 hours as of the arrival of the foreign national in the RS. The change of residence address of the foreign national in the RS must also be reported to the local police station within 24 hours as of the change of the residence address in the RS. Before departing the RS, the foreign national is obliged to register the departure with the local police station.

Temporary residence permit

A foreign national, who intends to reside in the RS for longer than 90 days, is obliged to apply for a temporary residence permit (visa D). The temporary residence permit is granted to foreign nationals: (i) who intend to work, be employed, perform commercial or other professional activity; (ii) who intend to reside in the RS during their education or specialization, scientific work, practical training, participation in international exchange programs, or other scientific or educational activities in the territory of the RS; (iii) family reunion; and (iv) for other justified reasons in compliance with law or some international treaty.

A foreign national shall be granted a residence permit provided that he/she meets the following criteria: (i) has enough funds to support the stay in the RS; (ii) has health insurance; (iii) has sufficient evidence to support the application for the temporary residence permit requested. The temporary residence permit may be granted for a period of up to one year and may be extended for the same period of time. It is important to note that the new Law contains a provision, which did not exist in the old Law, on movement and residence of foreign nationals. Namely, a request for extension of the residence permit must be submitted at the latest 30 days prior to the expiration of the valid temporary residence permit. Another important provision of the new Law is that the passport of the foreign national, applying for temporary residence permit, must be valid at least 6 months longer than the requested temporary residence permit.

Permanent residence permit

A foreign national shall be granted a permanent residence permit under the following conditions: a continuous temporary residence permit for at least five years; a marriage of more than three year duration with a citizen of the RS, or a foreign national with permanent residence permit in the RS; if a minor has temporary residence in the RS and one of the parents is a citizen of the RS or a foreign national with permanent residence permit, provided that the other parent has granted his/her consent.

Penalty provisions

The penalty provisions of the Law stipulate that a fine in the amount between RSD 6,000 and RSD 30,000 shall be imposed on a foreign national who resides in the RS contrary to the reasons for which his/her visa has been issued or for which his/her residence permit has been granted. Furthermore, a fine in the amount between RSD 3,000 and RSD 15,000 shall be imposed on a foreign national who does not submit a request for the renewal of the temporary residence permit at least 30 days before the expiration of the old temporary residence permit and if the foreign national does not report the residence address and change of the address within 24 hours as of the arrival, and as of the day of change of address, respectively.

Final provisions

Pursuant to Article 88 of the Law, all requests submitted before the effective date of the Law, i.e. April 1, 2009, will be processed pursuant to the Law on Movement and Residence of Foreign Nationals, except in cases when it is more favorable for the foreign national that the request is processed in accordance with the provisions of the new Law. Moreover, a foreign national who has been granted a temporary or a permanent residence permit prior to the day when the new Law becomes effective shall keep that status provided that the foreign national meets the requirements stipulated under the new Law.