WORK PERMIT

With a work permit, a foreigner acquires the right to be employed or self-employed in Serbia.

Work permits are issued by the National Employment Service (NEA), i.e. its branches in cities in Serbia. The request for issuing a work permit can be submitted in person at the competent branch of the NEA, but also by mail or electronically via email. If you decide to submit the Request electronically, you can find more information about it on the official website of the NEA via this link.

In order to be able to get a work permit, you need to have an approved temporary residence or permanent residence in Serbia, or at least a valid Visa D issued for employment purposes. The fulfillment of this requirement is verified by the NEA.

There are two types of work permits in Serbia, namely (1) Personal work permit and (2) Work permit.

A work permit is issued as a work permit for:

Employment (with a specific employer and at a specific workplace);
Self-employment (for investors and entrepreneurs who plan to work in Serbia) and
For special cases of employment (work permit for referred persons, movement within the company, independent professionals and training and improvement).

Personal work permit

Having a Personal Work Permit allows a foreigner to:

to establish a working relationship with any employer (in contrast to the Work Permit for Employment, according to which you can only work for the employer and in the jobs specified in the permit),
is self-employed (this can also be achieved through a Work Permit for self-employment, but with certain restrictions),
to use unemployment rights, which is not possible with an ordinary work permit.
The main condition for applying for a Personal Work Permit is that you have a permanent residence permit in Serbia.

When submitting the Application for a Personal Work Permit, which you can find here, you will need to submit the following documents to the NEA:

A copy of your passport, or identity card if you have one;
Proof of payment of prescribed administrative fees. It usually costs around EUR 140.00 for both fees.
Upon submission of the Request and if the submitted documentation is appropriate and complete, the NEA will issue you a Personal Work Permit within 30 days from the date of submission of the Request and deliver it to your address.

The issued Personal Work Permit will be valid as long as you meet the conditions required for its issuance. So, it will cease to be valid if your permanent residence permit expires, but also if you continuously spend more than 6 months outside of Serbia.

Work permit for employment.

To qualify for this type of work permit, you need to hold a D Visa or a Temporary Resident Permit. This type of work permit is issued for the duration of the employment (if it is time-limited for a certain period of time), but in any case for the period for which your Visa D or Temporary Residence Permit was issued. This practically means that the Application for the extension of the work permit will have to be submitted every year, after the extension of the residence permit.

Also keep in mind that this Work Permit is issued based on a Request submitted by your employer, not you. On the basis of this Work Permit, you will be able to perform only those jobs for which it was issued and you will not be able to work for another employer, except for the employer at whose request this Work Permit was issued to you.

Given that this Work Permit is issued at the request of the employer, the employer is obliged to bear the costs of issuing the Work Permit and cannot transfer them to you as an employee.

Work permit for special cases of employment

A work permit for special cases of employment is issued for:

Referred persons, i.e. persons referred by their foreign employer to work temporarily in Serbia, e.g. on certain construction projects during their duration;
Movement within the company, e.g. if you work in a foreign company that has instructed you to temporarily perform tasks in a Serbian subsidiary company;
Independent professionals and
Training and development.
All these work permits are issued at the request of the Serbian employer, i.e. the person for whom you will work in Serbia (except for the Work Permit for Training and Development, which can also be issued at the request of a foreigner).

The period of validity of these work permits is limited to one year, i.e. to the period of validity of the issued Visa D or residence permit. In exceptional cases, certain types of these work permits can be extended for a period of up to a total of two years, if the prescribed conditions have been met.

What is the procedure in the case of INVESTORS AND ENTREPRENEURS who plan to work in Serbia?

The Republic of Serbia has enacted a number of regulations that provide incentives to foreigners who want to do business or invest in Serbia. One of these incentive measures is aimed at making it easier for foreign investors or entrepreneurs to obtain a residence and/or work permit.

Did you know that:

In Serbia, you can establish a company (company) and be appointed as a director regardless of the fact that you do not have a residence or work permit? However, if you plan to physically stay in Serbia for a long period of time, you will probably need to obtain a residence and work permit.

If you are a foreigner who does not need a visa to enter Serbia (you can check that here) and if your planned stay in Serbia is less than 90 days within a period of 180 days, there is no need to submit a request for approval of temporary stay. In that case, you do not even need a work permit if you have the status of owner or registered representative, i.e. director of a company registered in Serbia and if you are not employed in that company (e.g. if you have an Agreement on the Rights and Obligations of Directors which is not based on employment relationship, instead of a standard employment contract).