Your first step to understanding moving to Serbia

Almost everyone who moves to Serbia follows the same simple legal path: you arrive, you register where you're staying, and — if you want to stay longer than 90 days — you get a residence permit on some basis (work, freelancing, family, study, or property). That's the whole journey. This page walks you through it in order.

Step 1 — You can arrive and stay 90 days with no visa

Citizens of most Western countries (the EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia and many more) don't need a visa to enter Serbia. You can stay up to 90 days within any 180-day period, counted from the day you first arrive.

The exact visa-free length depends on your nationality and the agreement between your country and Serbia, so always check your own passport's rules. If you do need a visa, you'll apply for a long-stay "D visa" before travelling — but most of our readers don't need one.

Step 2 — Register where you're staying (the "White Card")

This is the step people most often get wrong. Within 24 hours of arriving, the address where you're staying must be registered with the police. This registration is what people call the White Card (in Serbian, prijava boravišta).

It matters because you'll need a valid White Card later to apply for residence, register as a freelancer, or open a bank account. Skipping it can mean fines (which run from a few thousand dinars up to 150,000 RSD) and headaches down the line.

→ Full details: The White Card in Serbia, explained.

Step 3 — To stay past 90 days, get temporary residence

If you want to live in Serbia rather than just visit, you apply for temporary residence (privremeni boravak) before your 90 days run out. You apply on a specific basis — the most common ones are:

• Work or freelancing — employment by a Serbian company, or self-employment (e.g. registering as a paušalac freelancer)
• Family — being married to, or a close relative of, a Serbian citizen or resident
• Property ownership — owning a home in Serbia
• Study — enrolling at a Serbian university or school

Since changes that took effect in 2024, a temporary residence permit can now be issued for up to 3 years at a time (it used to be just one year), and it's renewable. That's a big quality-of-life improvement — far fewer trips back to the counter.

→ Full breakdown of every pathway: How to stay in Serbia legally.

Step 4 — If you'll work or freelance: the Single Permit + paušalac

This is where most remote workers and freelancers land, so it's worth understanding the two separate things involved:

• The Single Permit (jedinstvena dozvola) — since February 2024, your right to live and work in Serbia is handled in one combined permit instead of two separate ones. You no longer get a residence permit first and a work permit second — it's a single application, made online through the government's Foreigners Portal, valid for up to 3 years.
• Paušalac — this is your tax status, not your immigration status. It's a simple flat-rate self-employment registration where you pay a fixed, low monthly tax. It's also the legal basis many freelancers use for their residence.

In plain terms: the Single Permit lets you stay and work; paušalac is how you're taxed while you do. They're handled together when you set things up properly.

→ Learn more: Working remotely from Serbia and the paušalac freelancer tax explained.

The typical path, start to finish

After a few years — permanent residence

Once you've held temporary residence continuously for 3 years (reduced from 5 under the 2024 changes), you can apply for permanent residence (stalno nastanjenje). That removes the need to renew and puts you on the long-term path. Time spent purely as a student counts only partially toward this.

Where people get stuck — and why a lawyer helps

None of these steps are dramatic on their own, but the order matters, the deadlines are short (24 hours, 90 days), the rules changed recently, and the official process is in Serbian. The most common mistakes are missing the White Card, choosing the wrong basis for residence, or applying too late.

That's exactly what Marko does every day — he's a Belgrade lawyer who handles White Card, residence, the Single Permit and paušalac registration for foreigners, in fluent English and at local Serbian prices. He'll tell you the right path for your situation before you spend money on the wrong one.

This overview reflects Serbia's Law on Foreigners as amended in 2023 (in force from February 2024). It's general guidance, not legal advice — always confirm your specific case with a licensed professional.

Common questions