Immigration law
In the last few years, Serbia has become an increasingly popular destination for Turkish citizens. The reason for this is the well-developed labor market in Serbia, as well as the visa-free regime that allows citizens of Turkey to enter Serbia without a visa and thus facilitates settling in Serbia.
Citizens of Turkey can enter and stay in Serbia for a period of 90 days within 180 days without any restrictions.
Therefore, citizens of Turkey can stay in Serbia for a short time without any difficulties.
The temporary residence regime for citizens of Turkey does not differ from citizens of other countries. In our previous blog, we wrote in detail about the possibilities for acquiring temporary residence in Serbia. In this blog, we will cover in detail only two basics, namely: self-employment and employment.
Temporary residence and a work permit in Serbia have specific conditions, procedures and administrative requirements that are sometimes difficult to correctly understand and fulfil without legal assistance. If you want your application to be properly prepared and to increase the chances of successful approval, our team of immigration lawyers can help you through every step of the process.
By the term self-employment we mean a type of employment where a natural person, in this particular case a foreigner, establishes a company in the Republic of Serbia and thereby acquires the basis for legal residence and obtaining a work permit.
Self-employment exists in one of two cases:
We have detailed the process of establishing an entrepreneurial business in our previous blogs.
Citizens of Turkey can establish a business in Serbia under the same conditions as citizens of Serbia.
When registering with the Agency for Business Registers, an entrepreneur can choose one of three ways of taxation:
1. Lump sum taxation
Flat rate taxation is a method of taxing entrepreneurs, where the monthly amount of taxes and contributions is fixed in advance and does not vary in relation to the monthly turnover of the entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs very often opt for this type, since it does not require keeping books, and it represents a significant saving in the form of bookkeeping services.
Entrepreneurs who have a turnover during the calendar year of up to 6 million dinars can opt for this type of taxation.
2. Entrepreneur on payment of personal salary
Self-taxation is the second method of taxation for entrepreneurs, and it can be applied either with or without payment of the entrepreneur's personal salary.
If you opt for self-taxation, you will be required to keep business books, hire an accountant, and justify all expenses the company incurs during the business year.
All entrepreneurs with income between 6,000,000 RSD and 8,000,000 RSD are obliged to apply this method of taxation, except in the case when they decide to register for VAT.
3. VAT registration of entrepreneurs
The last taxation model in Serbia is VAT registration, where the entrepreneur pays value added tax on the profit they generate.
The advantage of this taxation method is that it allows the entrepreneur to reclaim VAT on all goods and services required for your company's operations.
All entrepreneurs who earn income exceeding 8,000,000 dinars within a 12-month period are required to opt for this method of taxation. In addition, any other entrepreneurs may also choose this method of taxation if they wish.
Since we have presented all the details related to the establishment of a limited liability company in our previous blog, we won't go into that topic in detail here, but you can find all the details on the blog.
After arriving in Serbia and establishing the basis for temporary residence, citizens of Turkey apply for temporary residence through the Welcome to Serbia portal.
The procedure for obtaining a temporary residence permit and a work permit usually takes about a month and a half, depending on where the application for the temporary residence permit was submitted.
For example, the waiting period is significantly longer in Belgrade compared to other cities, since there are the most requests there.
The positive side is that after submitting a request for temporary residence, a foreigner can stay in Serbia until a decision is made on the request.
The duration of temporary residence is the same for citizens of Turkey as for other persons in Serbia and it is three years and can be extended.
The administrative fee for temporary residence is about 22,000 dinars and is paid via the link when submitting a request for temporary residence.
Once the temporary residence application is approved, you will receive a notification via eSanduče (electronic mailbox) regarding the date for providing biometric data for your foreigner’s card.
Within 7 days after submitting biometric data, the police department issues the biometric foreigner’s card.
Obtaining of temporary residence in Serbia in 2026 can be a straightforward process if you prepare in time and have the correct documentation. Whether you are coming for work, studies, family reunification, or property ownership,it is essential to understand the rules, procedures, and deadlines to avoid unnecessary obstacles.
Although the process has been digitized and part of the application is completed online, many applicants face legal and administrative challenges,especially in cases of more complex residence grounds. For this reason, it is always advisable to consult an experienced lawyer for immigration law who can ensure that your application is correctly submitted and prevent potential rejection.
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