Modern life is very dynamic and it happens that plans change. Procedures for regulating residence in Serbia are designed to meet life needs and enable you to stay in Serbia for a long time and to your satisfaction.
The visa regime of the Republic of Serbia is complex and depending on your citizenship, you may need a visa to stay in Serbia or you may be able to immediately apply for a temporary residence permit, i.e. a single residence and work permit, if you plan to get a job. Use the Guide to Entry, Visas and Residence to learn about the visa rules that apply to you.
In the continuation, we will deal with situations of changing the residence basis in relation to how residence in Serbia is regulated.
If you need a visa for a longer stay, visa D, you can stay in Serbia with it for up to 180 days. If you want to extend your stay, you need to submit a request for a temporary residence. If you submit an application for temporary residence, i.e. a single residence and work permit, on the basis of the visa D with which you are staying in the country, it is necessary that the purpose of stay on the basis of which you apply for temporary residence is the same as the purpose on the basis of which you received the visa D.
Here is a life example that will illustrate the situation we are describing:
For example, a foreign citizen obtained a visa D based on the purpose of family reunification, because they came to live with their extramarital partner in Serbia. In the meantime, the foreign citizen broke off the extramarital union, but found a job and still wants to stay in Serbia. In this case, the foreign citizen is obliged to leave Serbia upon expiration of the visa D and submit a new application for a visa D on the basis of employment at one of the diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Serbia.
What if a foreign citizen got a visa D based on employment, but wants to change employers - can they apply for a temporary residence or do they need a new visa D?
If you have a valid temporary residence permit, and you want to extend it, it is possible to obtain a new temporary residence permit based on a changed, new residence purpose. It is important that you obtain the appropriate documentation that supports the new basis of your stay and submit a new application.
If you happen to find yourself in a specific life situation that we have not foreseen in this text, we suggest that you contact the competent authorities for the affairs of foreign citizens within the police department of the Ministry of the Interior, according to the place of registration of your address of residence or stay in the Republic of Serbia. The list of addresses and phone numbers, as well as e-mail addresses of the regional police administrations of the Ministry of the Interior responsible for the affairs of foreign citizens can be found here.
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