Application of the law can be complex and it is important to find valid answers to complex questions. Here you can find answers to the most frequently asked questions of employers.

Can a foreign citizen stay in Serbia for less than half of the time for which they were granted a single residence and work permit?

• When considering the mentioned legal situation, it is necessary to keep in mind that the request for the extension of temporary residence, i.e. single residence and work permit may be rejected if the previous stay in the Republic of Serbia was not used for the purpose for which it was granted. Namely, the Law on Foreign Citizens stipulates that a foreign citizen is obliged to stay in the Republic of Serbia in accordance with the basis for which their stay was granted. In addition, the same law stipulates that a foreign citizen who has been issued a single permit must reside in accordance with the basis for which it was issued. At the same time, in its penal provisions, the mentioned law prescribes a misdemeanour penalty for violating the said provisions. Therefore, when it comes to the absence from the country of a foreign citizen who has been granted a single permit, it is necessary to take care that the foreign citizen, when leaving the Republic of Serbia during the validity period of the approved single permit, is subject to the regulations determining the conditions for the movement and stay of foreign citizens. This is important considering that the question of justification may be raised to later extend a single permit to a foreign citizen who does not reside in the Republic of Serbia.

  Certainly, in the procedure initiated by the request for the extension of the single permit, the merits of each individual request are determined, including the existence of justification behind the reason for absence from the country.

For the purposes of submitting a request for the issuance of a single residence and work permit, what is meant by the form of an electronic document in the original or in the form of a digitalized document?

• The terms of electronic document and digitalized document are defined by the Law on Electronic Document, Electronic Identification and Trust Services in Electronic Business. In this regard, an electronic document would represent a set of appropriate data, originally created in electronic form. On the other hand, a digitalized document implies a document that was created by digitalizing original documents, i.e. a document that was created by converting a document from a non-electronic to an electronic form (e.g. a scanned document in PDF format).

How is a document digitalized according to the Rulebook on Work Permits?

• On the day of beginning of the application of the Rulebook on Issuing Single Temporary Residence and Work Permits for Foreign Citizens, the Rulebook on Work Permits ceased to be valid. However, the transitional and final provisions stipulate that a foreign citizen who, in accordance with the regulations that were in force until the beginning of the application of the new rulebook, was granted temporary residence, shall obtain a work permit in accordance with the regulations that were in force at the time of the approved temporary residence. Given the above, in the described situation the employer will be obliged to submit an application for the issuance of a work permit, in accordance with the Rulebook on Work Permits ("Official Gazette of the RS", nos. 63/18 and 56/19) which was in force at the time of the approved temporary residence. Since the procedure for issuing work permits was not digitalized, the Rulebook on Work Permits did not prescribe the digitalization of documentation.

Who has the obligation to keep the original paper document and the digitalized document (the applicant or the employer) and for what period?

• The Law on the Employment of Foreign Citizens defines the term employer as a legal entity or natural person registered for the performance of activities in the Republic of Serbia, as well as the branch and representative office of a foreign employer registered for the performance of activities in the Republic of Serbia, where a foreign citizen is employed, hired or referred to temporary work in the Republic of Serbia. The provision of Article 9, Paragraph 6 of the mentioned Law prescribes that the employer keeps evidence of the fulfilment of the conditions for employment, i.e. temporary employment of a foreign citizen. Therefore, the employer has the obligation to keep documentation that proves the fulfilment of the conditions for employment of a foreign citizen even in a situation where the applicant for the issuance of a single permit is the foreign citizen. At the same time, an example is highlighted, that it is sufficient to keep certain evidence, such as an employment contract, at the employer's headquarters. On the other hand, if the foreign citizen works in premises outside the employer's headquarters, it is preferable to keep some evidence in those premises as well, such as Form 06 - Record of employees qualified for safe and healthy work, which is prescribed by the Rulebook on Records in the Area of ​​Safety and Health at Work ("Official Gazette of the RS", nos. 62/07 and 102/15).

In a situation where the applicant for the issuance of a single residence and work permit is an agency for temporary employment, who submits the application for the implementation of the labour market test - the temporary employment agency or the user employer?

• The request for conducting the labour market test, in accordance with the Law on the Employment of Foreign Citizens, is submitted by the employer or a legal entity or natural person authorized by the employer. Bearing in mind the mentioned legal provision as well as the fact that the foreign citizen establishes an employment relationship with the agency, and not with the user employer, the labour market test is carried out based on the request of the agency for temporary employment.

Are there any obligations of the employer towards the referred foreign citizen for whom, in accordance with the exception prescribed by the Law on the Employment of Foreign Citizens, it is not necessary to obtain a single permit?

• The Law on the Employment of Foreign Citizens stipulates that a foreign citizen whose stay in the Republic of Serbia does not last longer than 90 days in a period of 180 days, counting from the day of first entry, i.e. longer than the prescribed period of stay in accordance with the international agreement, exercises the right to work in the Republic Serbia in the specified period without being issued a single permit, namely a foreign citizen who is a referred person performing work in the Republic of Serbia on the basis of a contract for the procurement of goods, procurement or rental of machinery or equipment, its delivery, installation, assembly, repair or training for working on such machinery or equipment. Therefore, in order to apply the exception from the obligation to obtain a single residence and work permit, it is necessary to have a contract between the foreign employer (where the referred foreign citizen is employed) and the domestic business entity that provides the service of delivery, installation, assembly, repairs or training for working on equipment, as well as that the stay of a foreign citizen, who is referred to the Republic of Serbia, does not last longer than 90 days in a period of 180 days, counting from the day of first entry. On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that despite the prescribed exception from the obligation to obtain a single permit, the aforementioned does not exclude the obligation of the domestic business entity from the application of all prescribed safety and health at work measures, regardless of the period of stay of the foreign citizen and their status as a referred person.