The unified residence and work permit
Rather than obtaining residence and then separately obtaining work authorisation, applicants now deal with one combined permit covering both. The application runs through the government portal alongside the employer's part of the file.
The practical effect is fewer appointments and less duplicated documentation. The trade-off is that your right to reside and your right to work now sit in the same instrument, so anything that affects one affects the other.
Employer-sponsored versus your own business
Where a Serbian employer hires you, the employer carries much of the administrative load and the permit is tied to that employment. This is the lightest route for the individual and the most constrained.
Where you register your own company or sole proprietorship, you are not an employee being sponsored. The business itself is the ground for your status. More setup and more ongoing obligation, considerably more independence. Which is better depends entirely on whether you have an employer or clients.
The labour market test, and when it applies
Serbian law contemplates checking whether a role could be filled domestically before authorising a foreign hire. Whether this applies depends on the category of permit and the role.
Where it applies it is the employer's obligation, not yours, but it affects your timeline. If an employer is vague about where your application has reached, this is frequently what it is waiting on.
Changing employers without losing your status
Because the permit is tied to the employment that grounded it, leaving that job puts the permit in question. It does not evaporate the moment you resign, but it is not portable in the way a permanent residence status would be.
The correct sequence is to have the new position's paperwork in progress before ending the current one. Resigning first and sorting the permit afterwards is the version of this that goes wrong, and it goes wrong in a way that can cost you your continuity toward permanent residence.
Documents required
- Passport
- Employment contract or job offer
- Employer's registration documents
- Evidence of qualifications, where the role requires them
- Address registration
- Health insurance
- Criminal record certificate, apostilled and translated
What it costs
| Unified permit application | €450 |
|---|---|
| Employer-side handlingWe act for employers as well as individuals | €350 |
| Change of employer | €450 |
Frequently asked questions
Foreign nationals need work authorisation, which for employees is issued together with residence as a unified permit. Owning and running your own registered business is a different arrangement.
Employment-based authorisation requires an employer. Without one, the route is to register your own business and obtain residence on that ground.
The permit was granted on the basis of that employment, so losing the job puts your status at risk. Act quickly. The options are wider in the first weeks than later.
Commonly this is structured through your own Serbian registered business invoicing the foreign client, rather than through an employment permit.
Family reunification residence and the right to work are not the same thing. Check the specific permit conditions rather than assuming one implies the other.
When this is not the right route for you
- You want a work permit without an employer and without registering a business.
- You are already working here without authorisation and want that regularised retroactively. It needs addressing, but not by pretending it did not happen.
- Your employer will not participate in the process. Their part cannot be done by you.
This page is general information about Serbian procedure, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and fees change. Confirm anything time-sensitive with us or another qualified adviser before acting on it.