Conditions and procedures for acquiring Serbian citizenship differ a lot considering the basis on which a person wishes to obtain citizenship. Conditions and procedures related to getting the citizenship in Serbia are regulated by Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia.
Person that does not have a citizenship of the Republic of Serbia is considered as a foreigner and consequently, has a different legal status in comparison to Serbian citizens and therefore different rights and regulations.
In case that Serbian citizen also holds a citizenship of another country, she/he is considered as a Serbian citizen while she/he is at the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
Types of Serbian citizenship and how to get it
Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia can be gained:
- by birth;
- by descent/origin;
- by admission;
- under international agreements.
Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by birth
A person born at the territory of the Republic of Serbia acquires a Serbian citizenship if:
- both parents are unknown;
- both parents are of unknown citizenship;
- both parents are stateless;
- or a person born in Serbia is stateless.
Therefore, the procedure of acquiring the citizenship by birth at the territory of Serbia is automatic, if some of the above-mentioned conditions are fulfilled. However, this person loses the citizenship of Serbia if:
- before reaching the age of 18, it is established that both parents are foreign citizens, and
- parents submit the request for cessation of citizenship.
In this case a citizenship ceases on the date the decision is delivered.
Obtaining Serbian citizenship by descent/origin
The citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by descent is acquired by a child:
- whose both parents are citizens of the Republic of Serbia at the time of the child’s birth;
- whose one parent is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at the time of the child’s birth and the child is born on the territory of the Republic of Serbia;
- born abroad, but:
- whose one parent is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at the time of the child’s birth and
- the other parent is unknown, of unknown citizenship, or stateless.
In case that the child is born outside the territory of the Republic of Serbia, it can gain Serbian citizenship in case that:
- one of the parents has Serbian citizenship;
- that parent registers the child as a citizen of the Republic of Serbia with the competent diplomatic or consular mission of the Republic of Serbia before the child turns 18;
- that parent submits a request for the child’s registration in the citizenship records to the competent authority in the Republic of Serbia.
In case that a person is older than 18 years, than the Serbian citizenship may be acquired by submitting the request up to the age of 23.
Acquiring Serbian citizenship by admission
Serbian citizenship may be gained by admission on multiple basis. In following text, we will explain some of the most common basis for obtaining Serbian citizenship by admission.
Getting Serbian citizenship through naturalization
One of the ways of obtaining Serbian citizenship by admission is by so called „naturalization process“. Namely, a foreigner who has been granted a permanent residence in Serbia may apply for obtaining Serbian citizenship.
Conditions that must be fulfilled are:
- the foreigner is not younger than 18 years;
- he/she has not been deprived from legal capacity;
- he/she holds a release from their current citizenship or provides proof that they will obtain such a release if granted citizenship of the Republic of Serbia;
- he/she has had uninterrupted registered residence on the territory of the Republic of Serbia for at least three years before submitting the request;
- he/she submits a written declaration stating that they consider the Republic of Serbia their country.
If the country from which a foreigner comes does not permit release from citizenship or imposes conditions that the applicant cannot meet, then the requirement regarding the releasement from citizenship will not apply if the applicant submits a declaration renouncing their foreign citizenship upon acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Serbia.
Request for obtaining Serbian citizenship is submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The request may be submitted also via legal representative, i.e. attorney at law based on issued power of attorney.
For getting admitted to Serbian citizenship it is useful to have a knowledge of Serbian language, even though it is not a condition for obtaining citizenship prescribed by law. Submitting additional proofs that a foreigner finds himself/herself connected with Serbian culture can be one of the additional positive reasons for granting Serbian citizenship.
Admission to Serbian citizenship based on marriage
A foreign national can also apply for obtaining Serbian citizenship if he/she has been in marriage with Serbian citizen. Important condition are:
- duration of the marriage has to be at least three years;
- a foreigner has to have a granted permanent residence.
If those two conditions are met then the foreigner only needs to submit a written statement that they consider the Republic of Serbia their country, in order to be admitted to Serbian citizenship.
Granting citizenship to the emigrant from Serbia
Having in mind a massive migration of population from Serbia to foreign countries that has happened in past, Serbian regulations recognized the importance of this situation and prescribed the possibility for those group of people to be admitted to Serbian citizenship.
Serbian regulation considers an emigrant as a person who has left the Republic of Serbia with the intention of permanently residing abroad. Therefore, an emigrant needs to submit the proof of emigration, i.e. the fact that the applicant or even his/her ancestors have emigrated to another country with intention to live there.
Depending on the concrete circumstances of the case, such proof can be:
- emigration visa;
- travel document;
- proof from a foreign authority regarding immigration to a foreign country.
Therefore, it is necessary to submit document that indicates and proves emigration from the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
Along with this proof, emigrant needs to fulfill these conditions:
- applicant is at least 18 years old;
- applicant has not been deprived of legal capacity;
- submission of a written declaration stating that they consider the Republic of Serbia their country.
The request for applying to Serbian citizenship in this case can also be submitted by attorney at law, which would ease the whole process and make the procedure much less time – consuming.
Admitting to Serbian citizenship a member of Serbian nation living abroad
A person who does not have residence in the territory of the Republic of Serbia has the right to be granted citizenship of the Republic of Serbia without renouncing their foreign citizenship, provided that:
- he/she declares as a Serbian national,
- he/she is at least 18 years old,
- he/she has not been deprived of legal capacity,
- he/she submits a written declaration stating that they consider the Republic of Serbia their country.
Regarding the first condition – that applicant declares as Serbian national, it is necessary to submit public document from which it is visible that applicant or their ancestor has declared themselves as a member of Serbian nation.
Acquiring Serbian citizenship under relaxed conditions
Serbian citizenship may be obtained by foreign national without fulfillment of specific conditions, if their acquisition of Serbian citizenship is deemed to be in the interest of the Republic of Serbia.
Those are very specific cases where the determining factor and condition for getting Serbian citizenship is actually the interest of the Republic of Serbia to admit a foreign national to the citizenship. In this case, on the admission to the citizenship decides a Government of the Republic of Serbia.
Procedure for acquiring Serbian citizenship
Depending on the grounds on which the request for admission to Serbian citizenship is submitted there is a list of documentation that needs to be submitted.
Needed documentation
As mentioned above, there are different specific grounds based on which a request for admission to Serbian citizenship may be submitted. Therefore, documentation that needs to be submitted with each request, depending of the grounds, is different. However, there is a list of documents that needs to be submitted together with the request in case of:
- foreign national (naturalization) having approved permanent residence;
- emigrant from Serbia;
- a member of Serbian nation living abroad.
In those cases, there are a common documents that need to be submitted are:
- birth certificate (for applicants born abroad, the original birth certificate from the country of birth must be submitted);
- marriage certificate;
- proof of payment of administrative fee.
Of course, in each case applicant is obliged to submit additional documentation proving the basis and fulfillment of conditions for getting Serbian citizenship. Thus, in the case of submitting an application for acquiring Serbian citizenship by an emigrant, it is necessary to provide proof of emigration, i.e., evidence that the applicant or their ancestors moved from Serbia to a foreign country with the intention of residing there. Such evidence can be provided in different forms, as:
- a copy of the emigration visa;
- a travel document;
- proof from a foreign authority regarding immigration to a foreign country;
- a statement from the applicant regarding the circumstances of emigration for themselves or their ancestors; or
- any other evidence indicating emigration from the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
Document translation
In case that some of the documents that are submitted along with request for admission to Serbian citizenship are issued by authorities of another country and on foreign language, then those documents should be translated into Serbian language. Translation is done by sworn court translator.
Also, in order to submit public documents issued by authorities in foreign country, to Serbian authority deciding on request for obtaining Serbian citizenship, it is important to check whether legalization of documents should be done.
Administrative fee
Along with all necessary documents it is obligatory to submit also the proof of payment of administrative fee. A payment receipt is generated on the eGovernment portal.
FAQ about Serbian citizenship
Yes, in some cases. For example, in case of obtaining Serbian citizenship as an emigrant, it is not necessary for the applicant to renounce their current citizenship. Also, this is the case when getting Serbian citizenship as a Serbian national, living abroad.
Each basis for applying for citizenship is strictly different and so the procedure and requested documents differ. In order to be sure that you have all necessary documentation before applying, feel free to contact us in order to get full legal assistance which will ease this process for you.
Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia can be terminated by:
1. Release;
2. Renunciation;
3. In accordance with international agreements.
Conclusion on gaining citizenship of the Republic of Serbia
As it can be seen from the text, the procedure for acquiring Serbian citizenship can be quite complex and time – consuming. There are certain conditions that must be meet in order to fulfill the requirements for obtaining Serbian citizenship. Along with that applicant must submit written documents as proofs of conditions specified in law.
Our law firm provides full scope of legal services in this process and we are here to guide and assist you throughout the whole process.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need additional information regarding the topic in question, please feel free to contact us by email at office@ncrlawyers.com or by phone at +381677049551.
