Opening a business company in Serbia offers a number of advantages. You can gain direct access to the European markets and do business in a low-tax country where you can find all sorts of benefits available to beginner entrepreneurs. The competition in the business sector is not too tough in Serbia and the costs of launching a company are low in the country. Wherever you come from, you are welcome to start a new company in Serbia or move your existing company there. Business activities are regulated by the Commercial Companies Act in Serbia.
The owner of a Serbian-based company is eligible for a temporary residence permit that allows staying in the country for a long period. After a few years, you can apply for a permanent residence permit and citizenship of Serbia. The country intends to join the EU in 2025, which will make you an EU citizen if you acquire a passport of Serbia. Below we discuss how you can establish a company in the country and acquire legal residence there.
Advantages of registering a company in Serbia
By starting a company in Serbia, you can become a legal resident of the country and hopefully a citizen of the EU in the future. Other reasons for opening a company in Serbia include the following ones:
- A strategic geographical location of Serbia in the middle of Europe will solve many logistic issues.
- The taxes are low: 15% for corporate entities and sole proprietors.
- The salaries are also low in Serbia in comparison to other European countries. According to the official statistics for 2022, the average salary was 983 EUR before taxes in Serbia.
- Free Trade Zones found in the country allow importing and exporting goods without paying customs duties.
- The company maintenance costs are also low in Serbia: renting an office in Belgrade will cost you 200 EUR per month or a bit more and a high-speed Internet connection will come at 10 to 20 EUR per month.
- Commercial companies enjoy full government support in Serbia. There are bonuses for employers, tax incentives are available, loans can be acquired at low interest rates, and the Economic Development Agency offers free training programs and consultations.
How a non-resident can start a company in Serbia
A foreign national is entitled to open a company and a bank account in Serbia. However, a foreigner will have to submit a few more documents in comparison to a Serbian citizen. The latter has to submit his or her identification number (similar to the social security number in many countries) and that will be enough. A non-resident will have to supply his/ or her passport number and other passport details. Besides, the application documents will have to be translated into Serbian and translations legalized.
Any foreign entrepreneur interested in making a profit can invest into creating a Serbian company. The company shall be engaged in legal business activities only and act in accordance with the law. You can choose the business area that you can work in from the list of such areas available at the Registrar’s office.
The procedure of registering a company in Serbia
Before you launch a company in Serbia, you have to come up with a business idea, turn it in your head, do market research, and preferably develop a detailed business plan. When you are through with the preparatory stage, you will have to go through the following company formation stages in Serbia:
- Choose the company name and the business area
Your company name has to be unique. You can reserve a possible company name for two months and continue the company registration process. Then you have to decide what business area your company is going to work in. This will largely determine the form of company ownership that suits your purposes. - Preparation for company registration
You have to prepare the information about the company name, address, main business areas, company founders, and charter capital and then put the information on paper. You have to rent a company office (and a manufacturing facility if applicable) before you can apply for company registration in Serbia. - Open a bank account
If you register an LLC in Serbia, you will have to deposit the registered capital (1 euro minimum), which means that you need a bank account. Besides, you cannot do any business if you don’t have a corporate bank account unless yours is a holding company. - Preparation of application documents
You have to supply your ID, a state duty receipt, the license (if applicable), and other application documents that are required. You’d better seek professional advice to find out what application documents are required in your particular case. - Company registration
You have to fill out an application form for company registration in Serbia. You can apply to the Company Register in person while in Serbia, hire a trusted agent in the country (a proxy will be required in this case), or file the application online. Please note that not all types of companies can be established remotely in Serbia. You can also authorize the Registrar to register your company with the fiscal service and obtain a taxpayer number for you. Besides, your company is going to be registered under a certain number by default. You can learn your company number by contacting the Republican Statistics Institute. - Registration with the fiscal service
You do not have to register with the fiscal authorities instantly: the deadline is 15 days from the date of company formation. Thus, you can postpone registering with the fiscal service and do it yourself at a later point in time.
Legal residence in Serbia and citizenship of the country for foreign company founders
Most nationalities enjoy visa-free entry to Serbia and thus they don’t have to apply for business visas if they want to open companies in the country. Please inquire with professionals if your home country is among the lucky ones.
Even if a foreign national is the owner of a company registered in Serbia, he or she will have to inform the police authorities about his/ her residential address when arriving to the country. After that, the foreigner can apply for a residence permit as a company owner. The processing takes up to 30 days and the permit is valid for 1 year. It can be extended for another year afterwards unless you sell or liquidate your company.
A foreign national who has lived in Serbia for 5 consecutive years on a temporary residence permit is entitled to apply for a permanent residence permit when the 5 years elapse. When you hold a permanent residence permit, you can leave and re-enter Serbia often but you cannot stay away from the country for more than 6 consecutive months if you want to keep your residence permit. The Serbian Citizenship Act allows foreign nationals who have been permanent residents of the country for more than three years to apply for citizenship of the country. The application processing takes about a year.
To conclude, foreign company founders qualify for legal residence in Serbia and then citizenship of the country. If nothing goes wrong and Serbia joins the EU in a couple of years, this opportunity will become especially attractive. On the other hand, if you wait for too long, the conditions may change. The time to register a company in Serbia and apply for a residence permit is now.
