On January 1st, 2023, the Decision on the Termination of the Decision on Visa Abolition for Entry into the Republic of Serbia for Citizens of the Republic of India came into effect. You are now probably wondering what kind of impact it has on the rights of Indian citizens, who were planning to come to Serbia.
In the following text, we will discuss it in more detail.
Visa Requirements for Indian Citizens to Serbia
If you are a citizen of India and wish to stay in Serbia, the visa then becomes an existing issue, and the first step is to know for which visa to apply. The Law on Foreigners specifies 4 types of visas (A, B, C, and D). Should you plan to stay in Serbia, visas C or D will be of interest to you.
Invitation Letter for Serbian Visa
When you plan to apply for Visa C or D, the essential and mandatory document you need to submit is the invitation letter. The invitation letter can be issued by a Serbian citizen or by a company with a seat address in Serbia. Of course, this is not the only document you will need to present for the visa application; however, this document is the only one you cannot obtain by yourself, it needs to be issued by a Serbian citizen or a Serbian company.
For what Period is the Visa C Issued?
The visa C (the visa for a short period of stay) is issued for a stay of up to 90 days within any period of 180 days, counting from the first entrance date.
That stay in Serbia can be with a single entry, which would involve one entry and one exit in those 180 days, i.e. a continuous stay of up to 90 days. Also, you can “interrupt” your stay, i.e. have multiple entries in the approved period of 180 days, that is, enter and leave the Republic of Serbia several times, as long as your total number of days spent in Serbia does not exceed 90 days.
For what Period is the Visa D Issued?
Different from Visa C, Visa D is issued for 90, to the maximum of 180 days in Serbia. Visa D is considered to be a visa for a longer period of stay in Serbia, which can be seen from its duration. This type of visa entitles you to a higher level of foreign’ rights.
During that period, if you are interested in prolonging your stay, and relocating your life to our country, you should submit the appropriate request for the issuance of residency, or the unified permit. The type of permit you will ask for must be in correlation with the invitation letter, and the legal ground under which you came to Serbia.
When and Where To Apply for Visa C or Visa D?
You can apply for a visa C and D in any Serbian embassy in the world, in which you legally reside, as well as electronically. The first moment when you can submit the application is three months before you plan to travel to Serbia. You can file a request with the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: the Embassy) in New Delhi, although you do not have to apply strictly there just to be an Indian citizen. For instance, if you are staying in Germany for business purposes at the time you wish to apply for a visa C, there is no barrier to doing so at the Serbian embassy in Germany.
Visa Processing Time in Serbia
The deciding period from the day of submission of an application for a Visa is 15 days, however, in some special circumstances, this period can be prolonged to a maximum period of 30 days.
What’s the Next Step after you Have been Granted the Visa C or D?
After you’ve been granted visa C or D, you will be invited to go to the Embassy with a passport, in order for your visa C to be issued. Understandably, you could ask yourself what would happen if you were on a trip or for any other reason are unable to collect your visa from the embassy at the moment they invite you. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia assures that it is not a problem to come and collect the visa a few days late. In that case, the visa will be issued to you from the day you picked it up and not starting with the date you were firstly invited to the Embassy to collect the visa (that is, the date when the visa was to be issued to you).
An important difference between Visa C and Visa D
Besides the approved time period of stay in Serbia, the biggest and most important matter to emphasize is that if you are planning to apply for temporary residence in Serbia, or for the unified permit, first you will need to obtain Visa D.
For further explanation, a temporary residence permit, or the unified permit, is approval to a foreigner given by the Ministry of Interior, and it is the longest period of stay that can be approved to the foreigner. Following the appropriate provisions of the Law on Foreigners, the residency permit can be issued for a maximum period of three years.
In a Nutshell…
If you are a citizen of India and you plan to stay in Serbia for a shorter period, you need to apply for Visa C or Visa D.
With an approved visa C, you can legally stay in Serbia for up to 90 days within 180 days, as a tourist. On the other hand, with the approved visa D you can legally stay in Serbia for a period of 90, to180 days, depending on the fact for which period the visa has been issued.
If you plan to apply for a temporary residence permit, or the unified permit in Serbia, first you need to obtain Visa D.
