Tax Alert, March 2018

The new Law on Foreigners was adopted on March 22, 2018. It will be applicable six months from the date of entry into force.

The new Law on Foreigners prescribes the following changes:

• The Security Information Agency, a state authority is responsible for the security of the Republic of Serbia, performs security check of the foreigners through their records for the purpose of determining the non-existence / existence of the unacceptable risk to the security of the Republic of Serbia and its citizens in case of a foreigner enter and stay in the territory of the Republic of Serbia;
• It prescribes the procedure and the reasons for denying entry in Serbia to the foreigner, in such a way that the entry of a foreigner is denied by a decision on a standardized form indicating the exact reasons for denying the entry;
• New institutes have been introduced that were not prescribed by the current Law on Foreigners, which relate to checking the conditions for issuing visas to a foreigner and risk assessment;
• Approval of the so-called independent or autonomous residence for a foreigner who is at least 5 years on a temporary stay in the Republic of Serbia on the basis of family reunification;
• A new deadline for submitting a request for extension of temporary residence is prescribed, as well as the possibility to submit the request for extension after the expiration of the valid temporary residence;
• The new validity period of the travel document is prescribed when applying for a temporary residence permit;
• If it is established that during the validity of a previously granted temporary residence in the Republic of Serbia, the foreigner spent less than half of the time to which the temporary stay was granted to him, the competent authority may refuse the request for the extension of the temporary residence;
• Higher pecuniary fines and penalties for breaching the provisions of this law are prescribed.