For foreign founders
For founders who intend to live in Serbia and run a real business here, not for anyone looking for a shortcut to a permit.
Opening a company can provide a legal basis for a self-employment application, but it does not guarantee immigration approval. We coordinate the company, the documentation and the application workflow. The competent Serbian authorities decide each case.
These are two different engagements and it is worth being honest with yourself about which one you are in. If you want a Serbian company to invoice through and you intend to keep living where you are, you need company formation and bookkeeping, and nothing on this page applies to you.
If you intend to live in Serbia and run the business from here, the company is the first step of a longer sequence, and the permit route shapes the order you do things in. That is what we coordinate.
Which route you are on is decided by one thing first: whether your passport needs a visa to enter Serbia. If it does, the official guidance is that you apply for a D visa on the grounds of employment. If you can enter without a visa, you may apply for the single permit after you arrive.
The single permit covers residence and work together. Serbia’s portal calls it a single work and residence permit, and also uses the shorter "single permit". A properly completed request is resolved within 15 days of submission, and a permit may be issued for up to three years, which is a maximum rather than a standard term.
A short-stay visa is a dead end for this purpose. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that a short-term visa is not grounds to apply for temporary residence unless the law provides otherwise. Read the detail in the D visa guide and the single permit guide.
Serbia’s temporary-residence page lists self-employment under the employment basis, handled through the combined residence-and-work permit. Note what is not on that list: "business owner" and "company founder" are not separate grounds, and investor and start-up are distinct labels the portal does not define as synonyms for owning a company.
That distinction matters more than it sounds. It is why a registered company with no real activity behind it is not a route, and why the bookkeeping that shows a business actually operating is part of the immigration picture, not an afterthought.
We start with an assessment, because the answer genuinely depends on your passport, where you legally live now, and what the business will do. If the honest answer is that the route does not work for you, you get that answer at the assessment rather than after you have paid for a company.
There is no cloud KES option in our workflow. A foreign founder must come to Serbia to obtain the physical qualified electronic signature and complete bank identification. We prepare as much as possible before the trip so those appointments can be planned together.
Serbia’s temporary-residence guidance states that once the conditions for issuing the permit are met, the applicant must appear in person at the competent authority so biometric data can be collected. Plan your travel around that.
The bank is the other one. Requirements vary by bank and the appointment usually needs you there. We do not promise a fully remote setup, because we cannot control either step.
Three separate things end up on your invoice, and we keep them separate: government fees, third-party fees, and our own fee.
Government fees are fixed and public. Registering a sole trader with APR costs 2.500 dinars and a d.o.o. 8.000 dinars, and the minimum share capital for a d.o.o. is 100 dinars, which does not have to be paid in immediately. Visa and permit fees are set by the authorities and are not ours.
Third-party fees, meaning certified translation, notarisation, legalisation, the electronic signature and any bank charges, are billed by those providers at their rates.
Biro Vision's company-formation fee is €500. If a D visa is required, D visa preparation and coordination are an additional €500. Government fees, physical KES/QES, translation, notarisation, legalisation, travel, banking and every other third-party cost are paid separately. Ongoing bookkeeping is also separate; see the pricing page.
€500 professional fee
You want the Serbian company. You are not relocating, or not yet.
Not included: No visa or residence work. Government and third-party fees are billed separately.
€500 formation + €500 D visa support when required
You intend to live in Serbia and run the business yourself.
Not included: We do not issue visas or permits and cannot guarantee approval. Government fees, translation and legalisation are billed by those providers.
From €500; D visa support adds €500
You are moving your working life here, possibly with family.
Not included: Family applications are decided separately by the authorities on their own ground. Legal representation in a dispute or appeal is not included.
Company formation is €500. D visa preparation and coordination, when required, are an additional €500. Government, physical KES/QES, translation, notarisation, legalisation, travel, banking and all other third-party costs are separate.
We prepare and coordinate. We do not approve anything, and neither does any agency. Approval rests entirely with the Serbian authorities and, for accounts, with the bank.
| Biro Vision handles | Authorities and banks decide |
|---|---|
| Your workflow, checklist and completeness checks | Whether a visa is granted |
| Company registration and APR filings | Whether a residence and work permit is granted |
| Document coordination, translation and legalisation | Whether more evidence is requested |
| Application preparation and submission support | How long a case takes |
| Bookkeeping, payroll and ongoing compliance | Whether a bank opens the account |
| Reminders, status updates and deadline tracking | The decision at the border |
No, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. Serbia’s own guidance for foreign business owners says setting up a company is a valid purpose of residence but does not on its own guarantee that a visa or a residence and work permit will be granted.
No. We can prepare the APR filing under a power of attorney, but there is no cloud KES option in our workflow. The foreign founder comes to Serbia for a physical KES/QES and bank identification; immigration biometrics also require personal attendance when that route applies.
It depends on the stage. A properly completed single-permit request is resolved within 15 days of submission. No processing time is published for a D visa anywhere on the official portal, so we will not quote one. See the timeline guide for what is known stage by stage.
If you hold a D visa issued on an employment basis, the official guidance is that it serves as a work permit and lets you begin working immediately on arrival.
We prepare the documents and coordinate the appointment. The bank decides. Serbia’s guidance on accounts is explicit that a bank freely chooses its clients and independently decides whether to enter a business relationship.
No. Biro Vision is a registered accounting agency. We provide administrative support, document coordination and application preparation. Where a matter needs legal representation, you need a licensed lawyer and we will tell you so.
Four short questions. You get the route, what it needs, and an honest answer if it is not something we can help with.
Thank you, we have it.
We will reply by email with the route that applies to you and what it needs.
Book a free 30-minute consultation. No obligations, just a clear plan for your finances.