Citizenship

Acquiring Citizenship through Admission

The simplest way to acquire citizenship of the Republic of Serbia for any member of the Serbian people from the territory of the Republic of Serbia and the region, or descendants of the same who perceive Serbia as their mother country, is based on Article 23 of the Law on Citizenship, and it states the following:

‘A member of the Serbian nation who does not have residential status on the territory of the Republic of Serbia can be granted citizenship of the Republic of Serbia if he/she is 18 years old or more, has not been deprived of legal capacity, and submits a written statement that the Republic of Serbia is his/her state’.

According to conditions from para. 1 of this Article, ‘citizenship of the Republic of Serbia may be granted to a person born in another republic of the former SFRY who had citizenship of that republic, or is a citizen of another country formed on the territory of former SFRY; who as a refugee, outcast or displaced person resides on the territory of the Republic of Serbia or is a refugee abroad.’

For Detailed Instructions Read Here

Acquiring Citizenship by Virtue of Descent

Entry in the Register

It is important to enter your child’s birth in the register in order to facilitate the acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Serbia, achieve further rights in the area of the Republic of Serbia, and in order to avoid: Additional Procedures for Determining Citizenship. In the event that one or both parents are citizens of the Republic of Serbia at the time of the child’s birth, and the child was born abroad, the application for entry in the Register of Births, where citizenship is also recorded, shall be submitted by one parent via the diplomatic-consular mission of the RS on the territory where the parent applying has temporary residence. Upon receipt of the application, the diplomatic-consular mission shall immediately forward it to the competent registry office in Serbia to enter the child’s birth in the birth Register. The application can also be submitted to an office of vital statistics in the township of the last place of residence of a parent at the time of birth, for entry in the Register of births.

Along with an application for entry, you shall submit the following:

– original birth certificate issued from a foreign authority in international form: if not in international form, but that of the country concerned, it must be translated and a copy certified by a diplomatic–consular mission of the RS (and the appropriate fees paid),

evidence of citizenship of the Republic of Serbia for the parents,

– a marriage certificate if the child was born in marriage, or proof of admission of paternity if illegitimate.

Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia