What is citizenship
Citizenship is a relationship between a certain person and the state from which mutual rights and obligations arise.
Citizenship is a relationship of a permanent character, which can be terminated under certain conditions.
Each state independently determines who can and under what conditions to acquire its citizenship.
Conditions for acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Serbia, the procedure for acquiring citizenship and other issues of importance regarding the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia are regulated by the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia, the Law on Foreigners, as well as bylaws.
A person who does not have Serbian citizenship, in terms of the legal order of the Republic of Serbia, is considered a foreigner, which means that he has a different legal position than Serbian citizens in terms of certain rights and obligations.
In what ways can Serbian citizenship be acquired
Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia is acquired: 1) by origin; 2) by birth on the territory of the Republic of Serbia; 3) admission; 4) under international agreements.
Acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by origin is a regular way/most common of acquiring Serbian citizenship, while acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by birth on the territory of the Republic of Serbia is a complementary way of acquiring Serbian citizenship.
Acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by origin
Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia originates for a child: 1) whose both parents are citizens of the Republic of Serbia at the time of his birth; 2) whose one of the parents at the time of his birth is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia and the child was born on the territory of the Republic of Serbia; 3) born abroad, one of whose parents is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at the time of his birth and the other is of unknown or unknown citizenship or without citizenship.
In addition, a child born abroad acquires citizenship of the Republic of Serbia, one of whose parents is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at the time of his birth and the other is a foreign citizen, if the parent who is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia registers it before the age of 18 at the competent diplomatic or consular mission of the Republic of Serbia as a citizen of the Republic of Serbia and if he submits a request for registration of the child in the register of citizens to the competent authority in the Republic of Serbia. If the child is under guardianship, the application and request are submitted by the guardian.
A child born abroad, one of whose parents is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at the time of his / her birth, acquires the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by origin if he / she would stay without of citizenship even if the conditions from the previous paragraph are not met. In order to acquire citizenship under these conditions, the consent of the child is required, if he is older than 14 years.
A person older than 18 born abroad whose one parent was a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at the time of his birth and the other foreign citizen acquires the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by origin if he submits a request for registration to the competent authority by the age of 23 in the Republic of Serbia, provided that he has not acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia in another way.
Under these conditions, citizenship of the Republic of Serbia is acquired by the origin of a foreign adoptee, ie a stateless adoptee, in case of full adoption.
Acquiring Serbian citizenship by birth on the territory of the Republic of Serbia
A child born or found on the territory of the Republic of Serbia (foundling) acquires the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by birth if both parents are unknown or of unknown citizenship or without citizenship or if the child is stateless.
A child who has acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia under these conditions is considered a citizen of the Republic of Serbia from birth, and may lose the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia if it is determined by the age of 18 that both parents are foreign citizens.
His citizenship ends at the request of his parents on the day of delivery of the decision. If the child is older than 14, his / her consent is required for the termination of the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia.
Acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by admission
This way of acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia is interesting for foreigners who for some reason have the need or interest to acquire the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia.
An important condition for this way of acquiring Serbian citizenship is that the foreigner has previously been granted permanent residence in accordance with the Law on Foreigners.
A foreigner who has been granted permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia in accordance with the law may, at his request, be admitted to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia, under the following conditions: 1) that he has reached 18 years of age and that he has not been deprived of legal capacity; 2) to have a release from foreign citizenship or to submit proof that he will receive the release if he is admitted to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia; 3) that he / she had continuously registered residence on the territory of the Republic of Serbia for at least three years until the submission of the request; 4) to submit a written statement that he considers the Republic of Serbia as his state.
Acquiring Serbian citizenship by admission under relaxed conditions
Under certain facts, a person may be admitted to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia under relaxed conditions than those listed in the previous section. The alleviated conditions concern permanent residence and the time period required for a stay on the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
1. A person born on the territory of the Republic of Serbia
Thus e.g. a person born on the territory of the Republic of Serbia may be admitted to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia if he has resided continuously on the territory of the Republic of Serbia for at least two years until submitting the application for admission and if he submits a written statement that he considers the Republic of Serbia his state.
2. A person who is in a marital union with a citizen of the Republic of Serbia
A foreigner who has been married to a citizen of the Republic of Serbia for at least three years and who has been granted permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia may be admitted to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia if he submits a written statement that he considers the Republic of Serbia his state.
Acquiring Serbian citizenship due to the interests of the Republic of Serbia
Irrespective of the conditions prescribed by law, a foreigner whose admission to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia would be of interest to the Republic of Serbia may also be admitted to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia. The decision on what is in the interest of the Republic of Serbia is made by the Government of the Republic of Serbia. As a rule, these are persons who represent prominent artists, athletes, scientists, foreign investors or some other interests of the Republic of Serbia.
Procedure for acquiring citizenshipThe request for acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia is submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, through the internal affairs bodies in the place of residence or stay of the applicant, and can also be submitted through the competent diplomatic or consular mission of the Republic of Serbia.
After checking the fulfillment of the conditions, the Ministry issues a decision on admission to citizenship, if it assesses that all the conditions prescribed by the Law have been fulfilled.
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