The costs people forget when they move to Serbia

Short answer: The big hidden costs are not the government fees. They are the documents behind them: sworn translations, apostilles or legalisation, notary fees, and the accountant and address that a company needs every year. We list the items below and give amounts only where we can stand behind them; for everything else we say to ask for a written estimate.

Documents, before you arrive

• Apostille or legalisation in your home country for civil documents and for a power of attorney. Price and speed depend on the country.
• Sworn translation into Serbian by a court-appointed interpreter, for every foreign document that goes into a file. In our own price list the court translation of a power of attorney is €40 per document, and longer documents cost more.
• Notary and certification. A power of attorney signed abroad needs certification there. If it is signed in Serbia, the notary fee is a separate item. In our price list it is €80.
• Courier for original documents. They have to travel, and they get lost when they travel without a tracking number.

Government fees

• Company registration: a Business Registers Agency fee. The Business Registers Agency charges a fee for registering a d.o.o. and the amount is published on its site. We state the current figure in every quote, because it is revised from time to time.
• Residence permit and ID card: administrative fees calculated when you file, and they change. The republic administrative fees were adjusted again from 1 July 2026. The portal calculates the total from the information you enter, so we do not quote a number from memory.
• Tax residency certificate for treaty purposes: the Tax Administration lists a fee of RSD 2,340 for an individual and RSD 6,410 for a legal entity, valid from 1 July 2026.
• Fines: not a cost to plan for, but worth knowing. Late address registration and late filings are the usual ones.

Health insurance

Foreigners can receive urgent medical care through the public health fund, but urgent care is not the same as insurance for routine treatment. Residence files usually ask for proof of health insurance, and many foreigners buy private or voluntary cover. Prices depend on age and cover, so get a written quote. Do it before the file, not after.

If you have a company

• The accountant. Monthly, from the first month, even with no turnover. See running costs of a Serbian company.
• The registered address. A yearly cost. Ours is €480 for 12 months, including the white card (the proof of registered address that banks and the residence file need).
• Bank fees, especially on foreign payments, which are easy to overlook until the first statement.
• Contributions on your own pay if the company employs you. This is the biggest variable, and we go through it before registration.
• Annual filings with the Business Registers Agency and the Tax Administration, every year.

Living costs people mis-budget

• Utilities and building fees for the apartment, and a deposit on the lease.
• Heating in winter, which depends heavily on the building.
• Moving money in and out: the bank, the exchange rate and any intermediary.
• Renewing the residence permit: documents are needed again, and some of them expire between filings.

How we handle it

Third-party costs such as notary, translation, apostille and government fees are charged at cost against receipts, and we give you a written estimate before work starts. Our own fees are listed on the packages page. The order of payment is simple: our fee first, then the address, then the third-party costs as they arise.

A sample order of spending

1. Documents at home: apostille, copies, courier.
2. Translations and notary for the file.
3. Our fee, which starts the work.
4. Government fees at filing, paid by receipt.
5. First year of address, accountant and bank costs, if there is a company.
6. Insurance and the first rent and deposit once the permit is in sight.

Spread over a few months, none of this is hard. It becomes stressful when it all lands in one week because a deadline was missed.

Where people save money, and where they should not

You can save by starting early, because rush courier and rush translation cost more, and by sending clean scans, because every correction round has a price. You should not save on translations of important documents, on the accountant, or on the address, because a cheap mistake there costs a multiple later.

A note on currencies and timing

Government fees are in dinars, and our fee and many third-party costs are in euros. The exchange rate moves a little between the day you budget and the day you pay, and banks add their own margin on transfers. Keep a small cushion for that, and ask the sender to cover the intermediary fees if it is a large transfer.

Sources

• Tax Administration (PURS), notice of changed republic administrative fees, from 1 July 2026
• Welcome to Serbia, residence information (official)
• Republic Health Insurance Fund, urgent care for foreign citizens
• SerbiaGate packages and prices

General information as of 2 November 2026, not advice on your individual case. Laws, fees and practice change, so we confirm the current position before every engagement.