What your passport allows
The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says German citizens need no visa for visits of up to 90 days within a six-month period counted from the first entry, and that the national ID card is accepted for travel. For a longer stay you need a temporary residence permit, normally filed in Serbia during the permitted stay. The same applies to Austrian and Swiss citizens, as described on our German page on emigrating to Serbia.
Signing the power of attorney in Germany
A German notary certifies your signature on the power of attorney we send you. The document then needs an apostille from the competent state authority. Germany has been in the Hague Apostille Convention since 1966. Austria is different, because a treaty with Serbia makes the apostille unnecessary there, which is one more reason to say where you sign. The original goes to Belgrade by courier. The overview for all countries is on the power of attorney page.
Leaving German tax residence
Germany and Serbia have a double tax treaty in force. A treaty settles where you are resident for treaty purposes if both countries claim you, but it does not do the German paperwork for you. Anyone who keeps a home in Germany can stay fully tax resident there. Anyone who holds shares in a corporation, such as a GmbH, should ask their Steuerberater about exit taxation (Wegzugsbesteuerung) before giving up the German address.
Serbian tax residency follows where you actually live, or 183 days in a twelve-month period, with 10 per cent tax on salary and 15 per cent corporate tax. See the Serbian tax residency page. And a point that is easy to miss: if your Serbian company is run from Germany in practice, a German tax office can look at where it is managed. A company makes the most sense when you really move or really operate in Serbia.
Banks and accounts
A Serbian bank asks who owns the company, who controls it and where the funds come from. We prepare that file and the bank decides. German-language versions of our pages: Firma in Serbien gründen.
How it runs, step by step
- You write to us in English or German: where you live, what the company will do, who moves with you.
- Written plan, engagement agreement and invoice, then payment by bank transfer.
- Notary and apostille in Germany, and the original to Belgrade by courier.
- Registration at the APR, usually about five working days after the original arrives.
- Residence application in Serbia, the registered address with the white card, and the bank account.
What it costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Our fee for company registration (d.o.o.) | €370 |
| Sworn translation of the power of attorney in Belgrade | €40 per power of attorney |
| Notary and apostille or legalisation in Germany | at local rates |
| State fee at the Business Registers Agency (APR) | per APR tariff |
| Registered address in Belgrade, with the white card (beli karton) | €480 for 12 months |
| Visa D | €550 per person, only if your passport needs one |
| Temporary residence permit | €850 per person |
| Basic bookkeeping | from €100 a month |
Third-party costs are always separate and charged at cost, with receipts. We send a written estimate before you pay anything, then an engagement agreement and an invoice. Payment is by bank transfer only.
Sources: Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visa regime pages; Hague Conference on Private International Law, Apostille Convention status table; KPMG Serbia, list of Serbia’s double tax treaties (situation 1 January 2025). Checked 2 November 2026. General information, not tax advice for your case. Rules change, so we confirm your position in writing before you sign anything.
Checked by our lawyer. Updated 2 November 2026. Next review: February 2027.