Recently, Serbia has become a very popular tourist destination, which, of course, helped simplify the regime of entry into its territory by citizens of countries such as Ukraine and Russia. But not everyone wishing to visit this beautiful country knows for sure whether you need a visa to enter Serbia or transit through its territory.
In this article we will consider the rules of entry to Serbia, what kind of visa and under what circumstances is necessary for Russians and Ukrainians.
Since autumn 2011, citizens of Ukraine and Russia to visit Serbia are not required to apply for visas if the purpose of the trip is:
- tourism;
- There is an invitation from citizens of Serbia to visit relatives or friends;
- transit;
- business activity.
Then you can enter the territory of Serbia for 30 days, with an interval of 60 days from the date of the first entry.
On the border of Serbia, when passing passport control, you will need to show the following documents:
- The passport valid at the time of entry into the country and the validity term expires not less than three months after the end of the trip;
- tourist voucher or the original invitation from a private person (organization), which indicates: the personal information of the invitee, the name and legal address of the organization or personal information of the inviter (passport number, address of residence), the time and purpose of the trip, residence for the period of stay in Serbia. The invitation must be assured in the local government in Serbia at the place of residence of the inviting party;
- sufficient amount of money, per person, 50 euros per day;
- medical insurance, amounting to at least 20 thousand euros;
- For transit through Serbia, in addition to the usual set of documents, it is required to provide a visa to the country of final destination or tickets along the entire route.
When you transit through Serbia you need to know that you can stay in the country for no more than 4 days.
All foreigners arriving in Serbia must, within 2 days, register in the police station at their place of residence. When you leave the country, this is rarely checked, but if you are planning to come to Serbia, it is better to do it. For people whose purpose is to enter long-term work or study in Serbia, it is necessary to obtain a visa at the embassies of Serbia located in Moscow and Kiev.
To obtain a visa to Serbia, there is no mandatory personal presence, only a package of documents should be submitted:
- the original of the invitation to work or study;
- the passport and its photocopy;
- internal passport and its photocopy;
- two photographs measuring 35 × 45 mm;
- certificate of employment;
- medical insurance;
- filled in English or Serbian and personally signed questionnaire.
After Serbia began to take steps to get into the Schengen zone, the visa processing period increased to two weeks.
It is necessary to pay attention to the peculiarities of the entrance to Serbia through the Autonomous Republic of Kosovo.
Entry into Kosovo
On July 1, 2013, the Autonomous Republic of Kosovo introduced a visa regime for citizens of 89 countries, including Russia and Ukraine. For holders of multiple or open Schengen visas, the entry is visa-free. The visa is issued at the consulate of the Republic of Kosovo in Istanbul. For the submission of documents, you must first make an appointment and personally come with a package of documents:
- a consular questionnaire filled in Albanian, Serbian or English;
- 1 color photograph 3.5 x 4.5 cm;
- valid passport, with a validity of not less than three months at the time of the termination of the visa;
- the original or booking of tickets, and at the entrance to the car - car insurance, which operates on the territory of Kosovo;
- hotel reservation or letter-invitation (notarially certified);
- medical insurance for an amount not less than 30 thousand euros;
- certificate of income for 3 months.
To all originals of documents it is necessary to attach a photocopy with translation into Serbian, Albanian or English. You will be charged 40 euros for a visa from your consulate. The term for processing a visa is up to two weeks, but usually issued earlier. Such a visa makes it possible to stay in Kosovo for up to 90 days.