The trend of granting citizenship to Russians in Serbia continued in 2023

Of the 10 Serbian passports issued to foreign nationals in 2023, almost six went to a Russian national.

This is according to an analysis by Radio Free Europe (RFE).

Thus, the trend of granting Serbian citizenship to Russian citizens from 2022 continued in 2023.

The analysis includes only those citizenships granted by the Government of Serbia under a special procedure.

Government decisions are published in the Official Gazette, from which the RFE took the data.

Data on citizenships granted under the ordinary procedure and decided by the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) of Serbia are not publicly available.

In the year of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russians sought temporary or permanent residence in Serbia, some because of Western sanctions against Moscow that prevented them from working for Western companies, some because of fear of mobilisation.

Serbia, although a candidate for membership of the European Union (EU), is one of the few countries in Europe that has not yet imposed sanctions against Russia and has direct flights with Moscow.

Official Belgrade has not severed special ties with the Kremlin, despite appeals from Brussels and Washington, even a year and a half since the start of the Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

In the seven months of 2023, almost as much as in the whole of 2022.

In 2022, the number of Russian citizens who received a Serbian passport tripled compared to the year before the invasion.

The trend continued in 2023.

In the first seven months alone, the number of Russian citizens who have received Serbian citizenship is almost equal to the number in the whole of the previous year.

The Nationality Act allows the government to grant nationality under special procedures under certain conditions.

As the law states, citizenship is granted under this procedure if “admission to citizenship would be of interest” to Serbia.

The decision is approved by the Government on the proposal of the competent ministry and published in the “Official Gazette”.

Russians with Serbian passports outnumber all other nationalities combined

According to the decisions of the Government of Serbia published in the Official Gazette, 76 citizens of other nationalities had been admitted to Serbian citizenship by 21 August.

Most of them come from Russia.

The list of Russian citizens granted citizenship by the government in 2022 includes mostly sportsmen and businessmen, as RFE has already reported.

Serbia as a place of refuge

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russians have passed through Serbia, which has remained open to Russian citizens who do not need a visa to enter.

This has been particularly exacerbated by the fact that in September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a partial mobilisation in the country.

According to data provided to the RFE by the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) on 15 May this year, almost 30 000 Russian citizens are residing in Serbia on the basis of an approved temporary residence permit.

Many of them have moved their jobs to Serbia, so that the number of Russian companies has grown in parallel with the increase in the number of Russians.

The Serbian Ministry of the Interior had not responded to RSE’s inquiry on how many Russian citizens currently have a residence permit in Serbia by the time of publication of the text.

Two routes to Serbian citizenship

According to the Law on Citizenship, foreign citizens can acquire Serbian citizenship in two ways.

A foreigner who has a permanent residence permit in Serbia can acquire citizenship upon personal request, provided he/she is over 18 years of age and able to work.

It is also a condition that he/she has been released from foreign citizenship, has three years of continuous registered residence in Serbia and has submitted a written declaration that he/she considers Serbia to be his/her country.

The Ministry of the Interior decides on admission to Serbian citizenship. This information is not accessible to the public.

According to Article 19 of the same Law, a foreigner who does not fulfil the required conditions, but whose admission to citizenship would “constitute an interest” for Serbia, may also acquire Serbian citizenship.

“Today Serbia is like home to me”

Twenty-seven-year-old Lev came to Serbia from Russia just over a year ago, fearing mobilisation and border closures.

A programmer by profession, he works for a large Western IT company in Belgrade, he told RSE.

The fact that he did not need a visa to enter the country was one of the main reasons why he chose Serbia.

“For us (Russians) it is very convenient that we can stay here without visas. I also think it is quite easy to get a residence permit, even if it is temporary, but after a while it becomes permanent,” said Lev.

Asked how he perceives Serbia today, a year later, he said:

“I think it’s like home for me now. I love Belgrade and my area. I love the people who are so warm and accept you. Everybody laughs, which is the opposite of Russia.”

Lev said that he is learning Serbian and plans to stay in Serbia for a long time.

Russians as a growing national minority

In the October 2022 census, the number of Russians tripled compared to the previous census in 2011.

The official census statistics included more than 10,000 citizens who identified themselves as Russians.

This makes them the 16th largest minority community in Serbia. By comparison, in 2011 they were the 20th largest.

The 2022 census counted all those citizens who have been living in Serbia for one year or less but intend to stay for some time.

Changes to the law as a facilitation for acquiring citizenship

The Serbian government has drafted amendments to the Law on Citizenship which, if adopted by Parliament, could facilitate the process by which foreign citizens can obtain a Serbian passport after three years of permanent residence.

On 5 May, the government sent the draft amendments to MEPs for consideration, according to the Parliament’s website.

It is not yet known when the proposed changes will be on the agenda of the parliamentary session.

The EU, to which Serbia aspires, has reacted to the announcement of the amendments.

In May, Brussels reported that Serbia’s visa-free regime with the EU could be jeopardised if Serbia adopted simplified procedures for obtaining citizenship.

The fact that Serbia’s visa-free regime with the EU was put in jeopardy immediately afterwards was rejected by the Serbian Ministry for European Integration./RSE/