Amendments to the Law on the Employment of Foreigners
In order to attract digital nomads to stay and work from Serbia, the Ministry of Labor and Employment will propose changes to two laws.
The Ministry will propose this to allow them, provided they have had a gross salary of more than 3,500 euros for half a year, to obtain a one-year work visa.
State Secretary Bojana Stanić says that digital nomads, foreigners who live here but work remotely for foreign companies, are certainly already present in Serbia, but they are invisible to the system.
She adds that the initial steps in regulatory changes and attracting nomads have so far been taken in Europe by Estonia, while globally, the example is the island of Bali.
"It is estimated that there are currently 50,000 digital nomads on Bali. If they spend 1,300 euros per month there, the state and the island generate 65 million euros in revenue each month. This is an opportunity for the Republic of Serbia to attract digital nomads because we have all the potential, we can promote our country and enable these people to work here," she said.
Amendments and additions to the Law on Employment of Foreigners ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 128/2014, 113/2017, 50/2018, and 31/2019) and the Law on Foreigners ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 24/2018 and 31/2019), according to estimates, could take place by the end of this year.
"We would probably be the first country in Europe to fully implement the digital nomad visa project. The only requirement for the visa would be that in the past six months, the applicant has had a gross monthly salary of 3,500 euros while working remotely for their employer. They must not have citizenship or residency in the territory of Serbia," she said.
Changes to the law this year would allow Serbia to be presented as a country attracting digital nomads by 2021.
"We believe this is an opportunity for American companies, as their citizens cannot work on tourist visas. We consider this a chance that should be seized now," she said.
The idea of attracting digital nomads arose after the Decree on the Organization of Employers' Work During a State of Emergency ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 31/2020) was adopted during the state of emergency, which many employers in Serbia used to organize remote work.
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