Frequently Asked Questions | Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Swiss Confederation

QUESTION: Can I submit request for a new passport via post?
ANSWER: No. Passport applications are submitted exclusively in person, with a previously scheduled date, because it is necessary to make a photo of the applicant, take fingerprints and other biometric data.

QUESTION: Will I receive my passport via post?
ANSWER: Passports are picked up in person, every working day, from 09.00 to 13.00, without scheduling an appointment. It is not possible to send them by mail, because fingerprints are taken again during delivery and compared with previously given fingerprints. However, there is a legal possibility to authorize a person who can take over the passport on your behalf. This is regulated by Article 32 of the Law on Travel Documents, which defines: "The travel document will be taken over personally by the applicant, ie, the legal representative or a person authorized by him." The signature on the authorization must be certified.

QUESTION: My passport has expired and I have to go to Serbia urgently. What should I do?
ANSWER: You can apply for a travel document ("putni list"), a document that is valid for 30 days from issuance and provides the possibility of a one-time trip to Serbia. In order to be able to return to Switzerland, you need to apply for a passport in Serbia. You cannot return to Switzerland with a travel document.

QUESTION: I've submitted the request for a biometric passport at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Bern. Can I receive this passport when it is ready at the Serbian Consulate General in Zurich or Stuttgart?
ANSWER: You can only get your passport at the diplomatic mission where you applied. Since you have applied in Bern, your passport can only be picked up in Bern. The same applies to the documents for which the request was submitted in Serbia. If you have applied for a passport or ID card at the police station in Serbia, you can only pick them up there. Also, if there is an active request for a passport or ID card at the police station in Serbia, it is not possible to submit a request at the diplomatic-consular mission until the old / previous request has been canceled.

QUESTION: How long do I need to wait for my passport to be issued?
ANSWER: The legal deadline for issuing passports is up to 60 days. This deadline starts from the moment you submit your passport application. The deadline of 60 days does not apply to passports that are under the jurisdiction of the Coordination Administration ("Koordinaciona uprava").

QUESTION: What are the current conditions for entering Serbia as far as COVID-19 is concerned?
ANSWER: You can check all current conditions for entry at the following link: https://www.mfa.gov.rs/lat/gradjani/ulazak-u-srbiju/covid-19-uslovi-za-…

QUESTION: I have Swiss citizenship, but my Swiss passport has expired. Can I enter Serbia with a valid Swiss ID card or Swiss emergency passport (so-called Provisorischer Pass / Notpass)?
ANSWER: Yes, you can. Citizens of the Swiss Confederation do not need a visa to enter Serbia for a stay of up to 90 days. It is even possible to enter Serbia with a Swiss ID card, as well as with a red Swiss emergency passport. However, holders of blue Swiss travel documents for foreigners or refugees need a visa to enter the Republic of Serbia, regardless of which residence permit in Switzerland they have. The visa application has to be submitted at least 20 calendar days before the planned visit, and cannot be submitted earlier than 3 months before the start of the planned visit. For more information, please contact the Consular Section of the Embassy.

QUESTION: Do I have to come in person to certify the document?
ANSWER: Legalization is made exclusively in person with a previously scheduled date. Persons who cannot come to the Embassy can contact a Swiss notary. Notarial certification must afterwards be over-certified with "Apostille" so that such document has legal force in Serbia.

QUESTION: Can I submit request for status issue (registration of marriage, birth of a child, citizenship ...) in any diplomatic mission?
ANSWER: Status issues are resolved according to consular jurisdiction. At the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Bern, applications for registration of births, marriages and deaths can be submitted only by persons living in one of the 11 cantons for which the Embassy has consular jurisdiction.

QUESTION: I have been living in Switzerland for many years and I am interested in how can I obtain a birth certificate and a citizenship certificate from Serbia. ANSWER: You can get these documents at the Embassy, which has electronic access to the Registry Books of the Republic of Serbia. Each working day from 09.00 to 13.00, without appointment, we can issue you a citizenship certificate, birth certificate, marriage certificate or death certificate (the last three in both domestic and international forms). We cannot issue a certificate of free marital status though, and we cannot entrust you with documents stamped with "Apostille".

QUESTION: I was born in Croatia. Is the Croatian birth certificate accepted when applying for a new Serbian passport?
ANSWER: Unfortunately, no. When applying for a passport, the birth certificate issued by the competent authorities of the former Yugoslav republics can no longer be submitted. It is necessary to make a "transcript of the fact of birth" in the competent registry office in the Republic of Serbia. The result is that you will have a Serbian birth certificate with the fact of birth abroad entered. If you do not have a permanent residence in Serbia, the registry office of the municipality of Stari grad in Belgrade is in charge.

QUESTION: I need a lawyer with whom I can communicate in Serbian. Can you recommend one?
ANSWER: For a list of lawyers by canton, you need to contact the Consular Section of the Embassy. However, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that these are not official lawyers of the Embassy, so the Embassy does not take responsibility for their work. You hire a lawyer at your own risk. Our list is made with the sole intention of helping our citizens find a lawyer who speaks their mother language, and who would legally represent them in the territory of the Swiss Confederation. At the same time, we invite lawyers who are fluent in our language and are ready to represent our citizens in Switzerland, to provide us with their details: first and last name, contact, canton in which they are located, languages they speak, the field in which they're specialized and a their diploma.

QUESTION: Does the Embassy provide a translation service or does it have a list of translators?
ANSWER: The Embassy translates exclusively Swiss excerpts (Auszüge) and, in some part, acknowledgments of paternity. The goal is to make it easier for our citizens to collect documentation for registration of birth, marriage, etc. However, the Embassy does not have its own translator who could represent our citizens before the Swiss authorities (court, police, civil registries, etc.). For a list of German-Serbian translators, you can contact the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in Zurich.

QUESTION: Can I get the certificate necessary for exemption from pension or health insurance obligation in Serbia, since I regularly fulfill this obligation in Switzerland?
ANSWER: Yes. The certificate in question is issued each working day from 09.00 to 13.00, without scheduling an appointment. It is necessary to bring a valid Serbian passport (or ID card) and, if the request refers to health insurance - a certificate of paid health insurance in Switzerland, issued by the Swiss authority, as follows: 1) original certificate of the insurance company (Krankenkasse) with the stated date of commencement of insurance and the date until which the insurance is valid (or with the wording "still") or 2) the original insurance police, if it can be concluded from the date of commencement and termination of insurance, for example "valid from 01.01.2022. to 31.12.2022." If the request refers to social / pension insurance - excerpt from AHV (Auszug aus dem Individuellen Konto / Kontoauszug) for the period for which the certificate is requested, and serves to release from the obligation to pay social insurance in the Republic of Serbia. The excerpt from the AHV should contain all the years in which the social insurance was paid. Also, it is necessary to have continuity in payments, i.e. that the insured was insured for 12 months in the year for which the certificate is required. If the insured, for example, was a seasonal worker, and insured only a certain number of days in a year, a certificate cannot be issued for that year. More information on obtaining AHV excerpts can be found here: https://www.ahv-iv.ch/de/Merkbl%C3%A4tter-Formulare/Bestellung-Kontoaus…
Please note: residence permits issued by municipalities or civil registration services (Gemeinde, Einwohneramt) are not proof of the above mentioned facts and are therefore not relevant for the issuance of certificates.