Terms of Use and User Privacy Policy on the Portal for Foreign Nationals (welcometoserbia.gov.rs)

What is the Portal for Foreign Nationals?

Portal for Foreign Nationals is a web portal, intended primarily for foreign nationals, which represents a one-stop-shop for electronic submission of temporary residence applications, submission of applications for long-term visas, short-term visas and combined residence-work permits.

The Amendments to the Law on Foreigners ('RS Official Gazette', no. 24/2018, 31/2019 and 62/2023), in the part related to the Common Web Portal, stipulate the possibility for foreign nationals to receive both residence and work permit through a D visa or by applying for temporary residence based on employment.

The law also prescribes amendments in the part related to D visas, where it is provided that, as of February 2024, the D visa based on employment will simultaneously become a permit to enter, stay and work for a period of up to a maximum of 180 days in the Republic of Serbia. During the validity of the D visa (if arriving from the country of a visa or a specific visa regime), a foreign national can apply for a single permit (temporary residence based on employment) and obtain a residence-work permit for a maximum of 3 years (legal term - single permit for residence and work of foreign nationals in the RS).

In addition to the above, a key amendment is the possibility provided for employers and other representatives to submit an application on behalf of foreign nationals, i.e. a party to the proceedings (Submission of an application on behalf of a foreign national), which will be available as of February 2024.

The Portal for Foreign Nationals is defined by law as a common web portal - publicly available on the Internet, through which electronic applications of foreign nationals are submitted, and which is technically maintained by the authority responsible for the design, harmonization, development and operation of electronic administration (Office for IT and eGovernment).

User registration on the Portal for Foreign Nationals

A foreign national having an appropriate travel document, or his/her employer or representative can become the user of the services on the Portal for Foreign Nationals.

The user can familiarize himself/herself with the content of the services provided therein and published on the Portal for Foreign Nationals.

By registering on the Portal for Foreign Nationals, you agree to become a user of eGovernment services, which enables you to electronically submit an application for a temporary residence, a long-term and short-term visas, and a combined residence-work permit.

The prerequisite for filling in the application is that the user has a registered eID account as a foreign national, and the steps that need to be taken in this process are as follows:

• Account registration (an account registered with an EBS number (Serbian acronym for foreigner registration number) if the user had a previously regulated stay in the RS or an account registered with a passport number if the user submits an application for the regulation of entry or stay in the RS for the first time);

• Login to the Welcome to Serbia system using the previously registered account;

• Filling in the application and attaching documentation;

• Electronic payment upon request;

• After an application has been filled in, the given data with accompanying documentation are systematically sent from the Portal to the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Employment Service;

• Notification about the submitted application is sent via the electronic delivery system to the user's electronic inbox.

If the employer/representative submits an application on behalf of a foreign national, they accept the same conditions of use when registering on the eGovernment Portal, bearing in mind that the employer/representative must have a registered account on the eGovernment Portal in order to submit an application on behalf of a foreign national.

When registering on the Portal for Foreign Nationals, the following personal data shall be stored:

- Foreign national’s registration number - automatic data download from the user's profile (eID account);

- Last name - automatic data download from the user's profile (eID account);

- Name – automatic data download from the user's profile (eID account);

- Date of birth - automatic data download from the user's profile (eID account);

- Email address - automatic data download from the user's profile (eID account).

Additional information:

о Sex - mandatory field;

о A parent's name - optional field to fill in;

о Maiden name - optional field to fill in;

о Marital status - optional field to fill in;

о Occupation - optional field to fill in;

о Professional education/qualification - mandatory field;

о Mobile phone number - optional field to fill in;

о Country of previous residence - mandatory field;

Country and place of birth:

о Country of birth - mandatory field;

о Foreign place of birth - mandatory field;

Information on the travel documents:

о Type of personal document - mandatory field (travel document or identity card);

о Country of issue of the document - mandatory field;

о Document number - mandatory field;

о Document validity period "from to" - mandatory field.

Address of intended stay

о Municipality - mandatory field;

о Place name - mandatory field;

о Street - mandatory field;

о House number - mandatory field;

о Entrance – optional field;

о Floor - optional field;

о Apartment - optional field.

Employment information:

• The position in which you will work for the employer in the Republic of Serbia -user input (codebook);

• Your current position with a foreign employer – user’s free input.

The purpose of processing the aforementioned data is to provide the eGovernment services to registered users, which relate to the registration of temporary residence, applying for a long-term visa and a combined residence and work permit.

In the provision of electronic services on the Portal for Foreign Nationals, a record is kept of access to the system and the use of the service, which includes the following data: user name, IP address from which it is accessed, date and time of access.

Personal data from the above mentioned records are stored for 10 years, with the application of information security measures.

Competent authorities shall keep the collected data within the deadlines prescribed by law.

You can also register using a qualified electronic certificate. The data contained in the certificate are not entered into the Service Users Registry in an automated way, instead the user enters the data necessary for registration manually.

You can deactivate your account by submitting an application, after which, if there are no services that are in the process of implementation, the data will be deleted from the Service Users Registry.

Use of eGovernment services

Services on the Portal for Foreign Nationals are provided by state authorities in accordance with the scope and competences prescribed by law.

Electronic services are provided in accordance with the positive laws and by-laws of the Republic of Serbia, from the level of information to the level of complete electronic service (submission of applications, payments and electronic delivery, etc.).

The content of electronic services can be changed by competent authorities, in accordance with regulations, without notifying the user.

It is forbidden to bypass information security protection measures, such as communication interference, unauthorized content modification, as well as false representation.

You can view, copy or print the content of the Portal for Foreign Nationals in accordance with the regulations, i.e. the purpose of publication.

It is allowed to place a link (link, banner, logo) to the Portal for Foreign Nationals on other web presentations.

The Office for IT and eGovernment (hereinafter: the Office) has the right to deactivate your account if you do not use the content of the Portal in accordance with the Terms of Service, i.e. if during registration you submit data and facts on the basis of which the authorized person cannot identify you, that is, register you as a service user.

Use of "cookies"

The portal for foreign nationals uses "cookies" - text files that record data important for the operation of the Portal, and are stored in the web browser of visitors.

The necessary cookies make it possible to save data about user settings of the Portal (for example, choice of language, font size, color scheme).

Analytical cookies are used to collect data on how the Portal is used in order to better understand the needs of visitors, improve the user experience and provide better service to citizens. For these needs, the Office uses the Google Analytics service. The data collected with regard to this include, for example, the types of devices from which the portal is accessed (mobile or desktop devices), which are the sources of the visit (from browsers, social networks, etc.), which pages/services are accessed, what is the interaction with certain elements of the Portal (e.g. search field, selection of menu options, buttons to launch services, etc.). The analysis of this data helps the Office to, among other things, determine the existence of broken links, issues in the use of navigation elements or improve the search results. All the mentioned data are processed and used anonymously and as aggregated data, i.e. they are not connected in any way with the identity of citizens, nor are they used to identify individual users of the Portal. Access to the Google Analytics service is provided exclusively by the authorized persons of the Office, who work on the development of the Portal and the improvement of the user experience.

Users and visitors of the Portal for Foreign Nationals can prevent the use of cookies by withdrawing their consent within the "Notice on the use of cookies" on the Portal itself, through the system settings of their web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) or by using the relevant plugins (extensions). For more information about the Google Analytics privacy policy log on to the following link: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=sr

Notification of personal data processing

In this way you informed about who and for what purposes processes personal data, which you enter when using the “Welcome to Serbia" Portal for Foreign Nationals.

The notification is provided in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection of ("RS Official Gazette", number 87/18).

The purpose of the processing is the exercise of the legally prescribed powers of the controller, as well as the action of the competent authorities in accordance with the entrusted competences.

The legal basis is contained in the Constitution, ratified international agreements and positive laws and by-laws.

The application by which you give your consent to the processing of personal data during account registration is made in accordance with Article 15 of the Law on Personal Data Protection (hereinafter: the Law).

Pursuant the provisions of Art. 42 and Art. 50 of the Law, protection is provided against unauthorized or illegal processing, as well as against accidental loss, destruction or damage of personal data, with the application of appropriate technical, organizational and personnel measures.

Pursuant the provisions of Art. 23 and Art. 24 of the Law, the person to whom the collected data relates is hereby notified of the following:

The competent state authorities - service providers on the Portal are considered controllers, and the Office for IT and eGovernment is the processor of personal data in the sense of the provisions of the Law.

The personal data collected in this way shall not be transferred from the Republic of Serbia.

The person to whom the personal data refer has the right to request access, modification or deletion of his/her personal data from the controller, i.e. the right to limit processing, the right to object, as well as the right to data transferability.

The withdrawal of consent can be made at any time, but it does not affect the admissibility of processing on the basis of consent before the withdrawal.

In the specific case, providing personal data is an obligation established by law.

If the controller intends to further process personal data for another purpose that is different from the one for which the data were collected, the controller is obliged to provide information about that other purpose to the person to whom the data refer before starting further processing, as well as all other important information, unless this person is already familiar with this information. The controller is obliged to provide this information within a reasonable deadline, and no later than within 30 days.

The persons to whom the data refer can contact the persons for the protection of personal data, who are appointed in the competent authorities in accordance with Art. 56 of the Law, with regard to all issues related to the processing of personal data, as well as with regard to the exercise of their rights prescribed by law.

Every person has the right to file a complaint with the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data in accordance with Article 82 of the Law on Personal Data Protection, if the processing of personal data was carried out contrary to the provisions of this law.

For all additional questions regarding this privacy policy, please contact the civil servant - person designated for the protection of personal data in the Office for IT and eGovernment at the email address lzzpol@ite.gov.rs or by phone at 011/7358-412 during working hours (7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.). The Office for IT and eGovernment is also the personal data processor.

Controller identity and contact details

Personal data controllers checking the fulfilment of conditions with regard to the application submitted through the Portal for Foreign Nationals are as follows:

Ministry of the Interior

· contact phone number: 011/274-0000;

· e-mail address: info@mup.gov.rs;

· seat address: Bulevar Mihajla Pupina 2a, 11000 Novi Beograd.

National Employment Service

· contact phone numbers: 034/505-500, 011/292-9800;

· seat address: Svetozara Markovića 37 (Kragujevac Directorate) and Kralja Milutina 17 (Belgrade Directorate).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

· contact phone numbers: 011/3616-33, 011/3068-000;

· email address: mfa@mfa.rs;

· seat address: Kneza Miloša 24-26, 11000 Belgrade.

Modification of the content of the Portal for Foreign Nationals

This version of the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy of the Service User on the Portal for Foreign Nationals, number: ________, was published by _____. ____________ in 2024.

Last updated: 07.12.2024.

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