Foreigners Help Desk

Company registration (LLC registration in Serbia, entrepreneur registration)

We can help foreign citizens to register a company in the Republic of Serbia. In the last few years, Serbia has become an attractive destination for opening a company due to a stable banking system that does not disclose information to foreign countries, it is the basis for a residence permit for shareholders in Serbia, and taxes are one of the lowest in Europe.

Currently, the second residence permit institute is very popular for people who have a passport of one country and want to have a residence and business in another country, and which can be achieved on the basis of company registration in Serbia.

Serbia offers a high quality of life with favorable living conditions, excellent real estate offers. The capital of Serbia is Belgrade, which is located on two rivers, which is unique in the world. Belgrade has a rich day and night life, there are parts of the city that are residential and special new neighborhoods that are popular for foreigners. In addition to all of the above, Serbia is one of the safest countries in Europe.

Then, due to its geographical position, Serbia is located close to Europe and Asia, and airports in Serbia provide transportation to all the most important world destinations. As a special feature, we can single out the large complex on the Belgrade Waterfront (https://www.belgradewaterfront.com), which is owned by Emaar from the UAE and the financier of the project, and the very fact that the largest investor in the UAE is investing in Serbia is a sign of stability, prosperity, and the business rise of Serbia as one of the future best capitals of Europe. We can single out a few more important new complexes in Belgrade, such as Marina Dorcol (https://marinadorcol.rs),        West65 (https://www.west65.rs/sr/west-avenue, Delta Distrct Project with new Intercontinental Hotel https://deltadistrict.rs, K District Project (https://kdistrict.rs), etc.

As for Airports in Serbia, there is Nikola Tesla Airport, a large international airport that connects Belgrade with all major world destinations with direct flights. Then Nis Constantine the Great Airport, which is located near the city of Nis in Serbia, through which many low cost airlines such as Wizzair and RayanAir fly. There is also Morava Airport, which is located near the town of Čačak.

We especially point out that Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia or any other country, and because of this situation, many companies that do business with Russia open companies in Serbia, and through them receive payments from Russia and make payments to Russian companies. Then we point out that Serbia has a good relationship with China, America and other countries of the world due to its unique political neutral position, because it is not in the European Union and is geographically located in Europe, thus copying the banking and political position of Switzerland.

The banking system in Serbia is also very developed, and very important European banks such as Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank and other European and domestic banks operate in Serbia, which have a unique position because the client can receive and send money from all over the world through these banks. to all countries and banks of the world, including Russia. The banking position between Serbia and Russia is unique because, due to direct contracts between Serbian and Russian banks, transfers go directly and not through the swift system. Then, Serbia and China have special banking agreements and there are certain banks in China with which Serbian banks do business, and without correspondent banks, this means direct fast transfers.

The advantages of registration in the Republic of Serbia are:

1. Stable Banking System with Banks working with the whole World,
2. Foreign citizens can be shareholders of a Serbian company without a residence permit,
3. Foreign citizens can be directors of a Serbian company without a residence permit,
4. Company registration is the basis for the shareholder to obtain a residence permit in Serbia and after that a Serbian passport,
5. Russian citizens can be shareholders and directors of a Serbian company, and open an international business account through which they can do business with Russia, the European Union, China, America without restrictions.
6. The tax system of the Republic of Serbia is one of the most favorable in Europe, corporate tax is 15%.
7. Company registration is possible 100% remotely.
8. Especially suitable for persons engaged in the providing services (IT Experts, Marketing Services, Logistics etc.) because they do not have to be present in Serbia for the purpose of doing business, due to the excellent business ebanking banks in Serbia.
9. The possibility for the client to authorize us as lawyers to undertake a large number of legal actions that would enable the client to spend as little time as possible in Serbia and devote himself to his business obligations.

The company registration process is in several steps:

1. If the company is opened remotely, we draw up a Power of Attorney (in English) and send it to the client by email,
2. The client certifies the power of attorney in his country with a notary, and confirms it with an apostille (if the country in which he is located is a signatory to the Apostille Convention). After that, the client sends us the original to the address of the office in Belgrade.
3. When we receive the Power of Attorney, we send it to an authorized court translator and he translates it into Serbian,
4. With the original translation of the power of attorney and the original power of attorney, we schedule a notary to certify the founding act of the future Serbian company. We access the attestation and sign the founding act of the company on behalf of the shareholder on the basis of a power of attorney.
5. We submit the certified act of incorporation, power of attorney and other documentation to the competent state authority, which registers the company within 5 working days (there is also the possibility of 1 working day under the accelerated procedure).

After the company is opened, the director of the company comes to Serbia to open a business account (and this step can be remote depending on the client’s wishes) and comes to receive the electronic signature of the Republic of Serbia, which is necessary for proper accounting.

What is important in the case of foreign citizens is that throughout the entire process of company registration, opening a business account, accounting, they are accompanied by professional lawyers who will do the job without error and provide the client with all the necessary information so that he can do business.

For all information, feel free to contact us either by email, video call, audio call.

2. Opening of an international multicurrency business bank account

Opening a business bank account is a step that occurs after the company is registered in Serbia.

The banking system in Serbia is also very developed, and very important European banks such as Banca Intesa, Raiffeisen Bank and other European and domestic banks operate in Serbia, which have a unique position because the client can receive and send money from all over the world through these banks. to all countries and banks of the world, including Russia. The banking position between Serbia and Russia is unique because, due to direct contracts between Serbian and Russian banks, transfers go directly and not through the swift system. Then, Serbia and China have special banking agreements and there are certain banks in China with which Serbian banks do business, and without correspondent banks, this means direct fast transfers.

There is a possibility that the company’s business account can be opened without the presence of the director in Serbia, 100% remotely. This is a situation when, due to business obligations, the director is unable to come to Serbia to open a company’s business account in the Bank, and wants to do it through a lawyer’s proxy, as well as when the director is in a different part of the world compared to Serbia and it is difficult to organize the arrival. There are banks in Serbia where it is possible to open a business account, if we recommend that the director come to Serbia to open a business account, because there are a large number of banks where he can apply to open a business bank account, because not all banks in Serbia allow a business account open without the presence of the director. In this case, after the company is registered in Serbia and receives a registration number and PIB, we draw up a power of attorney in English, which we send to the director by email. In addition to the above, we send the director a document in English that represents a document on which the director will sign and that signature will be considered a valid signature of the director in the Bank. The power of attorney is notarized by the director (then, in certain countries, an apostille stamp is necessary if the country where the director is located is a signatory to the Apostille Convention). Director’s Certified Power of Attorney, Certified Copy of Passport, Certified document, i.e. certified signature of the director, Certified Official Statement (this is a statement that the director is not a member of any political party), and the director submits this documentation in the original to the address of our law office in Belgrade. When the original documentation arrives, we take this documentation for translation by an authorized court translator into the Serbian language. After that, we go to the Bank with all the documentation and sign all the documentation that is necessary for opening a business account.

The first step in opening an account is to submit the preliminary documentation to the Bank for opening a business account, which is a certified copy of the director’s passport, certified proof of the director’s signature, a certified statement that the director is not in a political position, a certified power of attorney.

The second step is to fill out a document called KYC (Know Your Client), which represents the Bank’s questionnaire. Often, KYC Banks have questions such as whether the client will receive payments from abroad, if they will receive payments from abroad, from which companies they will mainly receive payments and how many payments per month and what the payment amounts will be, then the question of whether the shareholder or director has company elsewhere in the world and business accounts (especially offshore companies and accounts), the question of why he wants to open a business account in Serbia, the question of describing the exact future business through the account and what he does, whether he will provide services or trade in goods, and which activities will be carried out through the account.

The third step is for the bank to decide on the basis of the KYC Questionnaire whether it wants to establish cooperation with the client, and if so, this means potentially asking the client more questions related to the shareholders and directors themselves, for future business, and potentially asking for preliminary contracts with companies. with which the Serbian company will do business. In addition to the above, the Bank generally requires proof of the residence of the shareholder and director, and this can be an official state document that states the address of the shareholder and director, and it can also be an electricity bill, telephone bill, driver’s license, identity card, and provided that they contain the name and surname of the shareholder and director and the address of residence of the shareholder and director.

The fourth step is the bank’s final decision whether to approve the opening of an account in the Bank. Bearing in mind that documentation is submitted to the Bank that the client wants to have an International Bank Account and a Local Bank Account, the Bank decides whether to approve the opening of only one account or whether to approve the opening of both international and local accounts. When the bank approves the opening of the account, the bank draws up contracts for opening an international business bank account and a contract for opening a local RSD business bank account (RSD Serbian dinar account) and then we, as proxies, sign the contracts.

The fifth step is for the bank to open an international business bank account and a local business bank account and report this to the National Bank of Serbia, which registers the account numbers in its register.

The sixth step is for the bank to assign business ebanking to the client. This can be a username and password or a USB token, which depends on the bank where you apply to open an account. Here, we forward the Username and Password to the client for ebanking or download and send the USB Token for ebanking to the client’s desired address, which enables him to use ebanking and make transfers. In addition to this, the client waits up to 14 days from the day of opening the account for the bank to create a VISA Business Bank card for him, and when it is created, we usually pick it up at the bank for the client and deliver it via UPS or DHL or Serbian Post to the client at the desired address together with the PIN for Visa Card.

We emphasize that the whole process of opening a business bank account can be done in a different way with the presence of the client in Serbia, where we go together with the client to the Bank and submit all the necessary documentation. After submitting the documentation to the Bank, the Bank generally requests follow-up information via email and decides on opening business bank account, and the procedure is the same as in the previous paragraphs, except that the client goes to the bank with us every time. Handing over documentation by client in person to bank is a better option because opening business bank account through a power of attorney is considered an action for the bank with a higher degree of risk because the bank prefers that the business bank account be opened with the client’s personal presence, even if client only do the submission of documentation, while the rest of the process can also be done on the basis of a power of attorney. The duration of opening business account depends on the Bank, it can be up to 14 working days, and it is often earlier than that. At certain banks, the client’s presence is required only when submitting the documentation, and at certain banks, the client’s presence is required when submitting the documentation and when signing the contract on opening a business account.

We emphasize that we provide legal advice to the client so that he can choose the best bank for himself, taking into account his nationality, the situation of whether he already has offshore companies and accounts, whether he will do business with Russia and China, and depending on the country with which he plans to business, we suggest the best bank. Sometimes it is important for the client to be as little as possible in Serbia in order to open an account, and in that case we offer him options where he only has to be in Serbia for 1 working day to submit the documentation, while the rest of the documentation is signed by us as attorneys and lawyers, we activate ebanking, take over VISA cards and other legal actions for the client in order to obtain and do everything in order to enable the account and enable the client to make transactions 100% remotely as soon as possible with only one arrival in Serbia or without arrival in Serbia on the basis of a special power of attorney for opening international and local business bank account.

Advantages of opening a business bank account in Serbia:

1. In order for the director to open a business bank account in Serbia, it is not necessary for him to have a residence in Serbia, nor for the shareholder to have a residence in Serbia (this only applies to certain banks in Serbia,
2. Quick opening of a business bank account (this depends on the client’s nationality, the complexity of the ownership structure, whether he already has contracts concluded with other companies, etc.)
3. Certain Serbian banks do business with Russia and through them the client can make payments to Russian companies and Russian companies can make payments. All this is done despite the fact that Swift is sanctioned when it comes to Russia, because certain Serbian Banks and Russian Banks have contracts and special procedures for receiving and sending money.
4. Certain Banks do business directly with China, that is, some Serbian Banks have Special Agreements with Chinese Banks so that payments go from Serbia to China and from China to Serbia without correspondent banks, which speeds up transfers.
5. In addition to a business bank account, the client can receive VISA and MasterCard business
6. Quality Ebanking applications in most banks
7. The possibility to transfer from the business bank account to the client’s personal account and to buy Crypto from an authorized Crypto Exchange authorized by the Government of Serbia and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia, as well as that the purchased Crypto is further sent depending on the client’s wishes.

Also, even after opening a business bank account, we are able to provide complete support to the client in further business with the bank, including methods of receiving money to the business account, methods of sending money for payment outside of Serbia, currency conversion, and other legal and factual actions that need to be taken with the Bank, as well as correspondence with all the bank’s services in order to facilitate money transfers without problems.

3. Opening of an international personal multicurrency bank account in Serbia

Opening a personal bank account in Serbia is a special feature that our Family Law Office knows very well.

Namely, for a foreigner who opens a private bank account in Serbia for the first time, it will be a non-resident bank account, because at the initial moment he will not have a residence permit of Serbia in order to immediately open a residence personal account in Serbia. This is a convenience because in most foreign countries it is almost impossible to open a personal non-resident account without a residence permit of that country, and in Serbia it is possible through us in just one working day.

The procedure for opening a personal non-resident account is as follows. First, the client sends us a document in English from which the exact address of the client’s residence and the client’s passport can be viewed in PDF. Based on this, we prepare the entire documentation for opening a personal account. The client then schedules a flight to Belgrade. Upon the client’s landing in Belgrade, we provide the client with a document that he has legally entered Serbia and is legally located at a certain address, this document can only be issued by the owner of the apartment and that at the police station, the hotel’s document on this is not sufficient for opening a personal non-resident account. Then we submit the documentation to the Bank early in the morning and during the day we open a personal non-resident international bank account, and the client can then return to his country. After that, within 14 days, the Bank creates a VISA international business bank card and delivers it to us as proxies, and we send the VISA card and PIN codes to your personal address via UPS, DHL, Serbian Post.

What is special is the fact that Russian citizens can open a personal non-resident international account in all currencies in Serbia and get a Visa International personal card, which is rarely possible anywhere in the world. Then the Russian Citizen can transfer money from Russia to a personal account in Serbia. He can further use that money either through a Visa International card or he can buy immobility in Europe through that account (which is not possible directly from Russia).

The main disadvantage of a personal non-resident account is that while the account is in non-resident account status, the client does not have full ebanking. This means that he can only see the status of how much money he currently has in the account on ebanking. If the client wants to make a specific transfer, it is possible through a VISA card, which has no limit for physical and online payments, or make transfers through a special power of attorney, which must be verified for each transfer individually. This special power of attorney is drawn up for a certain action on personal bank account and we, as attorneys, can transfer money, for example, for some purpose only to a certain personal bank account, on a certain basis (for example, paying for an apartment based on a sales contract, transferring money to a close relative, brother-sister-mother-father etc). Full activation of ebanking is possible after the client receives a second Serbian residence permit, i.e. after 365 days from the first residence permit. And for this, a special certificate is obtained from the administration for foreigners and taken to the Bank, and the Bank activates full e-banking for the client.

The great advantage of a non-resident personal account is that Serbian local banks do not disclose information about the status of money in the client’s personal bank account.