Last legal review: 5 November 2026.
Release, renunciation and admission to Serbian citizenship have different requirements. This guide links to detailed explanations. The governing Serbian Citizenship Act is published in the Official Gazette of RS, Nos. 135/2004, 90/2007 and 24/2018. Proposals are not legislation in force.
Release from Serbian Citizenship
Under Article 28, an adult applicant must hold foreign citizenship or prove that they will be admitted to it. There must be no impediment concerning military obligations. Serbian taxes and other statutory obligations must be settled, together with property obligations arising from marriage and parent-child relationships towards persons living in Serbia.
No criminal proceedings for offences prosecuted ex officio may be pending against the applicant in Serbia. Any prison sentence imposed in Serbia must have been served. This does not require a worldwide clean record.
Citizenship ends on service of the release decision, under personal-service rules, rather than exclusively on consular collection. If foreign citizenship is not acquired within one year after the decision was made and the person remains stateless, Article 32 permits annulment upon a written request submitted within the following three months. This safeguard does not operate automatically.
See our detailed article on release from Serbian citizenship.
Renunciation: A Narrower Route
Article 33 allows an adult Serbian citizen who was born and lives abroad and also holds foreign citizenship to renounce Serbian citizenship before their 25th birthday. Citizenship ends on the date the declaration is given. This route is not universally available.
Admission to Serbian Citizenship
General Requirements
Article 14 requires approved permanent settlement, age 18 or over, legal capacity that has not been withdrawn, and at least three years of uninterrupted registered domicile in Serbia immediately before applying. A written declaration considering Serbia the applicant’s state and release from foreign citizenship, or evidence of future release, are also required.
The Act separately addresses stateless applicants, automatic loss of previous citizenship and countries that prohibit release or impose conditions an applicant cannot fulfil. A renunciation declaration is not a freely selectable substitute. Renunciation or loss is not required where impossible or not reasonably expected. Article 15 permits a two-year admission assurance to obtain foreign release when other conditions are met.
Other Grounds
- Birth in Serbia: birthplace alone does not generally confer citizenship. Descent follows separate rules; Article 13 protects specified children with unknown parents or citizenship and stateless children. Article 16 separately permits admission of someone born in Serbia after at least two years of uninterrupted stay and a declaration. Approved permanent settlement or registered domicile is not required.
- Marriage: at least three years in a marital union with a Serbian citizen, approved permanent settlement and a declaration under Article 17.
- Emigrants and descendants: Article 18 requires adulthood, legal capacity that has not been withdrawn and a declaration; it separately addresses the spouse of someone admitted on this basis.
- Persons of Serbian ethnicity without domicile in Serbia: Article 23(1) requires adulthood, legal capacity that has not been withdrawn and a declaration, without release from foreign citizenship. Article 23(2) addresses specified refugees, exiles and displaced persons from the former Yugoslavia.
- Serbian state interest: under Article 19, the Government decides on a proposal from the competent ministry. General prior-residence and foreign-release requirements do not apply; adulthood and legal capacity alone are insufficient.
The historical route for other peoples or ethnic communities under Article 23(3) is closed: Article 18 of the standalone provisions of the 2007 amendments allowed two years for applications. That deadline has expired. This does not close the separate route for persons of Serbian ethnicity under paragraph 1.
Read more about admission to Serbian citizenship.
Minor Children and Consent
Article 20 distinguishes admission of both parents from admission of one. Where one parent becomes a citizen, that parent’s application and the other parent’s consent are required, whether the child lives in Serbia or abroad. A child older than 14 must also consent, including where both parents acquire citizenship. The child requires a properly completed procedure.
Release of a child follows Article 30: the other parent’s consent is required, subject to statutory exceptions and a guardianship authority’s opinion where applicable. A child older than 14 must also consent.
Reacquisition: Who Qualifies Under Article 34?
This route covers a person released from Serbian citizenship who acquired foreign citizenship, and a person whose citizenship ended through release or renunciation at their parents’ request. It requires an application, adulthood, legal capacity that has not been withdrawn and a written declaration considering Serbia the applicant’s state. Release from foreign citizenship is not required.
Article 34 does not generally cover everyone who personally renounced citizenship as an adult. Any other possible ground for admission must be assessed individually.
Documents and Next Steps
Evidence depends on the route: identity, citizenship, civil status, residence status, foreign admission assurances and consents are assessed for the specific procedure. Data in Serbian official registers are obtained ex officio where the applicable procedure provides. Under MFA document-authentication guidance, treaty exemptions, Apostille or full legalization may apply, depending on the country and document; a translation need not invariably be prepared in Serbia.
Applications go to the competent internal-affairs authority or through the competent Serbian consulate, personally or through a representative within statutory limits. The Ministry of the Interior normally decides, subject to the Government exception above. For an assessment of your grounds and documents, contact Petrović Mojsić & Partners. See also the MFA’s official citizenship guidance.
Author and legal review: Damir Petrović, Attorney-at-Law. General information; application depends on individual circumstances and the other country’s law.