Employers have to choose between hiring a foreigner or shutting down the business

Data from the National Employment Service show a steady growth of the number of foreign workers in Serbia. They have issued over 52,000 work permits in 2024, mostly to citizens of China, Turkey, Russia, India, and Nepal.
Although it has become easier to hire foreign nationals due to recent amendments to the Law on Employment of Foreigners, there are some challenges that employers still face, from language barriers to the risk of workers leaving the company.
Equally, the employment of foreign labour in Serbia has become easier due to legislative changes, investment in construction, the emigration of domestic workers, and high demand for workers in the hospitality industry. Nevertheless, reports of an agreement with Ghana on the import of labour have been denied by the Ministry of Labour.
As Jelena Jevtović of the Serbian Employers’ Union told Insajder, there are worker mobility agreements between Serbia and many countries, which causes an influx of foreign workers.
As she noted, they have submitted reform initiatives for the education system for years.
According to Jevtović, the aim of a list of shortage occupations is to facilitate the implementation of the Law on Employment of Foreigners.
It is also necessary to mention the Open Balkan initiative when it comes to employing foreign nationals. Nevertheless, not many people have used that option to enter the domestic labour market.
Also, Insajder discussed with the interlocutor educational profiles that Serbian employers most commonly employ, the procedure, and obstacles are when hiring a foreign worker.
The amendments to the Law on Employment of Foreigners brought a general digitalization last year.
The police, the National Employment Service, and the Central Registry together issue the “single residence and work permit,” and the foreign worker collects it at the Ministry of the Interior.
Nevertheless, the employer can have problems with it, because under the previous regulation, there was the assurance that only he could employ the worker with the permit valid for one year.
It is also necessary to mention issues arising with foreigners from countries under the visa regime. Some of them take advantage of the possibility to travel to other countries after receiving residency approval in Serbia.
Jelena Jevtović also mentions the diverse situation concerning the structure of foreign workers in relation to the parts of the world they come from, and where most of them originate.
Nevertheless, she assesses experiences with foreign workers as mostly positive.
Although, as she says, most foreign workers are generally satisfied with the conditions, there are things they don’t like.

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