Can A Foreigner Start A Business In Serbia

---
name: can-a-foreigner-start-a-business-in-serbia
description: "Can a foreign citizen start a business in Serbia, and should it be an entrepreneur (preduzetnik) or a limited liability company (DOO)? Covers, for 2026, the legal difference between the two forms under the Company Law (personal liability of the entrepreneur, limited liability of DOO members and its exceptions, the manager (poslovođa), the registered interruption of activity), the headline tax rates (10% on entrepreneur income, 15% corporate tax, 15% on dividends to individuals), the lump-sum (paušal) conditions including the RSD 6,000,000 turnover limit, the RSD 8,000,000 VAT registration threshold, and why registration does not give a right to live or work in Serbia (Visa D, single permit, temporary residence up to three years). Trigger on: foreigner business Serbia, DOO or preduzetnik, paušalac, strani državljanin firma Srbija. Out of scope: the registration steps (how-to-open-a-company-in-serbia-as-a-foreigner-doo-entrepreneur-registration-guide), tax computations (serbia-income-tax"
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/can-a-foreigner-start-a-business-in-serbia"
  jurisdiction: "RS"
  tax_year: "2026"
  last_updated: "2026-10-30"
  reviewed_by: "Andrija Eminovic"
---

# Can a Foreigner Start a Business in Serbia?

## Can a Foreigner Start a Business in Serbia?

## DOO vs Entrepreneur – A Practical Overview for Foreign Founders

Foreign citizens can establish and operate businesses in Serbia. However, before starting the registration process, one of the most important decisions is choosing the appropriate legal form.

For most foreign individuals considering a small or medium-sized business in Serbia, two of the most relevant options are:

* **Entrepreneur (Preduzetnik)**, or
* **Limited Liability Company (DOO – Društvo sa ograničenom odgovornošću).**

These two forms differ significantly in terms of legal status, liability, taxation, management and the possibility of temporarily suspending business activities.

Understanding these differences before registration can prevent unnecessary costs and legal or tax complications later.

**Tier 2, checked against the law. Built by Michael Cutajar and the OpenAccountants team. Figures for 2026 come from the official consolidated texts of the Company Law, the Law on Foreigners and the Law on Employment of Foreigners (pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs), the Ministry of Finance texts of the tax laws, and the Business Registers Agency (APR) fee and founding pages, all read on 30 October 2026. Tax figures must agree with serbia-income-tax, serbia-social-contributions, rs-corporate-tax and serbia-vat; those skills win if they differ. Not signed off by a Serbian accountant.**

Figures in this skill are for 2026. The registration steps themselves are in [how-to-open-a-company-in-serbia-as-a-foreigner-doo-entrepreneur-registration-guide](how-to-open-a-company-in-serbia-as-a-foreigner-doo-entrepreneur-registration-guide.md). That skill and this one overlap on liability, tax rates, banking and VAT; this one is about choosing the form, the other about registering it.

## 1. Can a foreign citizen start a business in Serbia?

**Yes.**

A foreign citizen can establish a Serbian limited liability company (DOO) and own 100% of it. The Company Law lets any natural or legal person be a member of a company (Article 9) and sets no nationality condition; a DOO can have a single member (Article 139). APR's founding instructions take a copy of the passport as the identity document of a foreign member.

A foreign individual may also register as an entrepreneur in Serbia. APR's entrepreneur founding instructions likewise take a copy of a foreigner's passport or foreign identity card.

A Serbian citizen or Serbian business partner is therefore not required simply because the founder is a foreign national.

However, business registration, residence and the right to work in Serbia are separate legal matters.

Registering a business does **not automatically grant a foreign citizen the right to reside or work in Serbia**.

## 2. Entrepreneur (Preduzetnik)

An entrepreneur in Serbia is a **registered individual – not a separate legal entity**.

This distinction is extremely important.

Unlike a DOO, where the company exists as a legal entity separate from its shareholder, an entrepreneur conducts business as a registered natural person.

## Personal liability

An entrepreneur is personally responsible for obligations arising from the business.

This means that the entrepreneur answers for all business obligations with **their entire personal property**, including property acquired through the business (Company Law, Article 85(1)).

The liability does not end when the entrepreneur is deleted from the register (Article 85(2)). Closing the business does not wipe out its debts.

There is no separation between the liability of a company and the personal liability of its owner comparable to the separation that exists with a DOO.

This is one of the most important factors that should be considered when choosing between an entrepreneur and a DOO.

## Management

An entrepreneur does not have a director in the same sense as a DOO.

The registered individual is the entrepreneur and carries responsibility for conducting the business.

Under the Company Law, an entrepreneur may entrust business management to a manager (*poslovođa*) by written authorisation (Article 89(1)). The manager must be employed by the entrepreneur (Article 89(3)), except that during a justified temporary absence (illness, studies and similar) an entrepreneur with no employed manager may entrust general management to a member of their household without employing them (Article 89(4)). The manager is registered under the registration law (Article 89). This should not be confused with the position of director of a limited liability company.

## 3. How is an entrepreneur taxed?

Not every entrepreneur in Serbia is taxed in the same way.

This is an important distinction because the term **“paušalac” does not represent a separate legal form**.

A paušalac is still an entrepreneur.

Depending on the applicable conditions and the chosen or available tax regime, an entrepreneur may, among other possibilities, be taxed based on accounting records or under the lump-sum taxation regime.

## Entrepreneur keeping accounting records

- **Personal income tax on taxable income from independent activity (entrepreneur keeping accounting records)**: 10% (Personal Income Tax Law, Article 38). The taxable result is determined in accordance with Serbian tax regulations and should not simply be understood as 10% of all money received into the business account.

An entrepreneur who keeps accounting records is subject to **10% personal income tax on taxable income from independent activity** (Personal Income Tax Law, Article 38).

The taxable result is determined in accordance with Serbian tax regulations and should not simply be understood as 10% of all money received into the business account.

Social security contributions must also be considered. The 2026 rates are 24% for pension and disability insurance, 10.3% for health insurance and 0.75% for unemployment insurance (Law on Contributions, Article 44(1)), and the lowest monthly base for 2026 is RSD 51,297 (Minister of Finance notice for 2026). How the base is set for an entrepreneur, and the 2026 maximum base, are in [serbia-social-contributions](serbia-social-contributions.md). The tax computation is in [serbia-income-tax](serbia-income-tax.md).

## Lump-sum entrepreneur – “Paušalac”

If the entrepreneur meets the prescribed requirements for lump-sum taxation, taxation operates differently.

A paušalac does **not simply pay 10% of the actual profit earned**.

Instead, the Serbian Tax Administration determines the tax base and the resulting tax and social contribution obligations in accordance with the applicable rules. The 10% rate then applies to that deemed income, not to the real profit.

The entrepreneur then pays the amounts determined for the relevant period regardless of the exact accounting profit that would otherwise have been calculated from income and expenses.

Not every activity or entrepreneur qualifies for lump-sum taxation, and statutory limitations apply. Under the Personal Income Tax Law, Article 40(2), lump-sum taxation is refused to an entrepreneur:

* in advertising and market research;
* in wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, financial intermediation or real estate activities (a trade or catering business run from a kiosk, trailer or similar mobile structure may still be allowed, Article 40(3));
* in whose activity other persons invest;
* whose total turnover in the previous year, or planned turnover when starting, is **over RSD 6,000,000**; or
* who is registered for VAT.

How the Tax Administration sets the lump-sum base, and the 10% yearly cap on rises of that base until the end of 2027, are in [serbia-tax-optimization](serbia-tax-optimization.md).

## 4. Limited Liability Company (DOO)

A **DOO is a separate legal entity** from its shareholder or shareholders.

A foreign individual or foreign legal entity can establish a Serbian DOO and hold 100% of it (Company Law, Articles 9 and 139).

A DOO can have one or more shareholders. Its founding act is a founding decision when there is one founder, and a founding agreement when there are several (Company Law, Article 11(1)).

The shareholder and the director do not have to be the same person.

A foreign citizen may therefore be:

* only a shareholder,
* both shareholder and director, or
* the company may have another person appointed as director.

## Liability of a DOO

A DOO is responsible for its obligations with **the assets belonging to the company**.

As a general rule, the members of a DOO are **not liable for the company's obligations**, except in the cases set out in Articles 18 and 548 of the Company Law (Article 139).

This is one of the fundamental differences between a DOO and an entrepreneur.

The main exception is abuse of limited liability: a member who abuses the rule of limited liability answers for the company's obligations (Article 18(1)). Article 18 gives examples, such as using the company to reach a goal that is otherwise forbidden to the member, or using or disposing of company property as if it were personal property.

For normal business operations, the basic distinction can therefore be understood as:

**Entrepreneur → personal liability with the entrepreneur's property**

**DOO → the company is liable with the company's property**

## 5. How is a DOO taxed?

- **Corporate income tax on taxable profit (DOO)**: 15% (Corporate Income Tax Law, Article 39)

A Serbian DOO is subject to **15% corporate income tax on its taxable profit** (Corporate Income Tax Law, Article 39). The computation is in [rs-corporate-tax](rs-corporate-tax.md).

However, foreign founders should be careful when comparing this rate with the 10% rate applicable to taxable income from independent activity of an entrepreneur.

A lower headline tax rate does not automatically mean that one legal form is cheaper.

For example, when the shareholder of a DOO wants to distribute the company's profit to themselves, taxation of the distribution must also be considered. A dividend paid to an individual is capital income, taxed at 15% (Personal Income Tax Law, Article 64). For a foreign shareholder who is not resident in Serbia, a tax treaty can change the withholding; see [rs-cross-border](rs-cross-border.md).

The final tax burden therefore depends on how the business operates, how the owner receives money from the business, whether there are employees, whether the owner or director receives remuneration, and other circumstances.

For this reason, the choice between DOO and entrepreneur should not be based solely on comparing **15% vs 10%**. A side-by-side of the routes is in [serbia-tax-optimization](serbia-tax-optimization.md).

## 6. Can the business be temporarily suspended?

This is another important practical difference between an entrepreneur and a DOO.

## Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur can register a **temporary interruption of business activity** (*prekid obavljanja delatnosti*).

This is commonly referred to in practice as putting the business into **“mirovanje”**.

This can be particularly useful for seasonal businesses or individuals who temporarily do not intend to conduct business.

The entrepreneur remains registered, but the business activity is formally interrupted for the registered period. The interruption is registered under the registration law and cannot be backdated, and the entrepreneur must post a notice of the interruption period at the place of business (Company Law, Article 90).

The tax, contribution and administrative consequences of the interruption depend on the circumstances and applicable regulations.

## DOO

A DOO does **not** have an equivalent mechanism allowing the company simply to be placed into “mirovanje”. The Company Law provides a registered interruption of activity only for an entrepreneur (Article 90); it has no such provision for a company.

The company can stop generating revenue or temporarily have no commercial activity, but the legal entity continues to exist.

Consequently, the fact that the company currently has no business activity does not automatically eliminate its accounting, reporting and other statutory obligations.

This is an important consideration for foreign owners who may want to establish a company for a project and then leave it inactive for an extended period.

## 7. Director vs entrepreneur

Another major difference concerns management.

A DOO has a **director or directors** who represent and manage the company.

The shareholder and director may be the same person, but they represent legally different roles.

This distinction can be particularly important for foreign citizens because ownership of a Serbian company, acting as its director, physically working in Serbia and residing in Serbia may have different legal, immigration, tax and social-security consequences.

With an entrepreneur, there is no equivalent separation between “company owner” and “director”.

The individual is registered as the entrepreneur and conducts the business in that capacity, although management may under prescribed conditions be entrusted to a registered manager (Company Law, Article 89).

## 8. Residence and work permits

Foreign founders should not confuse business registration with immigration status.

**Owning a Serbian DOO or registering as an entrepreneur does not by itself automatically grant residence or work rights in Serbia.**

If the foreign citizen intends to live and work in Serbia, the applicable immigration requirements must be considered separately.

Depending on the individual's citizenship and circumstances, this may involve:

* a **Visa D**, the long-stay visa (Law on Foreigners, Article 19);
* a **single permit** (*jedinstvena dozvola*), which is one permit for temporary residence and work (Law on Foreigners, Article 3(13a)).

Temporary residence can be granted for up to three years and extended for the same period, depending on whether the reason for it still exists (Law on Foreigners, Article 44(1)).

The Law on Employment of Foreigners treats a foreigner who works in a business of which they are the sole or controlling member as **self-employment** (*samozapošljavanje*) (Article 2(3)). A foreign founder who will run their own DOO or entrepreneur business in Serbia therefore falls under the self-employment rules, not the rules for an employee hired by someone else.

The appropriate procedure should therefore be considered together with the intended business structure.

## 9. Registration

Both entrepreneurs and companies are registered through the **Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR – Agencija za privredne registre)**.

The documentation and procedure differ depending on whether the applicant is registering as an entrepreneur or establishing a DOO:

* **DOO:** since 17 May 2023 the founding application can only be filed electronically (Law on the Registration Procedure with APR, Article 9(2), as APR's founding instructions state). The APR fee for registering the founding, including registration of the documents, is **RSD 8,000**.
* **Entrepreneur:** the application can be filed on paper (at APR or by post) or electronically. The APR fee for registering an entrepreneur is **RSD 2,500**.

The steps are in [how-to-open-a-company-in-serbia-as-a-foreigner-doo-entrepreneur-registration-guide](how-to-open-a-company-in-serbia-as-a-foreigner-doo-entrepreneur-registration-guide.md).

Documents in a foreign language must be filed with a Serbian translation certified by a permanent court interpreter, and where a certified foreign public document is required it needs an Apostille or, for a country outside the Hague Convention with no bilateral agreement with Serbia, full legalisation (APR founding instructions).

Foreign founders should therefore determine the appropriate structure before preparing the incorporation documents.

## 10. Bank account and compliance procedures

After registration, banking is often one of the most important practical steps for a foreign-owned Serbian business.

Banks apply their own Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering procedures.

Depending on the client, banks may request information and documentation concerning:

* ownership,
* ultimate beneficial owners,
* source of funds,
* expected business activities,
* expected incoming and outgoing payments,
* countries involved in transactions,
* customers and suppliers, and
* contracts supporting the intended business activity.

Registration with APR therefore does not automatically guarantee that a particular bank will open an account without conducting its own compliance assessment.

## 11. VAT and other tax obligations

Whether the business is operated as a DOO or entrepreneur, VAT and other tax obligations must be considered separately.

A business whose total turnover in the previous 12 months is over **RSD 8,000,000** must file a VAT registration application within five days of reaching that turnover (VAT Law, Article 38(1)). Below that, registration is voluntary. An entrepreneur who registers for VAT loses the right to lump-sum taxation (Personal Income Tax Law, Article 40(2)). The VAT rules, including how long a registration lasts in 2026 and from 2027, are in [serbia-vat](serbia-vat.md).

The appropriate tax treatment depends on factors such as:

* turnover,
* type of activity,
* customers,
* whether services or goods are supplied,
* whether customers are located in Serbia or abroad,
* employment of workers, and
* individual transactions.

This is particularly important for foreign founders providing services internationally because the VAT treatment cannot be determined solely from the fact that the customer is located outside Serbia.

## 12. DOO or entrepreneur – which is better?

There is no single answer that applies to every foreign founder.

An entrepreneur may offer a simpler structure for certain small businesses and individual service providers.

The possibility of temporarily suspending activity can also make the entrepreneur form attractive for businesses that may not operate continuously.

However, the entrepreneur bears **personal liability with their property** for business obligations, and that liability survives deletion from the register.

A DOO provides a clearer separation between the owner's personal property and the company's property.

The company itself is responsible for its obligations with its own assets, while shareholders generally enjoy limited liability.

On the other hand, a DOO involves a different tax structure and generally more continuing corporate and administrative obligations.

The appropriate choice therefore depends on the actual business model rather than simply on which form is cheaper to register.

## 13. Questions to answer before registering

Before establishing a business in Serbia, a foreign founder should consider:

1. Will the business be operated as a DOO or entrepreneur?
2. What activity will be performed?
3. Will the owner live in Serbia or abroad?
4. Will the owner personally work in Serbia?
5. Who will manage the business?
6. Will the customers be Serbian or foreign?
7. What level of annual turnover is expected? (Over RSD 6,000,000 rules out lump-sum taxation; over RSD 8,000,000 in 12 months means VAT registration.)
8. Will VAT registration be required?
9. Will employees be hired?
10. How will the owner receive money from the business?
11. Is limited liability important for the planned activity?
12. Could the business need to be temporarily suspended?
13. Does the entrepreneur qualify for lump-sum taxation?

These questions should ideally be answered **before registration**, not after the business has already started operating.

## Conclusion

Foreign citizens have several options for starting a business in Serbia, but choosing the appropriate legal and tax structure is an important first step.

For many individual founders, the main choice is between operating as an **entrepreneur (preduzetnik)** and establishing a **limited liability company (DOO)**.

The fundamental difference is that an entrepreneur is a registered individual who is personally liable for business obligations, while a DOO is a separate legal entity responsible for its obligations with the company's assets.

Taxation is also different: a DOO is subject to a 15% corporate income tax rate, and dividends paid to an individual are taxed at a further 15%, while an entrepreneur keeping accounting records is subject to a 10% personal income tax rate on taxable business income. Entrepreneurs who qualify for lump-sum taxation are taxed under a different system based on amounts determined in accordance with Serbian tax regulations.

Another practical difference is flexibility: an entrepreneur can formally register a temporary interruption of business activity, while a DOO cannot simply be placed into an equivalent state of “mirovanje”.

For foreign founders, the correct choice should therefore be based on the planned activity, expected turnover, liability risk, taxation, residence plans and how the owner intends to operate and receive income from the business.

*This article provides general information about doing business in Serbia and does not constitute individual legal, tax or immigration advice. The appropriate structure and obligations depend on the circumstances of each founder and business.*

> Built by Michael Cutajar and the OpenAccountants team.

## Sources

| Source | URL | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Zakon o privrednim društvima (Company Law), Sl. glasnik RS 36/2011 to 19/2025, official consolidated text: Arts. 9, 11, 18, 85, 89, 90, 139 | https://pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs/eli/rep/sgrs/skupstina/zakon/2011/36/1/reg | 2026-10-30 |
| Zakon o porezu na dohodak građana (Personal Income Tax Law), Ministry of Finance copy of the consolidated text up to 80/2026: Arts. 38, 40, 64 | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-porezu-na-dohodak-gradjana | 2026-10-30 |
| Zakon o porezu na dobit pravnih lica (Corporate Income Tax Law), Ministry of Finance consolidated text: Art. 39 | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-porezu-na-dobit-pravnih-lica | 2026-10-30 |
| Zakon o doprinosima za obavezno socijalno osiguranje (Law on Contributions), Ministry of Finance consolidated text: Art. 44 | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-doprinosima-za-obavezno-socijalno-osiguranje | 2026-10-30 |
| Minister of Finance, lowest monthly contribution base for 2026, RSD 51,297 | https://www.mfin.gov.rs//upload/media/nATlw2_69429ec84247a.docx | 2026-10-30 |
| Zakon o porezu na dodatu vrednost (VAT Law), Ministry of Finance consolidated text to 80/2026: Art. 38 | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-porezu-na-dodatu-vrednost2 | 2026-10-30 |
| Zakon o strancima (Law on Foreigners), Sl. glasnik RS 24/2018, 31/2019, 62/2023, official consolidated text: Arts. 3, 19, 44 | https://pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs/eli/rep/sgrs/skupstina/zakon/2018/24/1/reg | 2026-10-30 |
| Zakon o zapošljavanju stranaca (Law on Employment of Foreigners), Sl. glasnik RS 128/2014 to 62/2023, official consolidated text: Arts. 2, 4 | https://pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs/eli/rep/sgrs/skupstina/zakon/2014/128/4/reg | 2026-10-30 |
| APR, company fees: founding registration RSD 8,000 (apr.gov.rs blocks automated and browser access from our network, so read from the Internet Archive capture of 17 February 2026) | https://web.archive.org/web/20260217232353/http://www.apr.gov.rs/привредна-друштва/накнаде/накнаде.1070.html | 2026-10-30 |
| APR, entrepreneur fees: founding registration RSD 2,500 (Internet Archive capture of 17 January 2026) | https://web.archive.org/web/20260117213611/https://apr.gov.rs/регистри-/предузетници/накнаде.4862.html | 2026-10-30 |
| APR, company founding instructions: electronic-only filing from 17 May 2023, passport copy for a foreign member, certified translation, Apostille (Internet Archive capture of 17 February 2026) | https://web.archive.org/web/20260217232227/https://www.apr.gov.rs/регистри-/привредна-друштва/упутства/оснивање.1059.html | 2026-10-30 |
| APR, entrepreneur founding instructions: paper or electronic filing, passport copy for a foreigner (Internet Archive capture of 19 February 2026) | https://web.archive.org/web/20260219073956/https://www.apr.gov.rs/регистри/предузетници/упутства/оснивање.1083.html | 2026-10-30 |

Not yet confirmed: the documents, conditions and fees for a Visa D and a single permit for a self-employed foreigner (the Law on Foreigners and the Law on Employment of Foreigners were read only for the articles cited); the tax and contribution consequences of a registered interruption; whether the APR fee differs between paper and electronic filing for an entrepreneur (the APR page gives one amount).

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-10-30. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `can-a-foreigner-start-a-business-in-serbia` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/can-a-foreigner-start-a-business-in-serbia. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.