“The number of foreigners has increased in recent years, the National Employment Service issued 25,000 work permits in 2021, last year more than 35,000,” Gavranović said and emphasized that the tendency to increase the number of issued permits continued this year.
In the past two months, we have more than 8,000 permits issued to foreign citizens, she said.
According to her, on March 1, the unified public discussion on amendments and additions to two laws will end – theLaw on Foreigners, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior, and the Law on Employment, the implementation of which is monitored by the Ministry of Labor.
“With the amendments and additions to those two regulations that are important for the position of foreigners, and which are horizontally connected, Serbia will have a digitized permit issuance procedure,” she said.
A foreigner, as she stated, will no longer have to go to the Directorate for Foreigners in the Ministry of Internal Affairs to submit a request for a temporary residence permit, while an employer will not have to go to the National Employment Service to obtain a work permit.
She reminded that now there are two acts, two solutions, in order to employ a foreigner, and by changing those two regulations, apart from the fact that the process will be completely digitized, a single act will be introduced so that foreigners will be able to be employed with a single permit.
“The process will be more efficient and will reduce costs for the economy,” she stated.
The newspaper, he says, will facilitate the procedure, in the sense that the foreigner or the employer will no longer have to go from counter to counter, because the request for issuing a single permit will be issued through the portal and everything will be digitized.
She added that there are quotas in the employment of foreigners in order to protect the domestic labor market.
In order for a foreigner to be employed, the National Employment Service must give its consent, and it does so if it is determined that there are no domestic citizens on record who are willing to fill that position.
“It is the protection of the domestic labor market,” Gavranović said, adding that if there is a disruption in the labor market, the government can limit the employment of foreigners.
Serbia is facing a labor shortage, that’s why we have an increased tendency to employ foreigners, she said, stating that 10 years ago, about 1,500 work permits were issued for foreigners.
One of the novelties of the law, he says, foresees that a foreigner can conclude an employment contract for an indefinite period.
Work permits will be issued for three years, with the possibility of being extended, she said and assessed that the simplified procedure is a good solution for employers to reach workers faster.
