Acquisition of Serbian Citizenship by Descent

A child acquires the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by descent if:

• Both parents are citizens of the Republic of Serbia at the time of the child’s birth;
• One parent is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at the time of the child’s birth, and the child is born on the territory of the Republic of Serbia;
• Born abroad, one parent at the time of the child’s birth is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia, while the other is either unknown, stateless or of unknown citizenship.

Article 9 of the Law

A child born abroad acquires citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by descent if:

• One of the parents at the time of the child’s birth is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia, and the other is a foreign citizen, provided the parent who is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia registers the child as a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at a competent diplomatic or consular representation of the Republic of Serbia before the child turns 18, and applies for the child’s registration in the citizens’ records with the competent body in the Republic of Serbia. If the child is under guardianship, the guardian shall submit the application.
• A child born abroad who would otherwise be stateless acquires citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by descent, even if the conditions in Paragraph 1 of this Article are not met.
• If the child is over 14 years old, consent is required for acquiring citizenship under Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.

Article 10 of the Law

A person older than 18, born abroad with one parent being a citizen of the Republic of Serbia at the time of birth, and the other a foreign citizen, acquires citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by descent if they apply for registration in the citizens’ records with the competent body in the Republic of Serbia before turning 23, provided they have not acquired citizenship of the Republic of Serbia under Article 9, Paragraph 1 of the Law.

Article 11 of the Law

Under the conditions of Articles 7 to 10, a fully adopted foreign or stateless child also acquires citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by descent. The adopting parent – a citizen of the Republic of Serbia – shall submit the application for registration in the citizens’ records. An adoptee older than 18 shall submit the application before turning 23.

Note

For a child born in Serbia acquiring citizenship by descent, the fact of citizenship is recorded simultaneously with the fact of birth in the register of births without issuing a decision. Children born abroad to one or both parents who are citizens of the Republic of Serbia at the time of the child’s birth are also directly registered in the register of births at the registry office of the municipality where the parents last resided. If the parents did not have a common residence, registration is done based on the residence of one of the parents, and if the residence is unknown, based on the place of birth of one of the parents (Law on Registry Books of the Republic of Serbia).

The application for registration in the register of births, where citizenship of the Republic of Serbia is also recorded, is submitted by the parent (citizen of the Republic of Serbia) either directly to the competent registry office in the Republic of Serbia or through the diplomatic-consular representation of the Republic of Serbia competent for their place of residence.

With the application for registration, the applicant shall submit:

1. The original excerpt from the foreign birth register for the child (under the Paris or Vienna Convention or bilateral agreement), if it’s not in an international format, it needs to be translated and certified;
2. Proof of citizenship of the Republic of Serbia for the parent.

Note: The competent body, with the consent of the party, can officially obtain data from official records:

1. About the personal status of citizens (birth, marriage, and death registers),
2. Records of citizens of the Republic of Serbia – certificate of citizenship of the Republic of Serbia,
3. And other necessary data for decision-making from other official records kept by the competent bodies of the Republic of Serbia.

Citizens may also obtain or provide access to the following documents if they wish.