Legal consequences of deregistration of residence in the Republic of Serbia

by ZS Law

The issue that has become very current lately is what are the consequences if a citizen of the Republic of Serbia deregisters his/her residence in the Republic of Serbia due to moving abroad? Does a citizen of the Republic of Serbia who deregisters his/her residence lose the right to posses documents issued by the authorities of the Republic of Serbia?

Article 14 of the Law on Residence and Stay stipulates that a citizen is obliged to deregister his/her residence if he/she emigrates from the Republic of Serbia abroad. Also, Article 19 of the Law on Residence and Stay stipulates that citizens who go abroad with intention to continuously stay abroad for more than 90 days are obliged to report a temporary stay abroad to the competent authority before leaving.

In this regard, Article 27 of the Law on Residence and Stay stipulates that an individual will be fined in the amount of 10,000 to 50,000 dinars for a misdemeanor if he does not deregister his residence in case of emigration from the Republic of Serbia (Article 14 Paragraph 1 of the mentioned law), as well as if he does not report a temporary stay abroad longer than 90 days or if he does not report a return to the country, according to the Article 19, Paragraphs 1-4. of the mentioned law.

However, the consequences are different for a person who deregisters residence and for a person who registers a temporary stay abroad without deregistering residence in the Republic of Serbia. In the first case, the person practically loses the right to possess almost all documents issued by the authorities in the Republic of Serbia, while in the second case the person keeps all documents, and in the system of competent authorities it is only recorded that the person temporarily resides abroad.

How is it possible that a person who deregisters his/her residence practically loses the right to possess almost all documents issued by the authorities in the Republic of Serbia?

Article 2 of the Law on Identity Card prescribes that every citizen of the Republic of Serbia, older than 16 years of age, has the right to an identity card. Therefore, this means that all citizens of the Republic of Serbia older than 16 have the right to an ID card, regardless of whether they have a permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia.

Furthermore, Article 3 of the Law on Identity Card prescribes that it is the duty of every citizen of the Republic of Serbia who is older than 16 years  and who has a permanent residence in the territory of the Republic of Serbia to have an identity card. Also, Article 5 Paragraph 3 of the Law on Identity Card prescribes that a citizen of the Republic of Serbia who has the right to an identity card and does not have a registered residence in the territory of the Republic of Serbia will be issued an identity card based on established residence with a validity of two years.

It is interesting that the Law on Identity Card prescribe the possibility of issuing an identity card on the basis of a determined residence, however, it is unknown whether the competent authorities would in practice actually issue an identity card on the basis of a determined residence.

Although on the basis of the Law on Identity Card it can be concluded that the issuance of an identity card is related only to the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia, in practice there are a large number of conflicting opinions in favor of the interpretation that for the issuance of an identity card is necessary to have it is necessary that the person has a permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia, because otherwise it cannot be issued.

Having in mind the situation in practice, for a citizen of the Republic of Serbia who deregisters his/her residence it becomes difficult, almost impossible to obtain an ID card. The identity card is the basic document based on which other documents are issued (driver’s license, health card, etc.), which leads to the conclusion that a person who does not have an identity card of the Republic of Serbia is practically denied to  certain rights.

In fact, a citizen of the Republic of Serbia who has legal basis to have health insurance in the Republic of Serbia, could practically not get a valid health card because the Republic Health Insurance Fund requires the submission of a valid (read or photocopied) ID card, and in case he does not have an ID card , submission of a certificate of residence issued by the Ministry of the Interior. From the stated it follows that although there would be a legal basis for acquiring the status of an insured person in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Health Insurance, a citizen of the Republic of Serbia will be practically unable to exercise the rights provided by health insurance, because a citizen will not be able to obtain a health card without a valid ID card. , ie without residence in the Republic of Serbia.

In practice, the deregistration of residence in the Republic of Serbia not only leads to the loss of most documents of the Republic of Serbia but also leads to the creation of certain obligations.

In that sense, a citizen of the Republic of Serbia who is a non-resident tax resident of the Republic of Serbia is obliged to appoint a tax attorney who would primarily be authorized to receive tax acts, file tax returns, and pay taxes.

Additionally, a citizen of the Republic of Serbia who is a party to civil proceedings who deregisters residence in the Republic of Serbia and has no attorney in the Republic of Serbia would be obliged to appoint a proxy to receive letters in the Republic of Serbia, because if not done, the court will appoint a temporary representative authorized to receive the letter and shall inform the party, i.e. its legal representative.

The Law on Civil Procedure stipulates that it is possible to deliver documents through diplomatic channels or through a competent consular representative or diplomatic representative of the Republic of Serbia who performs consular affairs in a foreign country or through a legal entity internationally registered procedure, however, these possibilities take time, and can lead to delays.

Finally, the Law on General Administrative Procedure stipulates that for a party or legal representative of a party located abroad who does not have a proxy in the Republic of Serbia, the body when sending the first letter, leaves a period not exceeding 30 days to appoint a proxy to receive notifications.

Therefore, the conclusion is that a citizen of the Republic of Serbia is in a rather unfavorable position because he will be able to exercise his rights with difficulty or even not be able to exercise certain rights at all, due to the lack of residence. The right that a citizen of the Republic of Serbia certainly reserves is the right to a travel document.

Article 7 of the Law on Travel Documents prescribes that travel documents are: passport, diplomatic passport, official passport, travel document, as well as travel documents issued based on an international agreement.

The passport is issued, in the prescribed manner, by the police administration or the police station of the Ministry of the Interior in whose territory the residence or stay of the person submitting the request for the issuance of the passport is located.

Persons who apply for a passport through a diplomatic or consular mission of the Republic of Serbia, the passport is issued by the police administration or police station of the Ministry of Interior, in whose territory is the residence of the person applying for a passport, and for persons who do not have registered residence in the Republic of Serbia The passport is issued by the Police Administration for the City of Belgrade of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

From the stated above it follows that a citizen of the Republic of Serbia without residence in the Republic of Serbia has the right to obtain a passport as a basic travel document. Unlike an ID card, a passport can be obtained based on the fact that the person is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia. The competent state authorities allow such a possibility in practice. However, in such a situation, a person without residence in the Republic of Serbia can submit a request for a passport only in the competent diplomatic – consular mission of the Republic of Serbia, if he/she has a regulated stay abroad.

Taking into account all the above, there are numerous consequences of deregistering residence in the Republic of Serbia. It seems that the generally accepted opinio is that a person who no longer lives in the Republic of Serbia does not need to have personal documents issued by domestic authorities, because he no longer resides in the Republic of Serbia, which is why he has no interest in exercising rights here. The example of issuing a passport as a travel document which is exclusively related to the citizenship of the person, not the registered residence, are excluded from this procedure.  

If you have any questions or need additional information, you can contact Danka Draško by email danka.drasko@zslaw.rs , Jovana Jovanović by email jovana.jovanovic@zslaw.rs , lawyers in the law office Živković Samardžić or any of your regular contacts In the office.


Pravne posledice odjave prebivališta u Republici Srbiji

U poslednje vreme je postalo aktuelno pitanje koje su posledice ukoliko državljanin Republike Srbije odjavi prebivalište u Republici Srbiji zbog preseljenja u inostranstvo? Da li državljanin Republike Srbije koji odjavi prebivalište gubi pravo na dokumenta koja izdaju organi Republike Srbije?

Član 14 Zakona o prebivalištu i boravištu propisuje da je građanin dužan da odjavi prebivalište ako se iseljava iz Republike Srbije u inostranstvo. Dodatno, član 19 Zakona o prebivalištu i boravištu propisuje da građani koji odlaze u inostranstvo s namerom da neprekidno borave u inostranstvu duže od 90 dana dužni su da, pre odlaska, nadležnom organu prijave privremeni boravak u inostranstvu.

S tim u vezi, član 27 Zakona o prebivalištu i boravištu propisuju da će se za prekršaj novčanom kaznom u iznosu od 10.000 do 50.000 dinara kazniti fizičko lice ako ne odjavi prebivalište u slučaju iseljenja iz Republike Srbije (član 14. stav 1. pomenutog zakona), kao i ako ne prijavi privremeni boravak u inostranstvu duži od 90 dana ili ako ne prijavi povratak u zemlju, u skladu sa članom 19. stavom 1-4. pomenutog zakona.

Međutim, različite su posledice za lice koje odjavi prebivalište i za lice koje prijavi privremeni boravak u inostranstvu bez odjave prebivališta u Republici Srbiji. U prvom slučaju, lice praktično gubi pravo da poseduje skoro sve dokumente koje izdaju organi u Republici Srbiji, dok u drugom slučaju lice zadržava sve dokumente, a u sistemu nadležnih organa se samo evidentira da lice privremeno boravi u inostranstvu.

Kako je moguće da lice koje odjavi prebivalište praktično izgubi pravo da poseduje skoro sve dokumente koje izdaju organi u Republici Srbiji?

Član 2 Zakona o ličnoj karti propisuje da pravo na ličnu kartu ima svaki državljanin Republike Srbije, stariji od 16 godina života. Prema tome, iz Zakona o ličnoj karti proizilazi da pravo na ličnu kartu imaju svi državljani Republike Srbije stariji od 16 godina života, bez obzira da li imaju prebivalište u Republici Srbiji.

Dalje, član 3 Zakona o ličnoj karti propisuje da je dužnost svakog državljanina Republike Srbije koji je stariji od 16 godina života i koji ima prebivalište na teritoriji Republike Srbije da ima ličnu kartu. Dodatno, član 5 stav 3 Zakona o ličnoj karti propisuje da će se državljaninu Republike Srbije koji ima pravo na ličnu kartu, a nema prijavljeno prebivalište na teritoriji Republike Srbije, izdati lična karta na osnovu utvrđenog boravišta sa rokom važenja od dve godine.

Interesantno je da Zakon o ličnoj karti predviđa mogućnost izdavanja lične karte na osnovu utvrđenog boravišta, međutim, nepoznato je da li bi nadležni organi u praksi zaista izdali ličnu kartu na osnovu utvrđenog boravišta.

Iako se na osnovu Zakona o ličnoj karti može zaključiti da se izdavanje lične vezuje samo za državljanstvo Republike Srbije, u praksi se nailazi na veliki broj oprečnih mišljenja koje idu u prilog tumačenju da je za izdavanje lične karte ipak neophodno da lice ima prebivalište u Republici Srbiji, jer u suprotnom ista ne može biti izdata.

Imajući u vidu stanje u praksi, državljaninu Republike Srbije koji odjavi prebivalište postaje otežano, gotovo onemogućeno da pribavi ličnu kartu. Lična karta je osnovni dokument na osnovu kojeg se izdaju drugi dokumenti (vozačka dozvola, zdravstvena knjižica i sl.) što dovodi do zaključka da je lice koje nema ličnu kartu Republike Srbije praktično uskraćeno da ostvari određena svoja prava.

Naime, državljanin Republike Srbije koji ima osnov da bude zdravstveno osiguran u Republici Srbiji, praktično ne bi mogao da dobije važeću zdravstvenu knjižicu jer Republički fond za zdravstveno osiguranje zahteva podnošenje važeće (očitane ili fokotkopirane) lične karte na uvid, a u slučaju da nema ličnu kartu, podnošenje potvrde o prebivalištu izdatu od strane Ministarstva unutrašnjih poslova. Iz navedenog proizilazi da iako bi postojao pravni osnov za sticanje statusa osiguranika shodno odredbama Zakona o zdravstvenog osiguranja, državljaninu Republike Srbije praktično će biti onemogućeno da ostvariti prava koje zdravstveno osiguranje pruža, jer državljanin neće moći da pribavi zdravstvenu knjižicu (karticu) bez važeće lične karte, odnosno bez prebivališta u Republici Srbiji.

Odjava prebivališta u Republici Srbiji u praksi ne dovodi samo do gubitka većine dokumenata Republike Srbije, već dovodi i do stvaranja određenih obaveza.

U tom smislu, državljanin Republike Srbije koji je poreski nerezedident Republike Srbije je u obavezi da imenuje poreskog punomoćnika koji bi pre svega bio ovlašćen da prima poreske akte, podnosi poreske prijave i plaća porez.

Dodatno, državljanin Republike Srbije koji je stranka u parničnom postupku koji odjavi prebivalište u Republici Srbiji, a nema punomoćnika u Republici Srbiji bi bio dužan da odredi punomoćnika za primanje pismena u Republici Srbiji, jer ako ti ne učini, sud će stranci na njen trošak da postavi privremenog zastupnika ovlašćenog za primanje pismena i o tome će da obavesti stranku, odnosno njenog zakonskog zastupnika.

Zakon o parničnom postupku propisuje da mogućnost dostavljanja pismena diplomatskim putem ili preko nadležnog konzularnog predstavnika ili diplomatskog predstavnika Republike Srbije koji vrši konzularne poslove u stranoj državi ili preko pravnog lica međunarodno registrovanog za obavljanje poslova dostavljanja, međutim, ove mogućnosti iziskuju vreme što dovodi do odugovlačenje postupka.

Na kraju, Zakon o opštem upravnom postupku propisuje da stranka ili zakonski zastupnik stranke koja se nalazi u inostranstvu, a nema punomoćnika u Republici Srbiji, organ pri upućivanju prvog pismena, ostavlja rok koji ne može biti duži od 30 dana da odredi punomoćnika za prijem obaveštenja.

Prema tome, zaključak je da državljanin Republike Srbije dolazi u prilično nepovoljan položaj, jer će prava moći da ostvari uz poteškoće ili čak uopšte neće moći da ostvari određena prava, zbog nepostojanja prebivališta. Pravo koje državljanin Republike Srbije svakako zadržava je pravo na putnu ispravu.

Član 7 Zakona o putnim ispravama propisuje da su putne isprave: pasoš, diplomatski pasoš, službeni pasoš, putni list, kao i putne isprave koje se izdaju na osnovu međunarodnog ugovora.

Pasoš izdaje, na propisan način, policijska uprava ili policijska stanica Ministarstva unutrašnjih poslova na čijem području je prebivalište, odnosno boravište lica koje podnosi zahtev za izdavanje pasoša.

Licima koja zahtev za izdavanje pasoša podnose preko diplomatskog ili konzularnog predstavništva Republike Srbije, pasoš izdaje policijska uprava ili policijska stanica Ministarstva unutrašnjih poslova, na čijem području je prebivalište lica koje podnosi zahtev za izdavanje pasoša, a za lica koja nemaju prijavljeno prebivalište na teritoriji Republike Srbije pasoš izdaje Policijska uprava za grad Beograd Ministarstva unutrašnjih poslova.

Iz gore navedenog proizilazi da državljanin Republike Srbije bez prebivališta u Republici Srbiji ima pravo pribavi pasoš kao osnovnu putnu ispravu. Za razliku od lične karte, pasoš je moguće pribaviti samo na osnovu činjenice da je lice državljanin Republike Srbije. Nadležni državni organi dopuštaju takvu mogućnost u praksi. Međutim, u takvoj situaciji, lice bez prebivališta u Republici Srbiji zahtev za pasoš može podneti samo u nadležnom diplomatsko – konzularnom predstavništvu Republike Srbije, pod uslovom da ima regulisan boravak u inostranstvu.

Uzimajući u obzir sve izneto, brojne su posledice odjave prebivališta u Republici Srbiji. Stiče se utisak da je opšteprihvaćen stav da lice koje više ne živi u Republici Srbiji nema potrebu da poseduje lične dokumente izdate od strane domaćih nadležnih organa, jer u Republici Srbiji više ne prebiva, zbog čega nema ni interes da ovde ostvaruje prava. Od ovakvog postupanja izuzeto je primera radi izdavanje pasoša kao putne isprave koja se isključivo vezuje za državljanstvo lica, a ne prijavljeno prebivalište

Ukoliko imate bilo kakvih pitanja ili su Vam potrebne dodatne informacije možete se obratiti Danki Draško na email danka.drasko@zslaw.rs, Jovani Jovanović na email jovana.jovanovic@zslaw.rs, advokatima u advokatskoj kancelariji Živković Samardžić ili bilo kom Vašem redovnom kontaktu u kancelariji.

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