🇷🇸 Serbia · MNL → BEG

Hire Filipino workers in Serbia

Licensed recruitment of skilled Filipino professionals for Serbian employers. Your company is the direct employer — we run selection in Manila, the Serbian permit process and the Philippine exit formalities end to end. From 1 worker.

Route Single permit for temporary residence and work (jedinstvena dozvola) — up to 3 years Typical timeline 2–3 months Minimum 1 worker
Comparing the Balkans? Croatia and Slovenia are EU and Schengen; Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania are not — seven permit systems, three Philippine offices. See the Balkans decision guide for which country fits your role.

How recruitment works

Every Serbian project runs on the same backbone: you define the roles, headcount and start date; our own DMW-licensed agency in Manila, Prime Search, sources and trade-tests candidates; you approve the shortlist (on-site or online); and we manage the Serbian permit process under your power of attorney while the Philippine side — contract verification, medical, pre-departure orientation and the Overseas Employment Certificate — runs in parallel. The employment contract is signed and verified before departure; your new employee lands, completes local onboarding and clocks in.

The Serbian specifics below are the part that makes Serbia different from every other market we serve.

Licensing: Recruitment in the Philippines runs through our own DMW-licensed agency (Prime Search); delivery in Serbia follows Serbian licensing and immigration rules.

Serbian immigration and work-permit route

Single permit for temporary residence and work (jedinstvena dozvola) — up to 3 years. Serbia replaced separate residence and work permits with a single permit on 1 February 2024: one electronic application — filed by the employer or the worker — replaces both, the National Employment Service gives its labour-market opinion inside the procedure, and the permit is issued for up to three years; an employment visa D issued to a Filipino can itself carry the right to reside and work during its validity. Serbia is outside the EU and Schengen, so there is no EU labour-market priority to overcome — the practical filters are the salary, the accommodation and the visa D at the Serbian mission accredited for the Philippines. Demand comes from construction, manufacturing, hospitality and logistics around Belgrade and Novi Sad, and Serbian employers began recruiting Filipinos in numbers in 2024–2025.

  1. Employer registers on the single-permit portal and files the application with the employment contract, accommodation and NSZ documents.
  2. NSZ labour-market opinion and MUP decision — the statutory target is about 15 days from a complete application.
  3. Worker applies for the visa D at the Serbian mission accredited for the Philippines; contract verified by MWO Budapest; OEC in Manila.
  4. Arrival, address registration and collection of the biometric single permit.

Labour-market test: Part of the single-permit procedure: the National Employment Service assesses the local labour market for the role; no separate advertising period is run by the employer.

Shortage occupations: No formal shortage list; construction, metal, food processing, hospitality and logistics roles pass the NSZ assessment routinely.

Authorities involved: Ministry of the Interior (MUP) · National Employment Service (NSZ) · Serbian consular network (visa D). Rules change; we confirm the current position for your role before you commit, and we tell you the honest number — not the marketing one.

Employer requirements

  • Registered Serbian employer with settled tax and contribution obligations.
  • Employment contract at least at the Serbian minimum wage (net, set annually) and in line with the sector.
  • Adequate accommodation and health insurance for the worker; return arrangements at the end of the contract.

DMW / MWO process on the Philippine side

Deploying a Filipino worker abroad is regulated by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). MWO Budapest has jurisdiction for Serbia — employer accreditation and contract verification. The verified contract, together with the job order approved by the DMW, allows the worker to obtain the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) — the exit clearance without which no Filipino worker can legally leave for a job abroad. Pre-employment orientation, medical examination at a DOH-accredited medical clinic authorised to examine overseas Filipino workers and pre-departure orientation complete the sequence. Because we operate the licensed agency ourselves, this runs in parallel with the Serbian permit rather than after it.

Timeline

Typical gate-to-gate time for Serbia is 2–3 months from signed engagement to the first arrival, driven mainly by the Serbian permit and the embassy appointment in Manila. Sourcing and trade testing usually take two to four weeks and are not on the critical path. We give you a written timeline for your specific role before you commit.

Typical professions for Serbia

Sectors where Serbian employers most often hire Filipino workers through us:

  • Construction
  • Manufacturing & metal
  • Hospitality
  • Logistics & warehousing
  • Food processing

Costs and commercial model

Our contractual partner is the employer, and it is the employer we invoice for the service. You receive an individual offer for Serbia covering sourcing, trade testing, documentation, the permit process and arrival support — there is no price list, because volumes, roles and the Serbian route differ from project to project. Direct employment means the worker's wage is paid by you under your Serbian contract; there is no intermediary employer.

What a typical Serbia project looks like

A Serbian employer briefs us on roles and headcount. Within two to four weeks we present trade-tested candidates from Manila with video assessments; the employer interviews online and approves. We file the single permit for temporary residence and work under power of attorney while Prime Search completes the DMW documentation. The employment contracts are signed and MWO-verified before departure; on arrival the workers complete registration and local onboarding and start on the floor — with our team reachable for the first months of integration. Whether the project is one specialist or a full shift, the mechanics are identical.

Frequently asked questions — Serbia

  • Is Serbia in the EU?

    No — Serbia is a candidate country outside the EU and Schengen. Permits are national, there is no EU labour-market priority, and the procedure is faster than in most EU states; workers cannot move on to EU employers on a Serbian permit.

  • How long does the single permit take?

    The law sets a short decision target once the electronic application is complete — around 15 days — and the visa D adds a few weeks. Two to three months from brief to arrival is realistic.

  • Which Philippine office covers Serbia?

    MWO Budapest accredits employers and verifies contracts for Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova.