Serbia Introduces Visas for Qatar, Mongolia, Oman & Kuwait in EU Alignment Effort

As part of its strategy to join the European Union, Serbia has introduced visa requirements for nationals of Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Mongolia, effective from April 2025. The move marks a key step toward fully aligning Serbian visa policy with EU and Schengen standards by the end of 2026.

What’s Changing?

Nationals of these four countries, who previously entered Serbia visa-free, must now apply for a visa before their visit. This applies to:

Tourism

Business

Short-term family visits

The application process includes identity checks, proof of funds, travel dates, and purpose of visit. According to SchengenVisaInfo, processing times will vary depending on consular capacity.

Why It Matters

Visa policy alignment is a core requirement for EU accession candidates. Serbia, which gained EU candidate status in 2012 and began negotiations in 2014, is now accelerating reforms after recent EU progress reports.

The EU requires candidate countries not to offer visa-free access to nationals of countries requiring visas for Schengen. That means Serbia may soon also need to reintroduce visas for citizens of Turkey, Russia, China, Azerbaijan, and Belarus, although no formal decision has been made yet.

Timeline & Next Steps

By the end of 2026, Serbia aims to:

Fully align its visa policy with Schengen

Connect to EU border control systems like ETIAS

Adopt electronic visa systems and stricter entry tracking

These efforts are expected to facilitate Serbia's path toward EU membership, though challenges remain in legal reforms and administrative readiness.