Serbian passports offer a visa -Free access to the block, which makes it attractive to them for the Russians.
Serbia authorities released a large number of passports to Russian elites near the Kremlin from the beginning of the war in Ukraine. This is related to government data reported by Schengen.News.
From the beginning of 2022 to April 2025, Serbia gave citizenship more than 330 people, justified by the fact that they were “in the interest of the Republic.” Of these, there are 204 citizens of Russia. Moreover, many of these Russians have “close relationships with Russia’s special services, state corporations, oligarch and allies of Putin,” the material notes.
The European Union has an agreement on the liberalization of the Visa regime with Serbia: Serbia’s passports offer visa-free access to the block, making them attractive for Russians, especially for elite, businessmen and people associated with the Russian military-industrial complex.
Due to the profile of beneficiaries, there are fears that people associated with the Kremlin use Serbia’s passports as a new “loophole” to penetrate the EU and potentially expose the safety of the block.
According to the data provided in the investigation, none of the Russians who were given a Serbia passport during the specified period was included in the EU penalties lists, so they had the “unlimited access to the Schengen Zone for the Serbian passport.”
Among the Russians who were given Serbia’s citizenship, 11 were the current or former leader of Russian defense companies who were falling under sanctions. One of them was the main guardian of Kremlin Vladimir Putin and served in the FSB unit.
Nine beneficiaries are acting or former leader of banks falling under penalties. The list of people who received Serbia’s citizenship also included sports and officials, as well as Russian experts in the field of information technology and more.
The EU commission expressed concern about the provision of citizenship to the Russians in 2023 and warned the country about the need to take appropriate steps. The EU Commission representative said Serbia should agree with their visa policy and not provide citizenship of Russian citizens in an accelerated procedure.
The European Commission threats Serbia with the suspension of a visa without a visa regime, if the provision of citizenship under investment schemes is considered to represent an increased risk for the public and internal security of EU member states.
Remember that the media said Serbia was facing a ban on joining the European Union if President Alexander Vucich visited Moscow on May 9.
The primary pro -russian policy was evacuated from the Serbian government
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.