Prime Minister Ana Brnabic today presented US citizen of Serbian origin Aleksandar Zurovac, who returned to Serbia with his family as part of the "Carta Serbica" programme, with a thank you note and wished him and his family an official welcome.
Brnabic explained that foreign citizens of Serbian origin, who were born in the diaspora or left Serbia due to certain life circumstances and renounced their Serbian citizenship, can obtain a residence permit in Serbia for one year and apply for citizenship through the mentioned programme. Presenting the "Carta Serbica" programme, she pointed out that it includes additional benefits and incentives, such as tax and customs benefits, as well as taking housing loans for tax non-residents in cooperation with the Postanska Stedionica bank. The Prime Minister said that our people in the diaspora are very valuable because with their arrival they bring enthusiasm and new knowledge and experiences. Our people in the diaspora are a great potential and treasure, as well as all those who want to return or to come here to see what it is like and then later make a decision on citizenship, investing and opening companies, Brnabic pointed out.
She added that the "Carta Serbica" programme was copied from Poland, and was designed in such a way as to open the door and provide a way for everyone who originates from Serbia and has the citizenship of another country to legally reside in our country. The Prime Minister noted that "Carta Serbica" was created as part of the "Returning Point” project, aimed at the return of the diaspora to Serbia, stating that since 2020, more than 8,000 people from the diaspora have been contacted, some of whom returned, some have invested, and some have suggested what the state should still do. Director of the "Returning Point" programme Ivan Brkljac explained that all those who are second or third generation of Serbian origin born abroad, displaced during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, as well as those who, due to some life circumstances, had to renounce the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia are eligible for this programme. He added that various projects are planned, which would include entrance fees to museums and visits to cultural facilities, so that those who have never lived in Serbia could get to know the culture and history of their ancestors. Zurovac, who was born in Drnis in Croatia, as a boy first stayed in Belgrade with his family during the war, and then in the US, in California and Minnesota. Brnabic, Brkljac and Zurovac called on all the people in the diaspora to get informed on the website “Returning Point” about the return and programmes, such as „Carta Serbica”