Those who work for themselves can have an office anywhere on the globe, but also those that the employer does not have to keep an eye on.
There are currently at least 103 of them in Belgrade. That is what the “nomad list”, the largest community of “traveling” workers, says. Some are in the Serbian capital for only a few days, and some have been finishing their work from here for months. They are known as digital nomads, they don’t have a place, so they live and work only where it’s really dark.
Those who work for themselves can have an office anywhere on the globe, but also those that the employer does not have to keep an eye on. By amending two laws on foreigners and their employment, Serbia intends to become more attractive to this population.
The Ministry of Labor and Employment announces that it will propose changes in order to enable foreigners who have had a gross salary of more than 3,500 euros for at least six months, to obtain our work visa for one year.
– There are foreigners who live here, and work remotely for foreign companies, even now in Serbia, but they are invisible to the system – explains State Secretary Bojana Stanic. – It is estimated that there are 50,000 digital nomads in Bali at the moment. If they spend 1,300 euros a month there, the state and the island collect 65 million euros a month. It is an opportunity for Serbia to attract digital nomads, because we have all the potentials, we can promote our country and enable those people to work here. We would probably be the first country in Europe to complete the visa project for digital nomads.
– By traveling a lot and working on different types of projects, they gather various knowledge and experiences – points out Nebojsa Djurdjevic, from “Digital Serbia”. – As our digital eco-system, although promising, is still in the development phase, the talents, knowledge and experience they bring significantly enrich the domestic scene and the business community.
But as much as he is a nomad, so much is his temper. On the basis of which the place from which he will work is chosen, depends on a whole series of, mostly extremely subjective, parameters. Most people like a balanced, pleasant climate, so it is not surprising that Bali is a favorite. They love Belgrade in spring and summer. The main advantage of our capital is affordable prices, and the monthly costs are estimated at 1,436 dollars. The speed of the internet is solid, they are satisfied with the night life and security. The “Digital Serbia” Initiative, which also conducted research on this topic, explains that the visa issue has been recognized as important.
– In cooperation with UNDP, we published the research “Digital Nomad Scanner”, in which visas for this group of digital workers are recognized as an extremely important component for attracting nomads, but not the only one – explains Nebojsa Djurdjevic, director of “Digital Serbia”. – In addition to clear regulations, which would be easy to implement from the user’s point of view, there is room for attracting digital nomads in investing efforts in including nomads in the local IT community, but also in promoting and changing perceptions about Serbia.
As no one from the professional public, says our interlocutor, has had an insight into the announced changes to the law, at this moment it is not specified what changes we can expect.
– We learned from the media that part of the changes will relate to visas, but we will only be able to assess the extent to which this novelty will stimulate the increase in the number of nomads who decide for our country, as well as their longer stay in Serbia. It is important that the regulations take into account all the details and specifics of the life and work of digital nomads, Srbija Danas reports.
