Beli karton: registering a foreigner's stay in Serbia

Beli karton is the common name for proof that a foreigner’s place of stay has been registered — prijava boravišta stranca. Legally, what matters is the registration of the stay itself, not possession of a particular paper form.¹²

This page is written for both sides of the same procedure: a foreign visitor can see what the host is required to do, and the host can see what the visitor receives and why the registration matters.

A person or business that provides paid accommodation to a foreigner, as well as a person whom a foreigner is visiting, must register the foreigner’s stay within 24 hours from providing the accommodation or from the visitor’s arrival.¹ This is not a universal countdown of “24 hours from crossing the border”; the statutory deadline is tied to arrival at the place of accommodation or visit.

Before moving into private accommodation, agree with the host in advance who will complete the registration and how.

Registration is a legal duty, and violations can be fined

If a foreigner is staying with a private host, registration is part of the host’s statutory duty. If an individual host fails to register the stay within 24 hours, Article 120 of the Law on Foreigners provides for a fine of RSD 5,000–150,000. The range is RSD 10,000–500,000 for an entrepreneur and RSD 50,000–2,000,000 for a legal entity.³

The RSD 5,000–150,000 fine for the foreigner applies to a different situation under Article 111(3), where the foreigner is required to register their own stay. When the foreigner is staying with an individual or legal-person host, the host’s duty under Article 111(2) does not automatically become the guest’s duty.³

Article 111(4) allows a private host to authorise another person or the visiting foreigner to submit the registration referred to in Article 111(2). This changes who physically files the registration, not the 24-hour deadline.³

Separately, a foreigner must show an identity document when requested by a police officer; refusal may be fined RSD 50,000–150,000. This is an identity-document rule, not a requirement to carry a paper beli karton.³

How stay registration works

The method depends on who is providing the accommodation:

Situation	How registration is normally filed	What the foreigner receives
Hotel, hostel, apartment or another registered accommodation establishment	through eTurista	the establishment can issue a potvrda boravka on request
A private individual hosts a foreigner at a private address	through eUprava when the service conditions are met, or through the competent police unit	electronic confirmation or paper registration
Electronic registration through eUprava	fully online when the host meets the service requirements	an automatically generated electronic confirmation sent by email

Accommodation establishments register foreign guests through eTurista.¹ A private individual can use the eUprava service Prijava boravišta stranca when its conditions are met; the separate step-by-step eUprava guide for hosts covers eID, ConsentID and the electronic filing process.²

Electronic registration through eUprava

For a private host who meets the service conditions, electronic registration avoids a visit to the police: the host submits the information through eUprava and the system generates an electronic confirmation. For the detailed owner workflow, use How to register a foreigner’s stay through eUprava.

The electronic beli karton is valid without a police stamp

After successful registration through eUprava, the applicant receives an automatically generated electronic registration by email. eUprava states that the emailed electronic registration is sufficient proof of registration and that the foreigner does not need to carry a paper “card” as proof.²⁴

Does the electronic document need a handwritten signature?

The confirmation automatically generated after a successful eUprava registration does not need the host’s handwritten signature or a police stamp in order to serve as proof that the electronic registration was completed.²⁴

Save the PDF or email locally and give a copy to the foreigner. It may be useful later when an address or registration date needs to be shown.

eTurista: registration and a paper confirmation are not the same thing

A hotel or another registered accommodation establishment must record foreign guests through eTurista.¹ A separate potvrda boravka — a paper confirmation of the stay — is not issued automatically and is not mandatory. The accommodation provider generates it at the guest’s request, prints it and signs it.⁵

Therefore, not receiving a paper sheet from a hotel does not by itself mean that the guest was not registered. If a confirmation is needed for another procedure, ask the accommodation provider to issue a potvrda boravka.

If a bank or another institution asks for paper with a stamp

A bank’s request for a paper beli karton with a stamp does not turn the paper format into a general requirement of the stay-registration rules. An electronic registration delivered through eUprava is sufficient proof of registration.⁴

Tip

If a particular bank or another institution asks for a paper document under its internal procedure, ask in advance whether it will accept the eUprava electronic confirmation or a potvrda boravka from eTurista. This is a requirement of that institution, not a rule about whether the registration itself is valid.

A last paper confirmation before temporary residence can still be convenient

According to RSLive user experience, before a first temporary-residence application or a bank visit it can be convenient to keep the most recent paper beli karton. This does not make paper registration legally stronger than electronic registration and is not an additional statutory condition for temporary residence; it is only a practical way to avoid a dispute at a counter that still asks for paper proof.⁶

If the email does not arrive

According to RSLive user experience, the electronic confirmation after a successful submission often arrives quickly, but there is no official guaranteed delivery time for the email. There have been cases where messages did not reach mail.ru or yandex.ru; if there is a choice, Gmail has been a more reliable practical option in these cases. Also check the spam folder and make sure the host keeps the confirmation.⁷

After a visa run, a new entry or a change of accommodation

The registration duty arises again when the foreigner arrives at a new place of accommodation: the host or accommodation establishment registers the foreigner again within the statutory 24-hour period.¹ After leaving Serbia and entering again, do not rely on an old registration as proof of the new stay.

After entry, check the passport stamp

The Border Control Law provides for a border crossing to be certified by a passport stamp for a visa-free foreigner unless an international agreement provides otherwise.⁸ Users have occasionally encountered a missing stamp after crossing a land border. That does not by itself mean that the entry was unlawful; if the exact entry date will matter for a later procedure, check the passport immediately and ask the border police how the entry can be confirmed if the stamp is missing. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also publishes the prescribed form for confirmation of entry or exit.⁸

If the foreigner moves to another hotel, apartment or private host, the new accommodation provider or host registers the arrival at the new address.¹

Paper registration

If electronic registration is unavailable or a paper confirmation is deliberately needed for a later procedure, use the competent unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Paper registration at the police

When the electronic route does not apply, registration can be handled through the competent police unit. Check the current form and document requirements before going: the exact set depends on the basis for using the address and on the host’s details.

Contact details for the competent foreigners unit are listed on the Russian-language Directorate for Foreigners page. Keep the confirmation issued after registration.

Beli karton form

You can prepare the beli karton form in advance. The generator only helps prepare the paper form; using the generator by itself does not register the foreigner with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Quick answers

• Is an electronic beli karton valid without a police stamp? Yes, if it is the confirmation of a successful eUprava registration.²⁴
• Do I need a paper beli karton after staying in a hotel? Not necessarily. The hotel registers the guest through eTurista; a separate potvrda boravka is issued on request.¹⁵
• Do I need a new registration after re-entering Serbia? When the foreigner arrives at the place of accommodation after the new entry, the host or accommodation provider registers the stay again within 24 hours.¹
• Is an electronic document somehow incomplete because it has no handwritten signature? No. eUprava states that the electronic registration delivered by email is sufficient proof.⁴

Footnotes

1. Government of Serbia, Welcome to Serbia: Registracija po dolasku — the host/accommodation provider must register the foreigner within 24 hours; accommodation establishments use eTurista. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

2. eUprava, Ministry of Internal Affairs: Prijava boravišta stranca — conditions for electronic registration and automatic delivery of the electronic confirmation. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. Law on Foreigners (Zakon o strancima), Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, Nos. 24/2018, 31/2019 and 62/2023: Arts. 111 and 120 on stay registration, authorisation and penalties; Arts. 101 and 122 on showing an identity document to a police officer. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. eUprava: eStranac — an electronic registration sent by email is sufficient proof; foreigners do not need to carry a paper card as proof of registration. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

5. eTurista: FAQ, section “Potvrda boravka” — the confirmation is issued by the accommodation provider at the guest’s request, generated in eTurista, printed and signed. ↩ ↩²

6. RSLive user experience: banks and individual staff members at institutions sometimes ask for a paper beli karton even when a valid electronic registration exists. This describes practice, not a statutory requirement. ↩

7. RSLive user experience retained from the electronic-registration guide: eUprava messages can be delayed or fail to reach some email providers; Gmail has been used as a more reliable practical option in those cases. This is not an official requirement or a guaranteed delivery time. ↩

8. Ministry of Internal Affairs: regulations and by-laws — Zakon o graničnoj kontroli, Art. 47, on certifying border crossings by a passport stamp for visa-free foreigners; the Državna granica section also publishes the Pravilnik o izgledu i sadržaju potvrde o ulasku, odnosno izlasku iz Republike Srbije i posebnog lista. ↩ ↩²