Applying to Serbian Universities: Documents, Entrance Exams and Deadlines

You can enter a Serbian bachelor's programme straight after secondary school, as long as your school certificate is recognised by Serbia's Qualifications Agency and you pass the faculty's entrance exam. The route is the same for every public university: pick a faculty, start recognition of your certificate (fee $85, or 8,900 dinars), apply in June, sit the entrance exam — usually in Serbian — and at enrolment show the recognition decision, proof of language and health insurance. Documents from countries without a legalisation waiver need an apostille or full legalisation. After enrolment you apply for temporary residence on the basis of study; a visa-free stay is not enough for a degree.

Below are the steps, a calendar based on the 2026/27 cycle, the documents and the mistakes to avoid. For choosing an institution, see our guide to universities in Serbia. The country overview is on our studying in Serbia page.

Is this route right for you?

Calendar: how the 2026/27 intake ran

Serbia has no national entrance exam; each faculty sets its own dates. The law requires the admission call to be published at least four months before the academic year, which starts on 1 October. The main intake runs in June and early July, with extra rounds in late August and September if places remain.

Example — University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, 2026/27:

Faculties will publish 2027/28 dates in spring 2027; the University of Novi Sad's senate normally decides on its call by 25 April. Until then, plan on last year's pattern and watch the Upis or Konkurs section of your faculty's website.

Working backwards from June

Step 1. Choose a faculty and read its admission call

The document that governs everything is the faculty's admission call (konkurs) for the year. It lists places, exam subjects, the ranking formula, fees, the tuition for foreign citizens and special rules for applicants with foreign certificates. The law puts foreign applicants on equal terms with Serbian ones regarding prior education and separately requires command of the teaching language; the institution decides how language is tested.

Note down before applying:

• which exams you sit and in what language;
• the annual fee for foreign citizens (the za strane državljane line) and the exam fee;
• what is needed at application and what only at enrolment;
• whether proof of started recognition is accepted or a final decision is required;
• which document proves your language.

Rules really do vary. The University of Novi Sad's 2026/27 call lets you apply with the Agency's confirmation that recognition is under way and even enrol conditionally, but the decision must be submitted before classes start or the faculty will deregister you. The Belgrade Faculty of Law lists the recognition decision, proof of Serbian and health insurance in its clause on foreign citizens, while its general document list also accepts confirmation that recognition has started. Where a call is ambiguous, ask the admissions office in writing.

Step 2. Get your school certificate recognised

Foreign school documents are recognised by the ENIC/NARIC Centre of the Qualifications Agency (Agencija za kvalifikacije). Certificates of completed secondary education from Russia and other former Soviet republics are recognised at level 4 of Serbia's national qualifications framework.

What to submit:

1. The original certificate with its grade transcript (or a certified copy).
2. A translation by a court interpreter registered in Serbia (sudski tumač); translations made abroad are not accepted.
3. Birth certificate.
4. Proof of payment of the $86 (8,900-dinar) fee per application, set by the Agency's 2024 fee rules.
5. For minors, a parent or authorised representative applies.

You can apply online, by post or in person in Belgrade. Legalisation depends on where your certificate was issued. Documents from countries with a bilateral waiver — the Agency's list includes Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Austria, France, Poland and several neighbours — need no apostille. Documents from other Hague Convention countries need an apostille; the rest need full legalisation.

If your certificate arrives late, the Agency advises applying with what you have to obtain confirmation that recognition is under way; with it you can sit entrance exams. Check that your faculty's call accepts this. More detail is in our article on diploma recognition in Serbia.

Step 3. Prove your language

For Serbian-taught programmes, exams and lectures are in Serbian, so aim for about B2.

• Centre for Serbian as a Foreign Language, University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology: $680 (€600) per semester, four 90-minute classes a week; its programme takes a beginner to A1–A2 in two semesters and an intermediate learner to B1–B2 in two more. The certificate exam costs $170 (€150); a three-week summer course costs $410 (€360).
• Similar centres operate in Novi Sad and Niš. At the University of Novi Sad, a Faculty of Philosophy commission tests foreign applicants' Serbian; those schooled in Serbian are exempt.

The call specifies which certificate is accepted. English-taught programmes usually ask for an international test such as IELTS or TOEFL, with the minimum score set by the faculty.

Step 4. Apply and sit the exam

Applications are increasingly online: the Belgrade Faculty of Law accepted them only through an online form in 2026, with an exam fee of $95 (10,000 dinars). In Novi Sad the Faculty of Technical Sciences charges foreign applicants $135 (€120) for a Serbian-taught programme and $205 (€180) for an English-taught one.

Ranking is based by law on secondary-school performance plus the entrance exam (or aptitude test); at the Belgrade Faculty of Law the maximum is 100 points — up to 40 for school results (the sum of the average grades for four years of secondary school, multiplied by two) and up to 60 for an exam in History or Serbian, chosen by the applicant. In the September rounds the faculty published a separate ranking for applicants with foreign certificates. School grades are converted to points under the faculty's rules, so strong grades help.

Exams are normally taken in person. The law lets an institution test a foreign applicant online with identity control, or at a Serbian consulate — an option, not an obligation. The Novi Sad Faculty of Medicine, for instance, states it may hold the entrance exam for its English-taught integrated programmes online. Ask early if you cannot travel.

Many faculties run preparation courses and publish past papers — the best way to learn the format and Serbian terminology.

Step 5. Enrol

Enrolment follows the final ranking within days. Foreign citizens pay tuition for the entire degree, as both the Belgrade law faculty's call and the University of Novi Sad's rules state. Typically you bring:

• the recognition decision; if it is still pending, some faculties enrol you conditionally, but the decision must arrive before classes start;
• proof of the teaching language;
• health insurance for the academic year;
• proof of tuition payment — $2,800 (€2,465) in dinars at the Belgrade Faculty of Law for 2026/27, or $2,270 (€2,000) at Novi Sad's Faculty of Technical Sciences, payable in two 50% instalments;
• the enrolment fee (at Novi Sad FTN, $170 or €150 for foreigners on a Serbian-taught programme);
• photos, the student record book (indeks) and faculty forms.

For the full first-year budget, see the cost of studying in Serbia.

Step 6. Entry and residence

Visa rules depend on nationality: citizens of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus may enter visa-free for up to 30 days, while citizens of Uzbekistan need a visa. Check your country on the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' visa-regime page. Thirty days cover one admission round, not both; plan a second trip if you are counting on September.

After arrival and enrolment:

• if you are not staying in a hotel, register your address with the police within 24 hours;
• apply for temporary residence on the basis of study while your stay is legal; permits are issued for up to three years depending on grounds and documents and renewed no earlier than three months before expiry;
• note that the University of Novi Sad's call explicitly requires enrolled foreigners to regularise their residence.

Residence for study allows work of up to 16 hours a week. Documents and fees are covered in our article on the student residence permit in Serbia.

Master's and doctoral studies in brief

• A one-year master's (60 ECTS) requires a 240-ECTS bachelor's; a two-year master's (120 ECTS) requires at least 180 ECTS. Doctoral study requires at least 300 ECTS across previous degrees.
• Your degree is recognised by the admitting university. For 2026/27 the University of Belgrade charged $320 (33,000 dinars) or $340 (€300) plus a state fee of $145 (14,900 dinars), and required the procedure to start at least 15 days before the faculty's application deadline.
• Master's admissions usually run in September–October.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the certificate before doing anything. Language, faculty choice and the interpreter can all be sorted earlier, and the Agency accepts applications with the documents you have.
• Translating abroad. The Agency and faculties need a Serbian court interpreter's translation.
• Misjudging legalisation. Some countries are exempt, others need an apostille or full legalisation — check the Agency's list.
• Relying on a single round. Popular programmes have few places; keep a back-up faculty and the September round in mind.
• Confusing enrolment with the right to stay. The faculty grants student status; the Ministry of Interior grants residence.
• Learning "everyday" Serbian only. Exams and first-year courses require academic Serbian and subject vocabulary.

What you can do yourself — and where help pays off

Every rule is published, so choosing a faculty, learning the language and filing documents is doable on your own. The pressure comes where deadlines collide: late certificates, translation in Serbia, June application windows and exams in a foreign language. Under a service contract, StudyU shortlists realistic faculties, builds the recognition and application timeline, checks documents and plans travel and residence. Recognition, admission and residence decisions belong to the Qualifications Agency, the faculty and the Serbian Ministry of Interior.

FAQ

Sources

• Law on Higher Education of Serbia, consolidated text (Art. 97, 98, 100) — checked 24.09.2026
• Qualifications Agency, ENIC/NARIC: recognition of school documents, fees, legalisation — checked 25.09.2026
• University of Belgrade Faculty of Law: 2026/27 call, 2026 admission updates — checked 25.09.2026
• University of Novi Sad: admission rules, 2026/27 call — checked 25.09.2026
• University of Belgrade: recognition of foreign higher-education documents — checked 25.09.2026
• Centre for Serbian as a Foreign Language, University of Belgrade, fees — checked 25.09.2026
• Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: visa regime by country — checked 24.09.2026
• Welcome to Serbia: extending your stay, students' right to work — checked 24.09.2026
• Study in Serbia (Tempus Foundation): requirements by level, visa and registration — checked 25.09.2026
• Exchange rates: ECB reference rate of 29.09.2026, €1 = $1.1355; for dinars, National Bank of Serbia middle rate of 29.09.2026, €1 = 117.5386 RSD

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