In recent years, Serbia has been actively granting citizenship to foreign nationals, especially from Russia, using the naturalization procedure as an exception. According to the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia, the government may grant citizenship to individuals if their admission is of interest to the state.
According to the Serbian media outlet Nedeljnik, at least four Russian oligarchs were granted Serbian citizenship in 2025:
Oleg Boyko – estimated to be worth $1.5 billion.
Sergei Lomakin – worth about $1.2 billion.
Yevgeny Strshalkovsky and Yuri Kushnerov – the exact amounts are not disclosed, but are likely to be several hundred million dollars.
The decision to grant citizenship was made by the Serbian government under the leadership of former Prime Minister Milos Vucevic. The formal basis for this was “interest for the Republic of Serbia”, according to Article 19 of the Law on Citizenship. However, the specific reasons and criteria for these individuals to receive Serbian passports remain unclear, especially given the lack of information about their previous business ties to Serbia.
So far, there is no data on whether the new Serbian citizens plan to develop business in the country. However, experts speculate that the granting of citizenship may be related to the desire to attract investment and capital to Serbia. In recent years, Russian entrepreneurs have been actively buying up real estate in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Serbian resorts.
Statistics on citizenship and residence permits for Russians:
2022: Of the 84 foreign nationals who received Serbian citizenship by government decision, almost two-thirds were Russians.
From February 2022 to December 2024: Russian citizens submitted 73,197 applications for temporary residence in Serbia, of which more than 90% were approved.
February 2025: The number of Russians actually living in Serbia is estimated at 80,000-110,000.
Reasons for granting citizenship
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has previously stated that the accelerated granting of citizenship to Russians and Ukrainians is due to a shortage of labor in the country. Priority is given to those who open companies and create jobs for Serbian citizens. However, in the case of Russian billionaires, it is unclear how their citizenship contributes to the development of the Serbian economy.
Thus, Serbia continues to use the granting of citizenship as a tool to attract investment and business ties. However, the lack of transparency in the criteria for naturalization raises questions about the real motives behind such decisions. Against the backdrop of the geopolitical situation, the interest of Russian businessmen in the Serbian passport is likely to be related not only to investment opportunities, but also to the possibility of obtaining a new legal status in Europe.
Source: https://t.me/relocationrs/755
