The state is turning into a regional magnet.
If you stepped out for coffee this morning in Belgrade or checked out a construction site in Novi Sad, you surely noticed: the Serbian language has ceased to be the only dominant soundtrack on the local streets. While the Serbian public habitually discusses the brain drain to Germany and Austria, a process has quietly unfolded behind their backs that official statistics can barely keep up with.
Serbia is turning into a regional magnet for migrants, and those among them who speak Russian appear to be the main actors in this process.
Numbers That May Be Understated
According to fresh data published by the Serbian press, the number of foreign workers in the country has increased almost tenfold over the past decade. While in 2012 the arrival of a foreign worker was an event, by the beginning of 2026 estimates range from a cautious 60,000 to a quite realistic 100,000 people.
Do you know who tops this list? According to the Astra association, 52.4% of foreign workers in Serbia are citizens of Russia. We have left far behind the Chinese (12%), Indians (4.5%), and Turks (4%).
The Misconception of "Unskilled Labor"
There is a common belief that a migrant in Serbia is necessarily a tough man with a trowel on the construction site of "Belgrade Waterfront" or a driver skillfully weaving between cars. And there is some truth to this: the construction sector and logistics indeed rely on foreign shoulders.
Agriculture, especially during seasonal periods, also depends on foreign workers - primarily for harvesting and in greenhouses, which local workers increasingly avoid.
In restaurants, it turns out, the situation is similar. "Local workers either went abroad or do not want to do this job for the salary offered here. We were forced to hire foreign workers. Some are good, but there are also those who lack experience, so the quality of service varies, which guests notice immediately," says Milan, a manager of one of the restaurants in Belgrade.
Local employers also complain about turnover: "You train a person, and they leave for somewhere else in a couple of months." And there is some truth to this. For many, Serbia remains a "waiting room" before a leap into the European Union.
And What About Russians?
Russians have massively occupied the IT sector, creative industries, and small businesses. They brought with them not only capital but also a habit of high service, digitization, and a passion for entrepreneurship. In a sense, the Russian wave of migration is made up of "white-collar workers" who decided that the view of the Danube is no worse than the view of the Moscow River.
It turns out that Serbia, unexpectedly, has become a place where a Chinese trader, an Indian builder, and a Russian IT specialist are together building the economy while local workers dream of Germany.
The main thing now is for the number of work permits issued to finally match the quality of our mutual coexistence. After all, as the Serbs say, "nema problema," as long as there is someone to work.
