Croatian citizen expelled from Serbia after supporting student protests

Arien Stojanovic Ivkovic completed her medical studies in Belgrade, found a job, and married a Serbian citizen with whom she has a young child. She has lived in Serbia for over a decade without any issues regarding her residency until now.

On the morning of April 8, she got a call from an inspector at the Department for Foreigners, who asked her to come to the police station, assuring her that everything was fine with her residency status.

Arien told N1 that she was met by several inspectors at the police station who handed her a decision revoking her previously granted temporary residency and banning her from entering Serbia for a year. She explained that this also invalidated her work visa.

The rationale of the decision reads that “the authority responsible for protecting the security of the Republic of Serbia has submitted an assessment that the stay of Croatian citizen Ivkovic Stojanovic Arien poses an unacceptable security risk.”

The young doctor, who works in an insurance company assessing damages from bodily injuries, has no idea why she poses a security risk. She says her life revolves around work, her child, her family, and attending larger student protests  when and if she finds the time.

Arien believes her support for the student protests might be the reason for her expulsion. She says she has backed their demands and protests, not only on the streets but also on her social media accounts. She noted that, as a doctor, she condemned Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s entry into the intensive care unit and his ungloved contact with the victims from the nightclub fire in North Macedonia.

Arien has reached out to the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade for assistance and plans to appeal the decision made by Serbian security services.

N1 has unofficially learned that Arien’s is not an isolated case, and that multiple Croatian citizens have received entry bans instead of temporary residency permits. N1 has contacted the Serbian Internal Affairs Ministry regarding this matter, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.