Short answer: For North Macedonia, an Indian worker who lived in India in the year before applying needs an Indian criminal-record certificate (PCC). It must be apostilled, no older than six months and translated by a court translator. Serbia's single-permit and D-visa lists include no PCC, but consulates may request additional documents. India sets no fixed PCC validity.
Why do police clearance certificates stall work-permit files?
A PCC is a small document, but a wrong, old or unverifiable one can hold up an otherwise complete residence file.
Forgery is a second risk. In Delhi, police arrested a police constable and an associate in March 2026 over a racket in forged local police clearance certificates. Police said the pair sold forged certificates with official-looking police station stamps for about ₹1,000 to ₹2,000, delivered within a few hours, while a genuine certificate from the Delhi Police Special Branch is issued online after verification and usually takes 10 to 15 days. Investigators suspect hundreds of forgeries (Hindustan Times/PTI, 13 Mar 2026). These were local police certificates, not the PCCs issued through India's Passport Seva system, but the lesson applies to both: a certificate that arrives unusually fast deserves a closer look.
How is a genuine Indian PCC issued?
The PCC used for work abroad is issued through Passport Seva. The applicant applies online and presents their passport. The PCC is sent to the applicant after a clear police verification report (Passport Seva FAQ, undated). Points to know:
- One country per application. A PCC can only be issued for one country through one application form (Passport Seva FAQ, undated). Check that the certificate names the country you are hiring for.
- Details must match the passport. Given name, parents' names, gender, date and place of birth in the PCC and the passport should be the same; otherwise the passport must be re-issued first (Passport Seva FAQ, undated).
- No fixed validity. "There is no validity specified for PCC," the Passport Seva FAQ says, adding that it is generally considered valid for six months (Passport Seva FAQ, undated). Indian missions abroad say the same: validity depends on the authority receiving the PCC (Consulate General of India, Toronto, undated). The binding limit is the destination country's.
A certificate from a local police station is a separate document. Ask which one the candidate holds, and which one the authority in your country expects.
Is an apostille enough, and how can you check it?
For North Macedonia and Serbia, an apostille is enough: all three countries are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so no further consular legalisation is needed. India's accession took effect in 2005; North Macedonia and Serbia are parties by succession (HCCH status table, live 26 Oct 2026). Neither country objected to India's accession. Germany did, and its objection still stands, so an Indian apostille is not enough for Germany (HCCH notifications, live 26 Oct 2026).
In India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issues apostilles. Documents are submitted through outsourced agencies, and the MEA fee is ₹50 per apostille sticker (MEA, Apostille, undated). Through its e-Sanad portal, foreign authorities can cross-check digitally attested or apostilled documents at esanad.nic.in/eregister (PIB, 19 Sep 2025).
To check an apostille, enter its number in the e-Sanad e-Register. If it does not appear, ask MEA, as the authority named on the apostille, to confirm it. Not every paper apostille may be listed online, so a missing entry is a reason to ask, not proof of a fake.
What does North Macedonia require?
North Macedonia asks for a criminal-record certificate from the country where the worker lived before applying, with an apostille, a recent date and a court translation. The details:
- Which country's record. Since amendments to the Law on Foreigners took effect on 26 September 2025, applicants need a certificate from the country where they resided during the last 12 months confirming no criminal convictions and no pending criminal proceedings, instead of certificates from both the country of citizenship and the country of residence (Karanovic & Partners, Sep 2025). For a worker who lived in India in that year, this means an Indian certificate. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVR) rulebook from 2019 still refers to the state of "citizenship or residence", so ask the MVR or your adviser if a candidate has lived in more than one country.
- Age, apostille and translation. The MVR's 2019 rulebook says the certificate must be apostilled and not older than six months, that a separate certificate of no pending criminal proceedings is needed, and that documents must be translated into Macedonian by an authorised court translator. The rulebook does not mention notarising the translation (MVR Rulebook on Foreigners, Official Gazette 190/2019, Art. 14). Confirm current practice with the MVR before filing.
- Employer duties. Employers must submit a notarised statement guaranteeing the costs of the worker's stay, including any forced removal. Incomplete files must be completed within 7 days of notification or the application is rejected. The start of employment must be registered with the Employment Agency within 30 days of the residence permit being issued (Karanovic & Partners, Sep 2025).
- Employment Agency opinion. The Employment Service Agency still gives an opinion on whether a temporary residence permit for work can be issued (ESARM, live 26 Oct 2026). Under the 2025 amendments, only workers on designated strategic projects are exempt from it (Karanovic & Partners, Sep 2025).
- Quota. On 29 September 2026 the government raised the 2026 quota for foreign-worker permits from 10,000 to 13,000: 12,750 for regular employment (7,500 new permits and 5,250 renewals), 200 for posted workers and 50 for seasonal work (Government decision no. 57-7392/9, listed by the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, 2 Oct 2026). With a quota in place, a file that stalls on a missing document can cost time.
North Macedonia is not an EU member state, so EU permit rules do not apply.
What does Serbia require?
Serbia's official document lists for a single permit and for a D visa for employment do not include a police clearance certificate. The single-permit rulebook asks for a passport, proof of the grounds for the permit and an address, and says documents not issued by Serbian authorities or not in Serbian must come with a translation by an authorised court translator (MUP single-permit rulebook, in force 1 Feb 2024). The official D-visa guide also lists no PCC, but notes that the consulate may request additional documents (Welcome to Serbia, updated 26 Oct 2026).
Other points for employers:
- Online filing. Single-permit applications are filed electronically through the eUprava portal, and can also be filed from abroad (MUP single-permit rulebook, in force 1 Feb 2024).
- Labour market test. For employment-based permits, the employer starts a labour market test with the application (MUP single-permit rulebook, in force 1 Feb 2024).
- No quota in force. The Law on Employment of Foreigners allows the government to cap single permits by decision if the labour market is disrupted (Law on Employment of Foreigners, Art. 24). We found no such decision in force.
Indian workers are a growing group. At the end of 2025, 64,672 foreigners were living in Serbia on some form of employment grounds, 24% more than a year earlier; about 7,000 of them were Indian citizens, the third-largest group after Russians and Chinese (Danas, 1 Oct 2026).
Because a consulate can still ask for one, a recent apostilled PCC is a sensible document to have ready. Serbia is not an EU member state either.
What should you check before filing?
Run these six checks on every Indian PCC before the file goes to the authorities:
- Is it a Passport Seva PCC issued for this country?
- Do the name, parents' names, gender and date and place of birth match the passport?
- Is it recent enough? For North Macedonia, the 2019 rulebook says no older than six months.
- Is it apostilled, and have you checked the apostille number or asked MEA to confirm it?
- Is the court translation done (into Macedonian or Serbian)?
- For North Macedonia, is the separate no-pending-proceedings certificate included?
How does Testiy help?
Testiy checks candidates' Indian police clearance certificates and apostilles before you file in North Macedonia or Serbia. That lowers the risk of a permit application stalling on a missing, old or un-apostilled certificate. The authorities still decide on every application.
Testiy works only with verified Indian agencies: licence checked, office verified, documents reviewed. Testiy checks the agency's MEA recruiting-agent registration against the active list on eMigrate, among other checks. Candidate documents are reviewed by an officer, sign-up is free, and the employer pays only when a work contract is signed: no contract, no fee.
Get candidates' PCCs and apostilles checked before you file in Skopje or Belgrade. Sign up free.