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I am a non-EU national possessing a residence permit in Germany for around 3 years. I wish to visit Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. From my research, I have come to a conclusion that visa holders (even temporary resident permits from Schengen/EU nation) can enter the country without a visa. However, I would like to confirm and cross check if I am missing out on something.

Additionally, is there any other document or anything that I must possess when traveling by air/road/rail?

I wish to enter and exit from one of these countries by air but travel between them by train or bus. Am I allowed to do so? Will my passport be stamped in all the places upon entry and exit?

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The following is from Timatic, the database used by airlines:

For Serbia:

Visa required, except for passengers with a residence permit, valid for the period of stay, issued by Switzerland or an EEA Member State for a maximum stay of 90 days

For Romania:

Visa required, except for passengers with a residence permit issued by Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus or a Schengen Member State for a maximum stay of 90 days

And for Bulgaria:

Visa required, except for passengers with a residence permit issued by Croatia, Cyprus, Romania or a Schengen Member State for a maximum stay of 90 days.

So yes, you can visit them all without a visa. Present your passport and residence permit card at the border

Additionally, is there any other document or anything that I must possess when traveling by air/road/rail?

No.

I wish to enter and exit from one of these countries by air but travel between them by train or bus. Am I allowed to do so?

Of course!

Will my passport be stamped in all the places upon entry and exit?

Yes, they are supposed to stamp it by law (except on exit from Serbia), but if entering Serbia by land, there's a good chance they won't bother to. If you're unlucky enough to get a lazy officer on entry but a strict one on exit, this could be a problem. So I recommend you to ask the Serbs to stamp your passport (as most Serbian border guards don't speak English, mime it with your hand while saying it)

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  • When they mean residence permit, even a temporary residence permit counts right? Not a regular PR.
    – trollster
    Commented Feb 14, 2017 at 23:05
  • @trollster If it was only permanent, it would say permanent. But it doesn't say that, so it's any residence permit
    – Crazydre
    Commented Feb 15, 2017 at 0:43
  • The 'forgotten' entry and exit stamps at the Serbian land border is allegedly often a scam to give the immigration officers a reason to demand payment of fines or fees (read: bribery) at later occasions. I was even hassled by a Croatian immigration officer just a few years ago, since I have a Serbian entry stamp, but not a matching exit stamp in my passport. His interpretation was that I entered Serbia from Croatia (as indicated by the stamp) and had illegally crossed back from Serbia to Croatia without passing a designated border checkpoint.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Feb 15, 2017 at 2:59
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo I've had a fair share of encounters with the Serbs, and honestly my impression is it's pure laziness. Although I don't use a passport there, I keep observing passports just being glanced at for a second, without stamping or sometimes even scanning, especially on trains. It's common in Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania too btw.
    – Crazydre
    Commented Feb 15, 2017 at 3:08
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    @trollster The Romanians and Bulgarians are fine, they always stamp non-EU passports, both by air and land, and the Serbs are fine at airports. As for the Serbs at land borders...well I always use my ID card in Serbia, so haven't been in that situation. But on entry, if they don't stamp automatically and just give you the passport back, open a stamp page, hand it back to them and ask them, miming with your hand, to put a stamp. When exiting, don't present the passport open at the photo page, but the page with the entry stamp, to get the message across.
    – Crazydre
    Commented Feb 15, 2017 at 8:39

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