Why Global Real Estate Privacy Is Disappearing — And How Serbia Protects Investors
TL;DR: Across much of the Western world, financial and personal privacy is shrinking fast. Governments are expanding surveillance powers, tightening reporting rules, and demanding an ever-growing amount of information about citizens and investors. For many individuals — especially high-net-worth investors, global entrepreneurs, and families looking for stability — privacy is becoming a luxury.
A significant new shift is underway: the OECD’s proposed Global Real Estate Transparency Framework. This policy aims to create a worldwide reporting system tracking who owns property, where they own it, how they paid for it, and whether they generate income from it. For people accustomed to treating real estate as a safe, private asset class, this marks a dramatic change with far-reaching consequences.
While many Western and Commonwealth countries appear ready to comply, Serbia stands out as a strategic exception. The country maintains strong privacy protections, rejects the global automatic-exchange model, and offers flexible pathways for individuals who want security, stability, and personal freedom.
This guide explains what the global framework is, how it works, which countries are joining, and why many investors are choosing Serbia as their safe, private alternative.
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The OECD’s announcement represents one of the largest global pushes toward centralized information-sharing in history. The goal is straightforward: governments want a global map of real estate ownership, including:
What information will be exchanged:
Owner’s full identity
Tax identification numbers
Exact property location
Purchase and sale details
Source of funds and financing (cash, mortgage, corporate structure, etc.)
Beneficial ownership structures
Rental income and related tax reporting
In practical terms, this gives governments complete visibility into global real estate holdings. For investors using trust companies, holding companies, or cross-border structures, this effectively ends anonymity.
Many countries have already been tightening reporting around banking, crypto, investment portfolios, and cross-border transfers. Real estate was considered the “last privacy gap.” The OECD intends to close it.
While the OECD consists of many nations, the strongest push is coming from countries already aligned with automatic-exchange systems like CRS (Common Reporting Standard).
Most likely early adopters:
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
New Zealand
European Union members with strict reporting rules
These jurisdictions already maintain deep data-sharing networks and consistently adopt recommendations quickly.
The United States
The U.S. is not part of the Commonwealth and does not participate in CRS. While it may adopt certain transparency mechanisms, it is not expected to fully align with the OECD real estate framework at this time. However, U.S. citizens still face worldwide taxation regardless of residence — which creates its own complications.
Serbia
Serbia is not part of CRS, does not automatically exchange financial or property data, and maintains a far more independent regulatory stance.
This divergence is one of the main reasons growing numbers of investors and global citizens are looking toward the Western Balkans.
Serbia did sign the OECD Tax Cooperation Convention, but this only applies to information upon request, not automatic data exchange. There are no annual bulk uploads, no default sharing of property records, and no automatic disclosure of income or investment structures.
What Serbia does not do:
❌ No automatic global reporting
❌ No yearly data dumps to foreign tax agencies
❌ No mandatory real estate ownership disclosure to other nations
❌ No automatic sharing of rental income
❌ No automatic sharing of beneficial ownership
What this means for investors:
If you purchase property in Serbia as a Serbian citizen, your ownership remains under Serbian jurisdiction. There is no international system demanding Serbia send that information elsewhere.
Temporary residents
Even foreign temporary residents remain protected. Serbia only releases information if a foreign government formally requests it — and even then, Serbian bureaucracy is far from fast or automated.
Investors view this as a major advantage in an era where digital surveillance is growing globally.
With global transparency increasing, citizenship choices are becoming financial and strategic decisions, not just personal ones.
Serbia offers two primary pathways that are attracting global interest:
1. Citizenship by Descent
If you have Serbian ancestry, you may qualify for citizenship — even if your family left generations ago. This is one of the strongest ways to protect your property and financial privacy under Serbian jurisdiction.
2. Citizenship by Merit
High-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and investors can qualify under the citizenship-by-merit framework. Relocation Serbia has guided a growing number of clients through this process, especially those preparing for 2026 and beyond.
Why citizenship matters
Citizenship creates a permanent legal foundation that:
Protects your real estate from foreign oversight
Anchors your financial assets to a non-CRS jurisdiction
Offers long-term stability for you and your family
Beyond privacy, Serbia offers a combination of advantages that is increasingly rare in Europe.
Strong Property Rights
Property ownership in Serbia is protected, straightforward, and secure. Foreigners can also purchase property with very few restrictions.
Flexible & Business-Friendly Corporate Structures
Many high-net-worth individuals are establishing companies ahead of the 2027 World Expo in Belgrade — an event projected to bring massive foreign investment and economic acceleration.
Affordable Entry Points
Compared to Western Europe, Serbia’s property market remains accessible, with strong upside potential.
Growing Expat & Digital Nomad Community
Belgrade and Novi Sad have become hubs for entrepreneurs, remote workers, and families seeking safety, affordability, and a higher quality of life.
Competitive Tax Environment
10% personal income tax
15% corporate tax (with possible reductions based on structure)
A wide network of double-tax treaties
Options for U.S. citizens to utilize exclusions and avoid double taxation
Cultural Stability & Strategic Neutrality
Serbia maintains:
Non-alignment with global geopolitical blocs
Traditional cultural and family values
Strong boundaries against ideological trends reshaping other nations
Many families cite this as one of the main motivations for their relocation.
Investors, families, retirees, entrepreneurs, and global citizens are reassessing their home countries. With rising taxation, declining privacy, and increased government oversight, many are looking for jurisdictions that respect personal freedom.
Serbia stands out because it offers:
Genuine privacy
Affordable living
Strong property protections
Attractive business opportunities
Strategic geopolitical neutrality
Predictable legal structures
Clear pathways to residency and citizenship
Many of Relocation Serbia’s clients — from North America, Western Europe, Asia, and Oceania — are already preparing their documents to relocate in 2026, citing the OECD policy shift as a major factor.
The OECD’s global transparency framework represents a turning point for property privacy worldwide. As many Western nations accelerate data-sharing and government oversight, Serbia remains firmly independent — offering investors a rare combination of privacy, stability, property rights, and opportunity.
That is why so many individuals are exploring Serbian residency, citizenship by descent, and citizenship by merit. As global trends intensify, Serbia is positioning itself as one of Europe’s most attractive, investor-friendly, and privacy-focused jurisdictions.
Ready to Protect Your Privacy and Explore Your Options?
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