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North Macedonia (Macedonia prior to February 2019), formally the Republic of North Macedonia, is a Southeast European nation. It won independence in 1991 as one of Yugoslavia's successor republics. It is a landlocked nation bounded to the northwest by Kosovo, to the north by Serbia, to the east by Bulgaria, to the south by Greece, and to the west by Albania. It accounts for around one-third of the wider geographical territory of Macedonia. The capital and biggest city, Skopje, is home to a quarter of the country's 1.83 million people. The ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic ethnicity, make up the vast bulk of the population. Albanians account for around 25% of the population, followed by Turks, Romani, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians, and a few other ethnicities.
The history of the area began with the kingdom of Paeonia, a Thraco-Illyrian monarchy. The Persian Achaemenid Empire annexed the territory in the late sixth century BC, and it was later integrated into the Kingdom of Macedonia in the fourth century BC. In the second century BC, the Roman Empire captured the territory and included it into the wider province of Macedonia. The territory remained part of the Byzantine Empire, but Slavic tribes began raiding and settling there in the sixth century of the Christian period. Following centuries of conflict between the Bulgarian, Byzantine, and Serbian Empires, it was part of the Ottoman Empire from the mid-14th century until the early twentieth century, when the modern territory of North Macedonia came under Serbian rule following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913.
The province was administered by Bulgaria during World War I, but after the war, it was restored to Serbian control as part of the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. During WWII, it was administered by Bulgaria again, and in 1945 it was admitted as a component state of communist Yugoslavia, where it remained until its peaceful independence in 1991. The nation joined the United Nations in April 1993, however, due to a name dispute with Greece, it was accepted under the interim title "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (abbreviated as "FYR Macedonia" or "FYROM"). Macedonia and Greece reached an agreement in June 2018 to rename the nation "Republic of North Macedonia." This rename becomes effective in February 2019.
A unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, North Macedonia is a member of the UN, NATO, the Council of Europe, the World Bank, OSCE, CEFTA, BSEC, and the WTO. It has also been a candidate for membership in the European Union since 2005. North Macedonia is an upper-middle-income nation that has undertaken significant economic reform in order to build an open economy since its independence. It is a developing nation that ranks 82nd on the Human Development Index and offers its residents social security, a universal health care system, and free primary and secondary education.
Employees are entitled to at least 20 days of paid annual leave, which is sometimes increased to up to 26 days by contract or collective bargaining agreement. Employees typically earn one additional day of annual leave for every five years of employment, up to a maximum of 26 days for employees with 30 or more years of employment.
New Year’s Day
Orthodox Christmas
Orthodox Easter Monday
Labor Day
Ramadan Bajram (Eid al-Fitr)
Saints Cyril and Methodius Day
Republic Day
Independence Day
Day of the Macedonian Uprising
Day of the North Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle
St. Clement of Ohrid Day
Employees are entitled to unlimited sick leave, with the first 30 days of illness covered by the company. Collective bargaining usually determines the rate of sick pay. The employer pays 70% of the average North Macedonian salary for the first seven days, 80% for days eight through 15, and 90% for days 16 through 30 under the private sector agreement.
If the employee is sick for more than 30 days, they may be eligible for social security benefits. In the event of a long-term sickness, the employee should present a medical certificate, and additional exams may be necessary.
Employees are entitled to nine months of paid maternity leave, or fifteen months if they have several children. Before commencing her leave, the pregnant mother must produce a medical document confirming her pregnancy and must tell her employer of her intention to start and terminate her maternity leave. This notification must be given at least 30 days prior to the start of her leave. This notification must be given at least 30 days prior to the start of her leave. She can return to work 45 days after the birth of her kid at the earliest.
A woman who adopts a child is entitled to nine months of maternity leave until the kid reaches the age of nine months, or fifteen months if she adopts several children. In general, a woman who adopts a child is entitled to paid leave throughout the period during which the youngster adjusts to life with the adoptive family.
Social security pays a woman on maternity leave 100 percent of her wages. Following maternity leave, the mother is entitled to three months of unpaid leave to care for her child until the kid reaches the age of three. A woman on maternity leave has the right to return to her employment or, if that is not feasible, to another acceptable post following the leave.
The father of a baby is entitled to up to seven days of paid leave for the birth. In addition, if the mother does not use part of the maternity leave to which she is entitled, the father may use that time.
North Macedonia does not have a national parental leave.
Employers may terminate an employee only for misconduct or a violation of workplace duties or standards, or for business reasons. Prior to terminating an employee for misconduct, the employer must warn and inform the employee of the prospect of dismissal if the misconduct continues. A minimum of 15 days must be provided to the employee to improve.
The employer and employee may agree to waive the notice period in exchange for a payment. Additionally, an employer may dismiss an employee without notice if the employee is absent from work for more than three days without permission, abuses sick leave, violates a health or safety regulation regarding fire or dangerous substances, is intoxicated at work or possesses alcohol or narcotics at work, steals from the employer, damages the employer's property, or falsely discloses information to the employer.
Employees who intend to resign must provide their employer one month's written notice. There is no requirement for an explanation or extra information. A longer notice period may be specified in an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement, although it cannot exceed three months. When an employer fails to pay an employee on time or pays less than the employee is entitled to, fails to provide adequate safety protections, fails to treat employees equally on the basis of gender, or commits certain other serious breaches of employee obligations, the employee may notify the employer in writing of the breach and, after three days, may terminate employment. The employee is entitled to severance pay and any unpaid income in this case.
When terminating an employee on an indefinite contract, the employer is required to provide one month's written notice, which must include the reason for the termination and advise the employee of his or her legal rights and eligibility for unemployment insurance. Seasonal employees may be terminated with seven days' written notice, while probationary employees may be terminated with three working days' notice.
In North Macedonia, the typical probationary period is 180 days or six months.
Severance pay is payable to employees terminated in a collective dismissal. It is calculated based on an employee's length of service and ranges between one and six months of salary.
In North Macedonia, the standard work week is 40 hours spread over five days.
Employers may require an employee to work overtime only in the event of an emergency, and overtime is limited to eight hours per week, or 190 hours per year. Overtime pay is typically determined by collective bargaining and is generally not less than 135% of the employee's standard hourly rate.
Additionally, employers must compensate employees who work more than 150 hours of overtime in a calendar year without missing more than 21 days. The bonus is equal to one month's average salary in North Macedonia (not the employee's regular monthly salary).
Employees are also entitled to a premium for weekend and holiday work. This amount is also typically determined through collective bargaining and is typically set at 150 percent of the employee's standard hourly rate.
Since June 2021, the national minimum wage in North Macedonia has been set at 359 € per month, or 4,308 euros per year when 12 payments are made each year.
In North Macedonia, healthcare is available to all citizens. Although businesses are not obliged to pay to national healthcare, several do in order to offer health insurance coverage for their workers. Private healthcare providers are available in North Macedonia, and some people have private health insurance.
You must provide health insurance, disability insurance, unemployment insurance, and disability contributions for your employees:
Pension and disability insurance: 18.8 percent of income
Health Insurance Fund: 7.5 percent of income
Unemployment fund: 1.2 percent of income
Disability: 0.5 percent of income
In general, all resident and non-resident legal entities functioning via a permanent establishment (PE) in North Macedonia must pay CIT. Residents of Macedonia are taxed on their global income. Non-resident firms are taxed on the profit made from their investment in North Macedonia.
Non-profit organizations (including non-governmental organizations, religious and humanitarian groups, trade unions, political parties, and so forth) are taxed on their commercial income (if any) if their total annual sales exceed MKD 1 million. The CIT would be computed as 1% of total yearly company revenues, reduced by the statutory tax exemption of MKD 1 million.
CIT occurs at a rate of 10%. The CIT tax base is the profit achieved for the current fiscal year as defined by relevant accounting standards, less the amount of non-deductible expenditures made during the fiscal year (FY).
Individual income is taxed in North Macedonia depending on their residency status. Macedonian tax residents are subject to global income taxation. Non-residents are taxed on their income earned inside Macedonia.
Personal income tax rates in North Macedonia often vary from 10% to 18%. The exact proportion fluctuates based on the above-mentioned factors.
The VAT rules are generally in accordance with the requirements of the sixth European Union (EU) VAT directive. VAT is charged at a normal rate of 18%. This rate relates to total turnover as well as goods and services imports. In addition to the normal VAT rate of 18%, special rates of 5% and 10% are applied on the sale of specified products and services.
The preferential tax rate of 5% applies to the supply of food for human consumption, food for livestock, drinking water from public supply systems, computers and software, agricultural material and equipment, wood pellets, pellet stoves, and pellet boilers, baby products, school supplies (e.g., school backpacks, notebooks, pencils), pharmaceutics and medical equipment, and publications, such as books. power for households; passenger transportation; and lodging, bed and breakfast services, as well as half-board and full-board services provided by hotel keepers in the country, craft related services such as bicycle, shoe, and clothing repair, hairdresser services, and so on.
With the exception of alcoholic drinks, the favorable tax rate of 10% applies to restaurant services and catering services.
In order to acquire a visa in Macedonia, several laws and regulations must be fulfilled. This policy specifies the conditions for entering, remaining in, or leaving Macedonia. You must have a Macedonia visa to enter, stay in, or leave the country.
Applying for the Macedonia Scholarship Certain conditions must be completed in order for a visa to be filed, processed, and granted. A visa application will be completed and authorized by authorities if the following information is provided: the nation from which the passport was issued, the amount of time the tourist intends to remain in Macedonia, and the purpose for the visit.
The Macedonia government established the Macedonia visa, which is now available to citizens of several nations from across the globe. This visa allows tourists to visit Macedonia for vacation or business purposes, and the traveler may stay in Macedonia for up to 90 days each entry.
Applying online has never been simpler, and if accepted, travelers will get their visa quickly after completing the application. This visa must be shown to immigration agents at the Macedonian port of entry.
Agreements for visa-free travel have been signed between Macedonia and numerous nations, making some countries eligible for visa exemption, and therefore these passport holders are not needed to seek a visa before going to the country.
As part of the Macedonia Visa policy for tourism, there is now just one kind of visa available. Travelers who do not have a passport and are not given visa exemption under the Macedonia Visa policy must acquire authorization from the Macedonian government before arriving and passing the port of entry.
In North Macedonia, employment contracts must be in writing. A copy must be stored at the employer's registered office, and another copy must be delivered to the employee as soon as the contract is signed. While many employment conditions in North Macedonia are defined by collective agreement, each employee's contract should state:
Both the employer's and the employee's names are revealed.
The start date of the employee's employment
The work title of the person, as well as a short job description
The responsibility of the employer to advise the employee of any specific dangers involved with the task, as well as any special qualifications, expertise, or medical supervision that may be required for it to be done safely
The work environment
If the contract is for a certain period of time, the term
Whether the employment is full-time or part-time
Working schedules
The employee's base pay and any other allowances
The annual leave allotment, often known as the leave formula, is a method of estimating how much time employees may take off each year
Working conditions for employees
Any other rights or duties established by law or a collective bargaining agreement
The employment contract shall be indefinite or for a specified duration of no more than five years. If the employee remains on the work after the fixed-term contract ends, the contract will be extended indefinitely. A probation term of up to four months may be specified in the employment contract. The duration of the probation term, as well as the employee's remuneration during that time, should be indicated.
Macedonian Denar
Expansions have numerous moving pieces, and it might be beneficial to identify a few key areas before beginning the expansion process. You might begin by investigating which areas of North Macedonia are most welcoming to international business. North Macedonia subsidiary laws might vary by region or city, making it critical to do research in the area around a physical office space before purchasing or leasing.
You should also consider how you will do business in North Macedonia, since your company activities will have an influence on the entity you select to incorporate. Companies that want to function in North Macedonia as if they were a local firm might profit from registering as an LLC, while those conducting small-scale services may want to incorporate as a branch. Your North Macedonia subsidiary might be formed as a limited liability company (LLC), joint-stock company, limited liability partnership firm, branch, or representative office.
Many businesses use the LLC form, and you may wish to as well, since it protects both your subsidiary and your parent company. The following processes will be involved in establishing your North Macedonia subsidiary as an LLC:
1. Registering your company's address
2. Articles of Association Submission
3. Opening a bank account in the nation Registering for VAT and other taxes, such as social contributions
4. Before beginning any commercial activity, apply for a company seal.
5. Choosing a distinct name for the company
6. All company owners' names are being submitted.
7. Establishment of a board of directors and a representative agent
8. Creating a document that includes the operations of the firms as well as specifics about the business
9. Making a minimum share capital deposit and giving information on each member's capital contribution
Although LLCs have a very straightforward registration procedure, tax advantages, and other benefits, you must still grasp all of North Macedonia's subsidiary laws pertaining to LLCs before incorporating. For example, you must have at least one director and one shareholder who must be individuals but do not have to be residents of North Macedonia. Before launching operations, companies must additionally deposit at least 5,000 EUR in a North Macedonia bank account.
The stockholders of your LLC are accountable dependent on the amount of money they donate. Shares may be easily moved among members, but you must keep track of who contributes what. Unless you earn more than 170,000 EUR or run a significant firm like a bank or insurance company, you are not required to undergo an annual audit.
