An alien can cross the state border of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a valid travel document only at border crossing points open to the international traffic and during the working hours of the particular border crossing point. An alien who is a citizen of a neighboring country may cross the state border of Bosnia and Herzegovina also at border crossing points designated for traffic between Bosnia and Herzegovina and neighboring countries, unless the agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighboring country has otherwise specified. (Article 15 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum).
(Please find additional information on the website of the Border Police www.granpol.gov.ba).
An alien is any person who is not a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina but is a citizen of another country according to its Rulebook, as well as a stateless person.
In addition to a valid passport or other identification document an alien may enter Bosnia and Herzegovina if he/she meets the requirements of Article 19 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum.
A travel document required for an alien to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina is a valid passport or other travel identification document issued by a competent foreign authority recognized by Bosnia and Herzegovina and a valid ID card or other identification document with a photograph that can be used for crossing the border, and which is recognized by an international treaty to which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a party, as well as a travel document issued to an alien in Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Law on Movement and stay of Aliens and Asylum. (Article 5 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum).
An alien may enter Bosnia and Herzegovina with a valid travel document with the entered visa or residence permit, unless the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum or the international agreement provides otherwise. Foreign nationals from Article 2 of the Decisions on visas and Article 4 of the Decisions on visas are exempt from the visa requirement for entry into Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Citizens of the following countries may enter to Bosnia and Herzegovina up to 90 days over a period of six months starting from the date of first entry, unless they hold the passport or a valid identification card proving identity and citizenship of:
1) Member States of the European Union,
2) States Parties to the Schengen Agreement and
3) Andorra, Montenegro, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Serbia, the Holy See (Vatican) and Switzerland. (Article 16 of the Decisions on visas).
An alien younger than 14 years of age who has a personal travel document may cross the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, accompanied by one or both parents, legal guardian or custodian, or accompanied by a person authorized to accompany him/her along with signed and notarized letter of consent by a parent, legal guardian or custodian. Minors traveling unaccompanied must have a notarized letter of consent by a parent, legal guardian or custodian.
Letter of consent or power of attorney contains data from Article 25 Paragraph 2 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens, and it is considered that the minor alien possesses the consent or power of attorney of the legal representative if any of the requirements from Article 25 Paragraph 3 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens are fulfilled.
Possession of means of subsistence is proved in the manner prescribed in Article 23 of Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum.
The minimum amount required for subsistence of an alien during an intended stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the means for exit from the country, including the assets needed for health care of the alien, is possession of 150,00 BAM or equivalent in a foreign convertible currency, for each day of intended stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the year 2013. (Article 1 and 2 of the Decision on the minimum amount of means of subsistence needed to support an alien during the intended stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina).
An alien is obliged, upon a request by a police officer of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Border Police on the border crossing point, to present evidence of possession of financial means in the amount of 150,00 BAM for each day of intended stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Financial means may be in cash or non-cash payments, recognized by the Bosnia and Herzegovina banking system, which evidently may prove the subsistence of the alien in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Article 17 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens.)
Possession of the means of subsistence for an alien entering Bosnia and Herzegovina with a visa or for a national of a visa-free regime, as well as the reason for entry and stay of aliens in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be proved by a letter of invitation. A letter of invitation is a letter by which an alien is invited to come to Bosnia and Herzegovina for a specific purpose within a specific period of time. The letter of invitation for entry into Bosnia and Herzegovina may be issued by a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina or by an alien with approved long-term residence permit in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or by a domestic or foreign legal entity registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Invitation letter for the purpose of family reunification or visits may be issued to an alien who has stayed on the basis of temporary residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina longer than 18 months, and an alien with a temporary residence permit up to one year can issue an invitation letter solely for the purpose of the visit.
(Article 34 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum and Article 18, 19 and 21 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens, Request for verification of invitation letter - Form no. 7, Request for verification of a group invitation letter - Form no. 8 and Invitation letter - Form no. 9 and Form no. 10)
Verification of an invitation letter shall be paid by an administrative fee in the amount of 10,00 BAM. (Article 1 of the Decision on Amending the Tariff of Administrative Fees).
The documentation submitted with the application form for verification of the invitation letter shall be delivered in the original form or a certified copy, and documents in a foreign language shall be submitted with a translation into one of the official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Article 2 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens).
A visa is permission to transit through the international transit area of the airport or the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina or approval for an intended stay in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the period specified in the visa. Visa is issued by Diplomatic and Consular Representation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The alien must obtain a visa prior to arrival at the border crossing point of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(More details on the conditions of the visa issuance and the reasons for not issuing the visa and the reasons for the exceptional visa issuance for humanitarian reasons - Article 33 and 39 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum).
A visa can only be issued to an alien who is a holder of a valid passport whose validity exceeds the validity of the visa for at least three months. A visa application shall be submitted on a form, which must be filled in accurately and completely. (Request for Visa Issuance - Form No. 1).
The airport transit visa (Visa A) enables the alien to pass through an international transit area of an airport without an actual entry into the country, during the discontinuation or continuation of an international flight. It may be issued to an alien for one, two or more transits through the international area of the airport during the transit and shall be issued with a term period of up to three months. (Article 29 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum and Article 4 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens).
A short term stay visa (Visa C) enables an alien to have a single or multiple stays in the country, provided that no continuous stay, or the total duration of several consecutive stays in Bosnia and Herzegovina, may last for more than 90 days within a six month period, commencing from the date of first entry. A short term stay visa shall be issued for a single or multiple entries into Bosnia and Herzegovina. A short-term stay visa shall be issued for a validity period not exceeding one year. Exceptionally, a short-term stay visa may also be issued for a validity period of longer than one year if this is in the interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is decided by the MoFA Bosnia and Herzegovina upon the consent obtained from the Ministry. A short-term stay visa shall be issued for business, education, training and similar purposes, for tourist or other travel for the private purposes, travels to political, scientific, cultural, sports, religious or other events, as well as the travels for other reasons requiring only a short-term stay. (Article 31 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum).
A short-term visa (Visa C) may be renewed due to force majeure, for humanitarian, serious professional or personal reasons, but in accordance with the rules applicable to visa issuing. Request for extension of visa C shall be submitted on a form that must be filled in accurately and completely. (Article 38 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum and Article 13 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens, Application form for visa extension - Form No. 5. )
A longâterm stay visa (Visa D) shall enable an alien to enter and stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina within the period of up to six months within one year, commencing from the date of the first entry. A long-term visa shall be issued for a single or multiple entries into Bosnia and Herzegovina. A longâterm stay visa shall be issued exceptionally in such situations where for the purposes of stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina a period of more than 90 days is required within the period of six (6) months. A longâterm stay visa shall be issued for a validity period not exceeding one year. Exceptionally, a longâterm stay visa may be issued for a period of longer than one year if this is in the interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which shall be decided by the MoFA Bosnia and Herzegovina upon the approval of the Service (Article 32 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum).
For more information about visa D please refer to the Rulebook on issuing visas for long-term stay (visa D) and the procedure of issuing such visas.
For more information on the issuing of visas, required documentation, as well as diplomatic and consular missions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which you can apply for a visa please visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mfa.gov.ba.
In exceptional cases, an alien may be issued a visa at the border post and an airport transit visas (Visa A) for the transit in the period of one day or a short-term visa (Visa C) for a single entry up to 15 days. (Article 36 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum and Article 5 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens).
For more information on reducing the validity of the visa, visa cancellation on the border post and in the country please refer to â (Article 40, 41, and 42 of Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum and Article 9, 10, and 11 of the Rulebook on Entry and Stay of Aliens).
To obtain a visa at the border crossing point an alien shall pay an administrative fee in the amount of 100,00 BAM (Article 1 of the Decision on Amending the Tariff of Administrative Fees )
International border crossings points which may issue a visa at the border post are as follows: Airport Sarajevo, Airport Banja Luka, Airport Tuzla and Airport Mostar, and land border crossing points: Izacic, Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Orasje, Pavlovic most, Karakaj, Hum, Klobuk, Gorica and Doljani. Opening hours of the border crossing: 0-24 hours.
More information can be found on the website of the Border Police ww.granpol.gov.ba.
An alien may be refused an entry to Bosnia and Herzegovina even when he/she meets the entry requirements provided for in Article 19 on the grounds of the reasons listed in Article 25 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum.
