Bosnia and Herzegovina residence permit for company founders

Article 77 of the Law on Aliens lists founders of a company or enterprise with its seat in BiH among the people who may work without a work permit, on three conditions: the company employs at least five BiH citizens for each foreigner, founders included; it pays each employee a gross salary of at least the average gross salary in BiH; and it properly meets its tax obligations. A foreign founder of a company with two foreign founders therefore needs at least ten local employees.

Founding and registering the company is not work, so it can be done during a visa-free stay or on a visa. The founder also needs to meet the general conditions for temporary residence: a passport valid three months beyond the permit, means of subsistence, accommodation, health insurance, a medical certificate and a clean criminal record.

Besides the standard residence documents, the Service's checklist for founders asks for evidence of the type of business you will carry out, the court registration decision of the company, a solvency certificate from the company's bank, certificates from the tax administration and the Indirect Taxation Authority that taxes are paid (not older than 90 days), evidence that the company employs at least five BiH citizens per foreigner and evidence that it pays each employee at least the average gross wage. Means of subsistence can be shown with cash, cards or bank guarantees, property in BiH, or income from direct foreign investment.

Foreigners in the founders' category who are in BiH on a visa, visa-free or on another temporary residence may work without a work permit once they have a certificate of work registration from the Service field office for their area; the April 2026 fee table lists BAM 100. For a stay beyond 90 days the founder applies for temporary residence on the ground of work without a work permit, either in person at a BiH mission or, as a national of a visa-free country, at the Service field office no later than 15 days before the visa-free period ends.

The Service decides within 60 days on applications filed in BiH and within 90 days on those filed through a mission, and you may stay while a timely in-country application is pending. Foreign documents must be submitted in the original or as certified copies with a translation into an official language of BiH.

After the permit is issued, register your address within 48 hours and report each change of address within 48 hours. The court that keeps the business register informs the Service within seven days when a foreigner becomes a shareholder, board member or procurator of a registered company, or when those data change.

Renewal is requested 60 to 15 days before the permit expires, with fresh evidence that the company still has five BiH employees per foreigner, pays at least the average gross wage and has no tax arrears. Time on founder residence is expressly counted towards the five years of continuous temporary residence needed for permanent residence, unlike several other work-without-permit categories.

If the employment or tax conditions are not met, the application is refused. An appeal can be lodged with the Ministry of Security within 15 days of receiving the decision, and a final refusal gives up to 30 days to leave voluntarily.