Bosnia and Herzegovina residence permit for property owners

Temporary residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina is granted for a stated purpose: family reunification, education, humanitarian reasons, employment with a work permit, work without a work permit, or other justified reasons. Under Article 48 of the Law on Aliens it may also be granted exceptionally on the grounds of owning real estate in BiH, provided that the foreigner's effective connection to BiH is established. There is no residence route based only on passive income or remote work.

Every temporary residence permit is granted for up to one year and can be extended only on the same ground on which it was first approved.

The owner must prove ownership with a land registry certificate or a certificate of a deposited contract. A certified contract of sale, gift or inheritance is accepted only where land registry books have not been established, which a court certificate must confirm. The owner must also show that the property provides housing, with a statement certified by the competent authority.

The Service's checklist names the kinds of effective connection it accepts: origin from BiH, proven by a birth certificate; children being educated in BiH; receiving a pension in BiH; investing in BiH; or close family members living in BiH. One or more of these may be combined. The general conditions also apply: means of subsistence with a guarantee statement on the source of income, health insurance valid in BiH, a medical certificate and a criminal record certificate.

As a rule the first application is filed in person at a BiH embassy or consulate, which takes biometric data and sends the file to the Service; the decision comes within 90 days. A national of a visa-free country may enter visa-free and apply at the Service field office where the property is, at least 15 days before the 90-day visa-free period ends; the decision then comes within 60 days. A timely application in BiH lets you stay until the final decision. Foreign documents must be translated into an official language of BiH.

Register your address with the Service or the police within 48 hours of receiving the residence permit or arriving at the address, and report each change of address within 48 hours. If you leave BiH without the intention of returning, you must deregister.

The extension is filed 60 to 15 days before expiry with the same evidence of ownership, effective connection and means, the previous permit and a BiH certificate of no criminal proceedings; a new medical certificate is normally not required. Property residence is not on the list of grounds that cannot lead to permanent residence, so five years of continuous temporary residence on this basis can support an application for permanent residence.

Owning property alone is not enough: without an effective connection the application is refused. Appeals go to the Ministry of Security within 15 days of delivery, and a final refusal sets a voluntary departure period of up to 30 days.