Bosnia and Herzegovina student visa and study residence permit

The Law on Aliens grants temporary residence for regular higher education to a foreigner who is enrolled at a higher education institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina or arrives under a student exchange or youth mobility programme, and who meets the general conditions for temporary residence: a passport valid three months beyond the permit, sufficient means, accommodation, health insurance, a recent medical certificate and a clean criminal record. Separate rules cover primary and secondary pupils, unpaid interns who graduated in BiH and volunteers.

The permit is granted for up to one year and renewed on the same conditions. Once the regular length of the programme has ended, it can be extended for a maximum of two further years if you prove that you are repeating an academic year.

The Service's checklist for university students accepts three kinds of proof: a bank account balance of at least BAM 400 for each month of stay; a scholarship or a certificate from the educational institution or exchange programme showing that your costs are covered; or a guarantee statement certified at a municipality or notary in which a BiH citizen or a foreigner with residence promises to bear all costs of your stay, together with proof of the guarantor's income such as a bank statement, pension slip, work permit or employment contract.

As a rule the first application is made in person at a BiH embassy or consulate, which takes biometric data and forwards the file to the Service for Foreigners' Affairs; the decision then comes within 90 days. Nationals of visa-free countries may instead enter visa-free and apply in person at the field office of the Service where they live, no later than 15 days before the 90-day visa-free period ends; the decision comes within 60 days. While a timely application is pending in BiH you receive an attestation that lets you stay until the final decision.

Foreign documents must be originals or certified copies with a translation into Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian. When the residence is approved you receive a notification and the residence permit sticker, which also serves for crossing the border.

If you are not in a hotel and stay more than three days, your stay must be reported to the Service or the police within 48 hours of entry; this registration form is needed for an in-country application. Once temporary residence is granted, you must register your address, and any later change of address, within 48 hours of receiving the permit, arriving at the address or moving. The fee table lists BAM 10 for registering a place of residence.

The extension is filed at the Service field office no earlier than 60 and no later than 15 days before the current permit expires. Bring a certificate of enrolment for the new academic year, a certificate of passed exams, renewed proof of funds and insurance, the previous permit sticker or decision and a certificate from the competent BiH court and Ministry of the Interior that you have no criminal record or proceedings. The medical certificate is normally not needed again.

An application is refused if the general or special conditions are not met or if the foreigner entered the country illegally. An appeal can be lodged with the Ministry of Security within 15 days of receiving the decision; the appeal fee is BAM 10. After a final refusal, the decision sets a deadline of up to 30 days for leaving the country voluntarily.