Bosnia and Herzegovina tourist visa and visa-free stay

The Council of Ministers' Decision on Visas lists the countries whose citizens may enter without a visa, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes the visa regime for each country on its visa page. Exempt citizens may enter, leave and transit Bosnia and Herzegovina for up to 90 days; the Law on Aliens counts these 90 days over any 180-day period looking back from each day of stay.

Citizens of EU and Schengen states, Andorra, Montenegro, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Serbia, the Holy See, Switzerland, North Macedonia and Albania may also cross the border with a valid national identity card instead of a passport. For everyone else the passport must be valid at least three months beyond the planned stay and must have been issued within the last ten years. Foreigners holding a valid BiH temporary or permanent residence permit do not need a visa while the permit is valid.

A Visa C allows transit or one or more stays totalling no more than 90 days in 180 days and is issued for tourism, private visits, business, training and cultural, sports, religious or similar events. It is usually valid for up to one year; with the prior consent of the Service for Foreigners' Affairs it can be issued for up to five years to applicants who travel frequently, such as business people or family members of BiH citizens, and who have used earlier visas lawfully.

BiH missions ask for a passport valid at least three months beyond the visa, a completed and signed application form, a document from BiH explaining the trip (an original invitation letter, a tourist voucher or another document set by the rulebook), a 35 x 45 mm colour photo, travel health insurance, proof of travel means and intent to return such as a return ticket, vehicle papers or an employment or school certificate, and proof that the fee has been paid. Supporting documents other than the passport may not be older than three months.

The minimum amount set for a foreigner's stay, including return travel and health care, is BAM 150 or its equivalent in a convertible currency for each day of the planned stay. It can be shown in cash, with payment cards recognised by BiH banks, with a BiH bank guarantee, with a certified invitation letter in which the host takes on the costs, or with proof of paid accommodation or an organised trip. A valid return or onward ticket proves the means to leave.

Paid individual or collective travel health insurance counts as the means for health care. Visa applicants must enclose it; visa-free travellers should carry it because border police can check every entry condition, and a visa does not by itself guarantee entry.

The application is filed in person no earlier than 90 days and no later than 7 days before the trip; the mission may ask for further documents or an interview. Parents or guardians file for minors and enclose the birth certificate, and a minor travelling alone needs a certified consent from the legal representative in a BiH official language, English or French, or with a sworn translation. The fee cannot be paid in cash at the mission.

In exceptional cases, for urgent and unforeseeable reasons, Border Police can issue a single-entry Visa C for up to 15 days at the border, provided the traveller proves that it was impossible to apply in advance. This is not a normal way to travel and should not be planned on.

Hotels and other accommodation providers register foreign guests with the Service or the police within 12 hours. If you stay with friends, in a private flat or elsewhere and your stay is longer than three days, you or your host must report it to the nearest field office of the Service for Foreigners' Affairs or to the police within 48 hours of entering the country. The Service's fee table lists BAM 10 for registering a place of stay.

A Visa C can be extended only for force majeure, humanitarian, serious professional or personal reasons. The request goes to the Service for Foreigners' Affairs no later than 5 days before the visa expires, the Service decides within 7 days, and the fee table lists BAM 100 for an in-country visa extension. An appeal against a refusal must be filed with the Ministry of Security within 3 days and does not suspend the decision.

Staying beyond the visa or the visa-free period is an offence punished by a fine of BAM 300 to 1,500, and a foreigner without a regulated stay faces removal with an entry ban of one to five years.

A visa is refused if the conditions are not met, if the applicant has already spent 90 of the last 180 days in BiH, if the passport is too short-lived, older than ten years or lacks two blank pages, or if biometric data are refused. The applicant can appeal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the BiH mission within 15 days of receiving the decision.