Moving & Living - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Complete Guide

01Choose the city and test the neighbourhood journey

Choose the place around the actual job, faculty or school address. Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar and Tuzla offer different daily settings, and the choice also changes which tax and health administration handles the household. A country-level residence decision does not make every local service a national one.

1. Put the fixed destinations on a map: workplace, teaching building, school and any regular medical appointment.
2. Choose two areas to inspect, then make the commute at the hour you will actually travel.
3. Visit shortlisted homes as well as the street. Check the entrance, lift, sunlight, noise and heating equipment.
4. Compare the total housing commitment, including heating and transport, rather than comparing only the advertised rent.

In Sarajevo, Marijin Dvor's local-community directory includes streets such as Dolina, Kotromanića and Vrbanja, with a community contact at Dolina 7. In Banja Luka, the published bus directory identifies line 14 between Starčevica and the centre and 14B between the bus station, Borik and Starčevica. Use those as concrete starting points; confirm the current departure board before planning a timed appointment.

02Select the residence purpose and application location

Choose the residence purpose before choosing the application location. Bosnia and Herzegovina distinguishes short visitor stays, permission to reside and permission to work. A visa-free entry can make an onshore application possible without making the intended employment automatically lawful.

1. Identify the actual basis: employment, education, eligible family connection or another category in the Service for Foreigners' Affairs application directory.
2. Establish the submission location. The Service's nationality and application instructions normally require a first residence application abroad through a Bosnian diplomatic or consular mission. An application within the country is permitted for a person who entered with a long-stay Visa D or has visa-free nationality.
3. Download the applicable purpose checklist and the temporary-residence application form. Prepare the particular household's documents and application originals before arranging travel around an appointment.
4. For an eligible onshore application, use the published submission timetable: lodge the first application at least fifteen days before the Visa D or visa-free period expires. The same page sets a latest fifteen-day-before-expiry deadline for an extension.

Use the field-office directory to locate the unit serving the actual home and arrange the appointment with that office. Keep the filed application record, decision and issued validity together for each applicant. Ask the office to identify the appropriate application if the intended activity changes.

Pay the fee using the correct public-payment details

The current administrative-fee annex, checked 13 October 2026, lists BAM 150 for approval or extension of temporary residence. This is separate from the work-permit or consular visa charge.

Follow the Service's payment instructions: use the published Treasury beneficiary account and the matching revenue type, municipality code, payment date and budget organisation. It provides a specific payer identifier instruction for a person without a JMB. Retain the receipt with the application; do not replace the official revenue code with the agency's invoice reference.

03Arrange the job and complete the employment permissions

Agree the job, worksite, salary currency, start date and responsibility for the applications in writing. Arrange recognition of any regulated professional qualification with the relevant body as a separate task.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs identifies the competent employment services by the employer's location in the Federation, Republika Srpska or Brčko District. Have the employer identify its issuing office and obtain the application there; an ordinary work permit is not issued by the immigration field office. The ministry states that a work permit cannot have a validity exceeding one year.

1. Have the employer establish whether the particular job requires a work permit or falls within a documented exception.
2. For the ordinary permit route, the Service's employment sequence requires the employer to obtain the permit from the competent employment authority before the worker enters for that arrangement.
3. Use the issued permit for the residence application. The worker may not begin the job on the work permit alone before temporary residence is granted; the authorised workplace and work type matter.
4. Before the first payslip, obtain the employer's tax, payroll and insurance-registration responsibilities and keep the issued references.

The current employee residence checklist requires the completed form, BAM 150 fee evidence, a 35×45mm photograph, passport evidence, applicable arrival or previous-residence record and the work permit. The passport must remain valid at least three months beyond the requested residence period. Prepare the employer's registration decision and any applicable company tax-clearance records with its representative.

For a first application, the checklist includes a medical attestation no older than three months, origin-country criminal evidence no older than six months and accommodation evidence such as the rental agreement or the landlord's consent with property evidence. Renewal and authority-conducted checks have specified exceptions; use the correct column or numbered condition for the case. Foreign documents require translation into an official language, and the checklist distinguishes ordinary copies, certified copies and originals.

Optional: establish a company or independent activity separately

The application directory includes a company-founder category among work-permit exceptions. Obtain that category's actual conditions before treating company formation as a settlement route. Arrange the business registration, authorised activity, residence decision and tax records together. Overseas clients or remote payment do not by themselves establish a dedicated remote-work residence permission.

04Price the move and organise the correct tax records

Build the budget in convertible marks: BAM is the currency code, while local prices commonly use KM. The Central Bank's currency board fixes EUR 1 at BAM 1.95583. A bank or card conversion can still include its own charges, so use the actual transfer quote for money arriving from abroad.

Hypothetical housing calculation: if a landlord quotes BAM 900 per month, requests a refundable BAM 900 deposit and agrees BAM 150 for the first month's separately billed services, the first housing payment would be BAM 1,950. These are invented inputs illustrating the calculation, not a rent survey or standard deposit rule. Replace all three figures with the written offer. EUR 1,000 converts mathematically to BAM 1,955.83 at the fixed parity before charges; that calculation does not establish what a bank will credit.

Keep arrival spending separate from the stable monthly budget. Add temporary accommodation, overlapping rents, the first food shop and service activation to the initial column. For the recurring column, request both a warm-season and a heating-season bill from the proposed home and record which costs the tenant actually pays. Match the dates of the first salary or pension payment with the first rent and administrative payments.

Establish the tax authority for the address and activity

Start with the actual location and income arrangement. The Federation Tax Administration and Republika Srpska Tax Administration's individual directory are separate starting points. The latter provides taxpayer-registration forms, personal-income information and tax calendars. A household moving to Brčko needs the district's own administration rather than selecting an entity's form by convenience.

1. Prepare the residence address, dates of arrival and departure, employment agreement and details of foreign income.
2. Ask payroll to identify the competent tax office, the personal identifier used for your foreign-national record and the employment and contribution filings it will complete.
3. Keep the submitted registration and the first payslip. Reconcile the gross pay, deductions and amount received into the account.
4. For overseas employment, freelance invoices, rental income or a pension, arrange an individual review of tax residence, reporting and any applicable treaty before the first filing deadline.
5. Record who submits each return, the reporting period, payment reference and supporting documents. Keep foreign tax certificates if relief is being claimed.

This guide does not assign one nationwide tax rate or assume every newcomer receives the same personal identifier. The exact treatment of a mixed local and foreign income household requires the responsible administration's decision and the relevant rules. Prepare that review with dated figures and contracts so it can produce a filing plan rather than a general conversation about tax.

05Arrange school placement or university admission

Optional, for a school or university move: arrange the actual institution and placement before selecting the home. Obtain the teaching address and calendar for the selected programme, not just the university's main office.

Arrange a child's assessment and placement

One concrete Sarajevo starting point is QSI International School of Sarajevo's admissions service at Alipašina 41. Start its linked OpenApply application, submit the requested records and arrange a visit or assessment through [email protected]. Its placement process includes a test and interview; children aged five and above take English-language reading and mathematics assessments, and those aged eight and above also write an essay. Request the current fee quote and the school's placement decision before paying the non-refundable registration charge. The test contributes to the decision rather than guaranteeing admission.

Obtain the university's programme-specific admission instructions

The University of Sarajevo's application directory explains the annual competition and the faculty-level document and examination instructions. Prepare the secondary-school records, diploma, birth and citizenship documents needed for the chosen programme. A foreign school qualification needs the applicable recognition or equivalence process; the university describes conditional participation while that process is underway, with completion required for enrolment. Agree the actual recognition authority and timetable with the faculty.

For a Banja Luka option, use the university's 2026–2027 admission notice and linked faculty contacts. Its first and second undergraduate rounds ran in June and August 2026; those published deadlines have passed at this guide's review date. The application service is upis.unibl.org, with originals required at enrolment. Contact the selected faculty about the next available intake and qualification recognition rather than treating the old competition as still open.

Complete the student residence file

After the admission plan is established, use the Service's higher-education residence checklist. It requires current-year enrolment, the applicable entry and passport evidence, photograph, application fee and accommodation. Prepare exchange evidence where relevant and examination evidence for renewal. Financial support can be documented through the listed guarantee or scholarship arrangements; its bank-funds option specifies at least BAM 400 per month, checked 13 October 2026. This is an immigration evidence threshold, not a surveyed monthly student budget.

Arrange the required medical, insurance and criminal-record evidence and translated originals or certified copies according to that checklist. Keep the university's enrolment confirmation and the immigration deadlines in the same file, with the fee and accommodation receipts.

06Establish the qualifying pension-funded residence plan

Optional, for a pension-funded household: establish a residence category that covers the intended stay before buying a home or committing to a long lease. The current directory distinguishes property-based residence and specific humanitarian arrangements; pension income alone is not an issued permission.

For the property-ownership application, prepare the land-registry evidence and an effective connection with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its listed connections include origin, children studying locally, receiving a pension in the country, investment or close family living there. The checklist also requires accommodation, income evidence, health insurance and the applicable medical and criminal records. This route involves an assessed connection as well as the property; the purchase itself is not the approval.

1. Describe the nationality, household, pension and any family or property connection to the responsible field office, then obtain the applicable category and document list.
2. Arrange the pension statement and its payment duration, with the receiving bank's transfer and currency requirements.
3. Resolve tax treatment and continuing healthcare before calculating the amount available for rent and daily spending.
4. Compare the permitted duration and renewal conditions with the proposed housing commitment.
5. Keep a dated payment and proof-of-life calendar if the pension payer requires one.

A dedicated ordinary retirement visa was not verified in the current application sources reviewed. Use the actual qualifying residence category and its decision instead of an assumed universal pension threshold.

07Prepare originals, shipment clearance and any pet entry

Make a separate folder for each applicant and a shared folder for housing, income and travel. Put the applicable residence checklist at the front and mark which documents need originals, certification or translation. Where a document has a validity limit, schedule its issue around the filing appointment rather than ordering everything months in advance.

1. Match names and dates across the passport, civil records, school documents and employment agreement. Resolve discrepancies with the issuing institution.
2. Arrange the required criminal and medical evidence under the purpose-specific checklist in step 3 or step 5.
3. Agree the accepted certification and translation with the receiving authority and translator. Keep the source original with its translated copy.
4. Prepare the accommodation evidence with the landlord before relying on the property for the residence file.
5. Carry the arrival address, essential originals and appointment records in hand luggage, with a secure copy available if the shipment arrives later.

Separate baggage from a household shipment

The Indirect Taxation Authority's traveller instructions describe a BAM 600 allowance for qualifying non-commercial goods in personal baggage per traveller per day. An item exceeding the limit cannot be split between family members to obtain that allowance. This baggage rule is not approval for a container of household goods.

For a larger shipment, give the mover a dated inventory, ownership information, origin, destination and intended import arrangement. Obtain the customs procedure and required supporting records from the authority before dispatch, then agree who handles clearance, storage and delivery. For essential medicines, the traveller instructions require the relevant medical documentation; arrange controlled medicines with the authority using the actual medicine name and quantity before departure.

Optional: prepare the pet's origin-specific entry file

The Veterinary Office's published entry instructions distinguish listed origin groups and unlisted countries. Its published framework requires identification and rabies vaccination; the passport or official certificate and any antibody test depend on origin. For an unlisted country it specifies an approved-laboratory test, with the sample taken at least thirty days after vaccination and three months before import or transit.

The linked entry notice dates from 2016 and remains published at review. Have the official veterinarian confirm the current origin classification, certificate and designated entry point with [email protected] for the exact journey, including transit. Schedule that confirmation before booking the animal's transport; a recently advertised certificate for travel out of Bosnia to the EU is a different direction. Keep the microchip, vaccine and laboratory records together and present the animal to the responsible entry-point authority.

08Record the entry and report the first accommodation

Carry the permission or entry documents appropriate to the chosen route, the accommodation address and the host's contact. The visa-free rule is nationality-dependent; the Service's visitor instructions give a general ninety-days-in-180 framework unless the applicable agreement provides otherwise.

1. Check the entry record against the permission and passport, then retain the travel and border records.
2. Reach the reserved accommodation and establish whether the provider or private host is completing the stay registration.
3. Obtain the registration evidence and keep the exact address available for the field-office appointment.
4. Arrange a working phone and the immediate food, medicine and transport needs before beginning the longer home search.
5. Place the next immigration appointment and latest submission date on the calendar for every applicant.

For a private or non-provider stay exceeding three days, the Service's FAQ requires reporting the stay within forty-eight hours of entry; it also describes the private host's reporting obligation. Arrange this promptly with the responsible office instead of waiting for the permanent apartment. Accommodation reporting and a residence application are different tasks, with different evidence.

Ask the host to write the building entrance, floor and unit details when the booking address is incomplete. Keep the registration receipt with the initial accommodation record so a later move can be documented accurately. Use the actual arrival day to calculate the next tasks, especially when entry occurs before a weekend or public closure.

09Complete the residence decision and organise local records

The first local record to organise is the reported address and arrival evidence, often referred to as the bijeli karton or white card. The residence file then depends on the chosen purpose and its supporting documents. Local tax, banking and health registration follow their own requirements; collect each issued record under its actual name.

The field-office directory lists Sarajevo at A transverzala–Michael Schumacher 8, Banja Luka at Ivana F. Jukića 7/II, Mostar at Kneza Višeslava BB and Tuzla at Maršala Tita 36. Select by jurisdiction as well as city: the directory separates Sarajevo's Federation municipalities from Istočno Sarajevo's office. Use the published contact to arrange the appropriate appointment before travelling to the building.

1. Use the Service's field-office directory to identify the unit responsible for the home.
2. Prepare the arrival and accommodation records, application receipt and the purpose-specific file for the appointment.
3. Record any additional evidence requested, its submission date and the person or institution that supplies it.
4. After the decision, verify the approved purpose, validity and any conditions against the job, study or family arrangement.
5. Give the bank, employer and insurer the actual document each has requested, retaining the original unless it must be submitted.

The administrative-fee annex lists BAM 10 for the report of a foreigner's residence, checked 13 October 2026. Obtain the office's corresponding payment instruction and receipt; it is distinct from the BAM 150 temporary-residence approval fee.

When the permanent apartment replaces the first accommodation, take the new agreement and owner evidence to the responsible office and establish the required address-update procedure. Keep the before-and-after records together. For renewal, work back from the actual expiry and the published submission deadline, allowing time for employer or university records that another organisation must issue.

10Open the appropriate account and test payments

Select the account around the actual income and bank classification of your residence status. The list for a local resident with domestic identity records is different from the documents a newly arrived foreign worker can produce.

1. For one concrete starting point, use UniCredit Bank's personal-account instructions. Its non-resident current-account list includes a certified passport copy, work permit, employment certificate, temporary-residence certificate and confirmation of no blocked accounts.
2. Arrange the accepted certifications and ask the branch to confirm your category and product before the appointment. The foreign-currency and savings lists differ from the current-account list; select the account needed for salary and everyday payments.
3. Complete any required translation through an authorised court interpreter, then obtain the account agreement, fee schedule and activation instructions.
4. For incoming foreign transfers, obtain the issued IBAN and bank SWIFT details from the account record and send the verified details to the payer.
5. Test the card and a small transfer before relying on the account for rent, bills or the whole moving budget.

Keep bank charges and conversion terms with the budget. Ask which payment reference the landlord or service provider requires, and save the receipt after the first bill payment.

11Inspect the apartment and agree the complete rental terms

Inspect the home before deciding whether it can support both daily life and the required accommodation evidence. Ask for the owner's identity and property evidence, or the representative's authority to sign, then match those details to the proposed agreement.

Read the offer as a complete household commitment

1. Confirm the exact unit, start date, duration and monthly payment. If a quote uses euros, write down whether payment is in euros or KM and how the amount is calculated.
2. Ask for the ugovor o najmu or ugovor o zakupu, the rental agreement, and translate anything you cannot confidently understand before signing.
3. Record the deposit, commonly labelled depozit, its receipt and the stated conditions for deductions and return. This guide does not prescribe a national deposit amount or cap.
4. List the režije, the household bills: electricity, water, heating, waste, communications and any building charge. Identify which are included and who pays each separate account.
5. Agree maintenance responsibilities, guest and pet terms, notice, early departure and the landlord's cooperation with the required residence evidence.

Ask to see recent bills for the actual meter and service account. Inspect the heating system and controls, hot water, windows, plumbing and any damp. For a furnished apartment, photograph the inventory and existing damage with the owner, note meter readings and sign the handover record. Obtain keys and a receipt for each payment.

Test the property's practical access as well as its appearance. In a stepped Mostar street, make the luggage and shopping journey yourself; in an apartment block, establish the lift and entrance arrangements. For the chosen Sarajevo or Banja Luka route, time the walk from the entrance to the actual stop. Keep the signed agreement and the agreed owner evidence in the residence folder, while bills and repair contacts belong in the household folder.

12Arrange coverage and establish the local care pathway

Arrange the household's coverage before the move, then establish the local insurance and treatment arrangements for the actual address. Keep immigration medical evidence, ongoing treatment records and insurance registration as separate parts of the file.

Use the health fund serving the home

In Sarajevo Canton, the cantonal Health Insurance Institute's compulsory-insurance instructions distinguish qualifying employment, pension and other insured categories from family members insured through a policyholder. Have payroll identify the employment-registration evidence, then arrange the applicable family application using the member-registration service. Confirm each household member's actual eligibility and start date with the institute; the residence decision alone is not the insurance registration.

For a temporary stay in Republika Srpska using foreign social-insurance coverage, the Health Insurance Fund's foreign-insured-person instructions require the appropriate home-country agreement evidence and a local patient's record. Obtain the applicable document before travel, present it to the responsible fund unit and use the contracted facilities within the recorded scope. The fund describes specific EHIC arrangements for Austrian and Slovenian insured people; this does not establish blanket acceptance of every country's European health card.

1. Have the employer, local fund or existing insurer confirm the coverage basis and documents for each person.
2. Arrange coverage for any gap before local registration and obtain the policy's treatment, medicine, existing-condition and claims terms.
3. Bring the clinical records and prescription information needed for continuing care. Establish the local primary-care practice and first consultation.
4. Keep the insurance or fund confirmation, referral procedure and any patient-payment conditions with the household's treatment contacts.
5. Before a specialist appointment or planned treatment elsewhere, establish the required authorisation and who pays the facility.

When moving to another canton or district, obtain the procedure from the receiving fund rather than assuming the Sarajevo or Republika Srpska process transfers unchanged. Keep the start date of the new arrangement aligned with the end of the previous coverage.

13Activate phone, household services and daily transport

Activate a local phone with a usable payment and expiry plan

BH Telecom's own eSIM instructions allow purchase from abroad through its webshop. Create the webshop login, choose the prepaid package, complete the payment and use the installation instructions emailed to you. The operator requires a Wi-Fi connection for installing or deleting the profile. Establish device compatibility before buying.

The Tourist 2 eSIM checkout, checked 13 October 2026, displays BAM 51.70 including BAM 11.70 activation, with 100GB and BAM 5 call/message credit for thirty days. Treat it as that initial product, then select the longer-term arrangement around actual usage. Keep the expiry and top-up method with the account details.

Complete the home's service handover

Use the suppliers shown on the property's existing bills. For a home supplied through Elektroprivreda BiH, its application directory directs requests to the competent distribution branch on the appropriate form, with an authorised representative permitted. A new physical connection and taking responsibility for an existing household account are different requests.

1. Record meter numbers, readings, account holders and the handover date with the owner.
2. Determine whether each service remains in the owner's name or requires a tenant agreement or change of customer.
3. Submit the actual supplier's requested documents and retain the application reference.
4. Arrange the first payment date and reference, then compare the bill with the agreed handover readings.
5. For fixed internet, obtain confirmation of service at the precise unit, installation timing, equipment and minimum contract term.

Buy the ticket for the actual journey

The Sarajevo GRAS ticket directory publishes BAM 2.20 single tickets for its listed tram, trolleybus, city-bus and minibus services, including VAT, and a BAM 7.10 day ticket, checked 13 October 2026. It lists sales points including Ilidža, Stup, Dobrinja, Otoka and Baščaršija. Select the ticket and follow the operator's use instructions; do not assume every boarding or transfer is covered by a single ticket.

For Banja Luka, the city's linked bus directory provides route-specific departures. Test the weekday journey and the return after work; a weekend pattern may differ. If the home requires a car, price parking, insurance, registration and the applicable driving-document arrangement separately before including it in the monthly plan.

14Build the routine and finish the first-month records

Build the week around a few repeatable local activities: the same food shop, a language lesson, a school-parent contact and a walk or class near home. Ask the university, workplace or school about its own groups and scheduled activities, then attend one regular gathering rather than relying solely on relocation chats.

A mjesna zajednica is a useful local-community contact for neighbourhood matters. Marijin Dvor's municipal page describes communication with local services and participation in community issues. Use the office serving the actual street for a local question; immigration and insurance applications still belong with their responsible authorities.

Complete the first-month record check

• Entry and residence: keep the reported address, filed application, decision and expiry calendar together for each person.
• Income: reconcile the first salary or pension payment with the agreement and obtain the payroll or tax-registration records.
• Home: retain the agreement, deposit receipt, inventory, meter readings and first bills.
• Health: confirm each person's coverage start and identify the practice handling continuing care.
• School or university: finish placement, enrolment, recognition and the actual daily travel plan where applicable.
• Payments and phone: test a bill payment, incoming transfer, card and top-up before the next due dates.
• Routine: save the work, school, owner, supplier and medical contacts and choose a regular community activity.

Review the first month's receipts and replace the planning estimates with actual figures. If the commute or home is unsuitable, compare alternatives using the same total-cost and document criteria before moving again. Carry the service and address handover records forward so the household's next month begins with clear responsibilities.