After several inquiries of worried readers, whose agency payments failed due to this “trifle”, we decided to find out what is it about.
Zoran Perkovic, the Assistant Foreign Minister of B&H for International Legal and Consular Affairs told us that this decision that the passport must be valid for at least another three months is included in the EU regulations, and that a similar solution exists in our Law on Travel Documents when it comes to the stay of foreign citizens in B&H.
“We have an almost exactly identical solution, that the foreign citizens cannot come to B&H if their passport expires within three months”, added our interlocutor.
Why is this completely logical solution present in both cases? The reason is simple – because the visa regime is free for the citizens of B&H who travel to the European Union.
“If they have a passport that expires in two months, it could happen to them that they travel to any EU country in the visa-free regime and find themselves there with an expired passport. This creates complications, from the procedures for their return to the readmission of these people. Therefore, to avoid these situations, that someone is found without valid travel documents, a rule was introduced on the territory of the EU according to which each of our citizens must have a passport with an expiration date up to three months upon return to B&H, because they can stay in the EU for up to three months”, explained Perkovic.
So be aware, if you have already planned your trip in one of the countries of the EU, check when your passport expires. If you must, obtain a new one.
(Source: radiosarajevo.ba)