Foreign workers have been nothing new in Bosnia and Herzegovina for years, and the proposed issuance of 7,427 work permits for next year is expected, which employers claim will be sufficient, given the low level of economic activity.
As “Nezavisne novine” writes, according to the statements of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were published in e-consultations within the document “Decision on Determining the Annual Quota of Work Permits for the Employment of Foreigners in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2026”, of the total number of permits, 4,500 work permits apply to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2,000 work permits to the Republika Srpska and 927 work permits to the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The number of work permits that can be issued for the extension of already issued work permits is 2,350 work permits, of which 1,500 work permits apply to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 500 work permits to the Republika Srpska and 350 work permits to the Brčko District of BiH. The number of work permits that can be issued for the new employment of foreigners in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 5,077 work permits, of which 3,000 work permits apply to the Federation of BiH, 1,500 work permits to the Republika Srpska and 577 work permits to the Brčko District of BiH, it is stated in the aforementioned document document.
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH, this decision will better meet the needs of the labor market in Bosnia and Herzegovina, without jeopardizing the supply of domestic labor, and will ensure greater control of the labor market and a reduction in illegal work by foreign citizens.
The annual quota of work permits is determined by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with migration policy and taking into account the situation on the labor market, they explain.
When the proposal for 2026 is compared with the same proposal for 2025, it can be seen that 198 more permits are planned for the following year. That is, the number of work permits for the Republika Srpska did not change, for the Federation of BiH it was increased by 10, and for the Brčko District it was increased by 188 work permits for foreign workers.
Zoran Škrebić, President of the Union of Employers of Republika Srpska, pointed out that there were still some unused permits this year and that the previously mentioned number will be sufficient for the following year if such trends in the economy continue. classes.
“Economic activity is at a low level. The crisis in Western Europe is gaining momentum, which is having a significant impact on the economy of Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The crisis in wood processing is still present at the same level as it was during this and last year,” says Škrebić, adding that the proposed number of work permits is not a good indicator.
Employers in BiH who decide to hire foreign workers are often troubled by complicated procedures when bringing in labor from abroad, and according to Škrebić, things should slowly change for the better recently, so procedures should be faster and obtaining permits easier.
“However, this will only become active in the coming months, so we will see how it will look when bringing in future workers,” Škrebić points out for “Nezavisne novine”.
BiH may yet feel the problem of labor shortage, and as Škrebić previously warned, BiH could be short of around 100,000 workers in a few years.
“There are some estimates that in the next few years BiH will be short of around 100,000 workers, which in these conditions, where workers are leaving for far more developed economies, means that it will be impossible to bring them back. “That will be an existential problem for the economy,” Škrebić told Nezavisne novine.
