The Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in Sweden announced that it is aware of the case of the minor boy Raif Terzic, but exclusively through media reports.
As they stated, up to the moment the information in question was published in the media, the embassy had not received any official request from the family for assistance, nor for any consular or other services.
“Accordingly, the Embassy of BiH in Stockholm did not undertake any activities, as there was neither a formal basis nor a request from the party,” it was stated.
They note that the Embassy of BiH has no influence on the migration policy of the Kingdom of Sweden, nor on the decisions of the competent Swedish authorities relating to residence, return, or citizenship.
“Nevertheless, the Embassy remains ready, within its powers, to provide assistance and information to all citizens of BiH for the purpose of protecting their rights and interests, should an appropriate request be submitted,” they add.
They emphasized that children born in the Kingdom of Sweden whose parents were not Swedish citizens at the time of birth do not automatically acquire Swedish citizenship solely by being born on its territory.
“According to the information available to the Embassy, which is accessible from media sources, the parents of the minor Raif Terzic acquired Swedish citizenship after his birth. Given that the boy was not registered in a timely manner in the birth and citizenship registers of BiH, which is a prerequisite for further procedures related to regulating citizenship status, a legal vacuum arose which, according to available information, led to the current situation,” the statement said.
They add that the protection of the rights and interests of children born in the Kingdom of Sweden is best achieved through the timely registration of birth in BiH and the regulation of the status of a citizen of BiH.
“We particularly emphasize that the Kingdom of Sweden is one of only three states with which BiH has concluded a Dual Citizenship Agreement, along with the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia, which further facilitates and enables the timely regulation of the citizenship status of children born in Sweden. Birth registration of children can be carried out through the Embassy of BiH in Stockholm, as well as in person or by proxy directly at the competent registry office in BiH,” they concluded.
It should be recalled that the Swedish media published a story about the deportation of four-year-old boy Raif to BiH, even though he was born and has spent his life so far in Malmo. Little Raif will thus have to be separated from his mother and brother until he obtains papers for entry.
Raif is four years old and lives in Malmo. He has autism and a speech disorder. He still cannot speak and still wears diapers. He now has to leave his mother and brothers in Sweden for several months in order to apply for permission to return.
When Raif and his father, Haris Terzic, were invited to a meeting at the Migration Agency in November, Haris was nowhere near prepared for the news he received: that Raif’s latest application had been rejected and that he had been expelled from the country.
When Raif was born in Sweden in 2021, he did not receive citizenship. The family lives in Malmo, and both his mother and father have permanent residence in Sweden. When Raif was a few months old, his father became a Swedish citizen. Twice, the parents applied for Swedish citizenship for Raif as well, but they received rejections. They then applied for a residence permit. The fact that Raif did not have a passport was decisive for the Migration Agency’s decision in his case.
There, too, they received a rejection. The Migration Agency assessed that Raif first needed to have Bosnian citizenship and a passport, as his father had when Raif was born. He could later use that in an application for a residence permit or Swedish citizenship.
The Migration Agency claims that they informed the parents about this. But the parents describe the news as a cold shower, because the expulsion had already become a reality.
