The Embassy of BiH in Kuwait proposed to the Government of FbiH through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to exclude the citizens of Kuwait from the system of reciprocity in regard to the acquisition of right of ownership of real estate. If this proposal is adopted, the citizens of Kuwait might acquire the right of ownership of real estate in BiH as physical entities, which was not the case until now.
The Law on Property Rights from 2014 introduced a novelty according to which foreigners as physical entities can become owners of real estate by the system of reciprocity the system of reciprocity means that foreigners in BiH have the same rights as citizens of BiH have in their countries.
Since citizens of BiH cannot be owners of real estate in Kuwait, the Kuwaitis cannot be owners of real estate in BIH. This legal barrier is now skipped by many Kuwaitis in a way that they establish companies in BiH and then those companies become owners of real estate, which is in accordance with BiH laws.
Ambassador of BiH in Kuwait and Ambassador Mehmed Halilović forwarded a proposal for exclusion of Kuwait from the system of reciprocity already in March 2016, which would enable the Kuwaitis to purchase real estate in BiH with certain limitations.
These are the suggestions:
- Citizens of Kuwait who have already purchased real estate in BiH would be allowed to acquire the right of ownership of real estate and its registration if they pay a certain amount of money as a fine (1.000-3.000 EUR).
- To enable the purchase of real estate limited to 5 dunams and residential space with maximum surface area of 300 square meters.
- To limit registration to only one real estate and to pay a tax in the amount of 1.000-2.000 EUR on annual level to the relevant body of administration for that real estate.
Ambassador Halilović said that exclusion of Kuwait from the system of reciprocity is in the interest of BiH because it would enable a significant influx of investments.
Ambassador noted that in Kuwait there is great interest in purchase of real estate in BiH, which would be very beneficial for BiH since the real estate would be built by BiH companies, the BiH resources would be used, and eventually the Kuwaitis would be paying the residence tax.
(Source: klix.ba)