The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)adopted the Information of the Ministry of Security on the situation in the area of migration in BiH for 2023, in which it is stated that the border police have detected 13,643 people illegally crossing or attempting to illegally cross the border.
According to the Information that will be submitted to the Presidency of BiH, the House of Representatives, and the Joint Commission for Defense and Security of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (PABiH), foreigners in BiH were granted 5,984 temporary residence permits in 2023, of which the largest number was based on work with a work permit (1,897 or 32% ), family reunification (1,389 or 23%) and education (1,356 or 23%), while 7,497 temporary stays were extended, most of all(37%) on the basis of family reunification. During that period, 474 permanent residences were approved.
The border police of BiH detected 13,643 persons illegally crossing or attempting to illegally cross the border. 6,110 persons were detected from the territory of Serbia and Montenegro, of which 5,193 were turned away in accordance with the Law on Border Control. Last year, 7,553 people were detected on their way out of BiH.
Migrants mostly use areas outside the border crossings to illegally cross the state border, while 50 cases of attempts to cross the state border by hiding around 440 migrants were discovered at the border crossings, mostly in the cargo space of cargo motor vehicles.
In 2023, 34,409 illegal migrants were reported, which represents an increase of 25.45% compared to the previous year, and most of them were from Afghanistan (14,442).
In the last six years, more than 142,000 migrants crossed the territory of BiH, and last year, 122 different nationalities were recorded in illegal migration, Radio Sarajevo writes.
