With the new rulebook, which will be presented to the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), significant changes are being made regarding who can propose a candidate and how it is proven that the applicant deserves a BiH passport.
BiH is significantly tightening the criteria for granting citizenship to individuals considered particularly useful for the country.
Until now, citizenship has often been granted to numerous investors, athletes, cultural workers, doctors, and others who can contribute to the “promotion of BiH.” However, if the new rulebook on the procedure for acquiring BiH citizenship is adopted, obtaining citizenship as a person deemed of special benefit to BiH will become much more difficult.
The new rulebook, which will be presented to the Council of Ministers of BiH, makes significant changes regarding who can propose a candidate and how it is proven that the applicant deserves a BiH passport.
For example, under the existing 2009 rulebook, the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH and entity chambers of commerce could provide a recommendation that a person’s admission would be of particular benefit to BiH; however, this will no longer be possible under the new rulebook.
These recommendations will now be provided by the Presidency of BiH, the competent ministry at the BiH level, entity governments, the Brcko District government, the Olympic Committee of BiH, and registered sports associations at the BiH level.
Additionally, the new rulebook stipulates that the applicant must submit a certificate from the institution authorized to verify language knowledge, as well as proof of language proficiency, which was not previously required. They must also submit a CV, a certificate confirming that direct and indirect taxes for any company they own are paid, and proof of a secured permanent source of income. None of this was required under the old rulebook. The new rulebook also provides that the Ministry of Civil Affairs obtains data from official records of the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs and the Intelligence and Security Agency of BiH to verify whether the person poses a threat to the security of BiH.
Applicants will also have to sign a declaration of “acceptance of the legal system and constitutional order of BiH” issued by the competent authority.
Under the old rulebook, only a birth certificate, proof of citizenship of the country of origin, marital status, proof of registered residence in BiH, and a recommendation from the competent institution were required.
“The reasons for adopting the new rulebook lie in the need to align the conditions for acquiring BiH citizenship with the BiH Citizenship Law. A significant number of people have been receiving recommendations from competent authorities too easily, with brief and incomplete justifications, even though it is clear that a certain number of applicants are not of special benefit to BiH according to the relevant provisions of the law and rulebook,” the explanatory notes state.
The new rulebook does not significantly change the criteria defining who can be considered a person of particular benefit to BiH. These include individuals who have achieved notable results in culture, science, education, sports, the economy, and other fields, and who can contribute to the further development, prosperity, and international promotion of BiH.
