In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are currently approximately 3,500 issued work permits for foreign nationals, and when it is taken into account that according to the Law on Foreigners of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in certain cases, a foreigner is allowed to stay for the purpose of work without a work permit, the number of foreign workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina is even higher is confirmed to Fena from the UNIDAD Employment Agency.
As they point out, most workers come to our country from Serbia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Nepal and Kuwait, and BiH’s interest is growing for employers and for workers from Pakistan, the Philippines and India.
UNIDAD says that the need for foreign workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina has grown significantly in the last two years.
“According to some data, the number of foreign workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina is twice as high today as it was in 2020. However, compared to neighboring Croatia, which has over 140,000 workers of foreign nationals, this number is still not large. The biggest labor shortage is felt in industry, catering and construction”, they pointed out.
According to the agency’s past experience, employers mostly hire foreign workers for jobs such as upholsterers, welders, carpenters, rebar workers, masons, waiters and hotel room cleaners.
As they state, previous experiences with foreign workers have been predominantly positive.
“For the most part, they have the will to work and improve their skills, and they also manage to blend in with BiH workers. There were several cases when foreign workers tried to cross the border illegally and leave BiH to go to the EU, but they minority. By selecting the best possible workers and thorough security checks carried out by our authorities, we try to avoid such situations”, emphasized UNIDAD.
They added that BiH employers much preferred to employ domestic workers, because they are often more qualified than foreign workers and they do not need a long and expensive procedure of obtaining permits necessary for work. But, as they say, very often employers are not able to find local workers, especially in the already mentioned professions, and then they are forced to reach out to foreigners.
According to the data of the Agency for Labor and Employment of BiH, in the first six months of this year, a total of 2,490 work permits were issued, namely 1,485 work permits that count towards the quota and 1,005 work permits issued independently of the established quota, and most of them were issued to citizens of Turkey (732 ), Serbia (336), Nepal (163), Bangladesh (159), China (134) and India (128).
As they stated, the most work permits were issued in the construction sector, namely for concrete workers and related occupations 283 permits, for casters and related occupations 260, for carpenters 159, and for workers for simple jobs in construction 125.
The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy prepared the Preliminary Draft of the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Employment of Foreigners.
The Ministry stated that the reasons for adopting amendments to the Law on the Employment of Foreigners are that the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. Bosnia and Herzegovina, is facing the problem of labor shortages, especially in manufacturing, service and other industries, which affects large employers. which are predominantly export-oriented.
They also add that domestic businessmen, especially exporters, are facing a labor shortage, even though there are a certain number of unemployed people with occupations that employers consider deficient in the records of employment services. However, as stated by the Ministry, these persons are not looking for a job, but are on the records of the employment service due to exercising the right to health insurance and some other social benefits, which they receive as unemployed persons, Fena reports.
