Work and residence permit

Work permit

A work permit is a permit for paid work of foreigners and is issued in the form of a decision by the branch of the Employment Service of the Republic of Srpska, competent according to the seat of the employer, based on the established quota of work permits in the Republic.

The annual quota of work permits for the Republic is determined by the Employment Service, with the consent of the Government of the Republic of Srpska.

In addition to the general conditions determined by law, conditions determined by the collective agreement and general acts of the employer, the foreigner must also fulfill a special condition to have a work permit issued by the Employment Service of the Republic of Srpska. Issuance of work permits, termination of their validity, special conditions, as well as the procedure and manner of employment of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Republic of Srpska are defined by the Law on Employment of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons (Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska", No. 24/09, 117/11 and 56/22).

Sojourn permit and residence permit

The sojourn permit is issued in the form of a sticker on the approved sojourn and in terms of the Law on Foreigners (Official Gazette of BiH, No. 88/15) is considered a decision on the approved sojourn. The sticker of the sojourn permit entered in the valid passport of the foreigner serves as a permit for crossing the state border of BiH during the period of validity.

After fulfilling the technical conditions, the sticker of the sojourn permit is replaced by the residence permit as a special document with the biometric data of the foreigner, which is personalized and issued by the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs.

A foreign person working in the Republic of Srpska is obliged to have a work permit in addition to a residence permit. The issuance of residence permits has a legal basis in the Law on Foreigners (Official Gazette of BiH, No. 88/15).