Federation of BiH deficit occupations and work permits

From 2027, a foreigner hired in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for an occupation on the deficit occupations decision receives a work permit without the cantonal service first checking the register of unemployed persons. The Federal Employment Institute must adopt the first decision by 30 October 2026, under new Article 15a of the Law on Employment of Foreigners.

The canton of the workplace decides

Article 15a requires the decision to be drawn up separately for each cantonal employment service. An occupation that appears for one canton and not for the canton where the foreigner will actually work still goes through the unemployed register check before the permit is issued.

For an employer with sites in more than one canton, the check is made per workplace. A welder listed for one canton is not exempt at a plant in another canton where welders do not appear on that service's part of the decision. The file should name the workplace address and be matched against the list of the cantonal service that will receive it.

How the decision is made

The Federal Employment Institute adopts the decision by 30 October each year for the following year. Before it does, the Federal Ministry must give its prior consent, and the Economic and Social Council of the Federation is consulted. The first decision under the new rule falls due by 30 October 2026 and covers calendar year 2027.

The law sets the criteria for including an occupation:

The decision is not fixed for the year. The Institute and the cantonal services must monitor the labour market and amend the decision as conditions change during the year. An occupation can therefore be added or removed after January, and an employer planning hires late in 2027 should check the version in force on the day the application is lodged.

Timeline for an employer hiring in 2027

The decision is published on the websites of the Federal Employment Institute and of the cantonal employment services. The text of the amending law is available from the Parliament of the Federation of BiH.

What to check before filing

Whether the register check applies depends on the canton of the workplace, because the list is set per cantonal service, and on the occupation as written in that canton's part of the decision. The employer reads the version of the decision in force on the filing date, since amendments can follow during the year.

Where the occupation is not listed for that canton, the employer should plan for the unemployed register check as part of the permit timeline. Comparable mechanisms in the region work differently: Croatia ties its list to police administrations, as covered in our note on the Croatian shortage occupation list, and Slovenia hires Bosnian workers under a separate agreement, described in the Slovenia and Bosnia bilateral agreement guide.

Employers recruiting for roles in the Federation can publish openings on the Werklist job board and see how the platform supports hiring teams on the employers page.