FBiH work permit renewal, decision and notice deadlines

In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an employer applies to extend a foreigner's work permit between 60 and 30 days before expiry. The cantonal employment service decides within 30 days of a complete file. If the worker never starts or stops working, the employer reports it within 15 days. These deadlines come from the 2026 amendments to the Law on Employment of Foreigners.

An incomplete file is refused by decision

The 30 day decision period runs from receipt of a complete application with the documents listed in Article 9. Where evidence is missing, the cantonal service may set a further deadline. If the employer still does not submit everything, the application is refused by decision under Article 9(3), and the employer files again from the start.

For a renewal, that refusal carries a calendar cost. A new filing must still respect the window that closes 30 days before expiry, so a refused renewal lodged late in the window can leave no time to file again before the permit lapses. The safer practice is to assemble the full Article 9 set before the window opens and lodge it close to day 60.

The calendar in day counts

The amending law was published in Službene novine FBiH no. 36/26 of 15 May 2026 and took effect on 23 May 2026. The rulebook on the work permit procedure, due from the Federal Ministry within 90 days of that date, will set out the procedural detail. The text of the amendments is published by the Parliament of the Federation of BiH.

Documents the employer now supplies

The amendments add evidence to the Article 9 list. The employer now supplies an extract from the court register or a registration decision, and a bank statement from the employer's main business account. Both belong in the file at the first submission, since an omission triggers the further deadline and, if unmet, refusal.

A sole trader (obrtnik) is defined by reference to the 2021 Crafts Act and must sign employment contracts with the workers it engages. A sole trader hiring a foreigner should therefore hold a signed employment contract in the file, not an informal engagement.

Cantonal employment services keep records of issued work permits under the rules on employment records. A new point g of Article 15(1) also adds a foreigner who renounced citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the categories that article lists.

The 15 day notice and the new offence

Article 18(5) requires the employer to notify both the cantonal service and the Service for Foreigners' Affairs within 15 days if the foreigner never starts work or stops working. Failing to notify the cantonal service is a new offence under Article 24(1), point f. The duty covers two recipients, so a notice to one office does not discharge the other.

Croatia applies a comparable duty to report the end of employment to the police, covered in our guide on notifying the police after termination in Croatia. Employers hiring Bosnian workers into Slovenia follow a separate framework, explained in the Slovenia and Bosnia bilateral agreement guide.

Employers with open roles in the Federation can post them on the Werklist job board.