(“Official Gazette of B&H”, No: 104/08)
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
763
Pursuant to Article 32, Paragraph 7 of the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum (“Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, No. 36/08), Articles 4 and 8 of the Law on Ministries and other Bodies of Administration of BiH (“Official Gazette of BiH”, No. 5/03, 42/03, 26/04, 42/04, 45/06 and 88/07), and Article 16 of the Law on Administration (“Official Gazette of BiH”, No. 32/02) as well as with the consent of the Ministry of Security of BiH and Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall enact the
RULEBOOK
ON THE ISSUANCE OF LONG STAY VISAS (VISA D) AND THE PROCEDURE OF ISSUING THESE VISAS
Article 1
General Provisions
This Rulebook shall regulate the situations in which it is possible to issue long stay visas (Visa D) and the procedure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH (hereinafter: the Ministry) and Diplomatic and Consular Missions of BiH (hereinafter: DCM) for the issuance of these visas.
Article 2
Competence of DCM
(1) An alien is obliged to obtain long stay visa (hereinafter: Visa D) before entering BiH.
(2) An alien shall submit a visa application in person at the competent DCM, according to their place of residence abroad.
If aliens are not citizens of the country in which they submit the application, they must prove they have been permitted residence in that country or the other country/region which is within the consular scope of the competent DCM.
(3) The term “region” from the previous Paragraph refers to a particular administrative area which has no status of an internationally recognized state.
(4) As an exception from the Paragraph 2 of this Article, application for Visa D may be submitted in person also at the other DCM for humanitarian reasons or if it is in the interest of BiH or in accordance with its accepted international commitments.
It is necessary to obtain an approval of the Ministry for receiving visa applications by other DCM.
Article 3
Submitting an Application for Visa D Issuance
(1) An authorized official of the DCM shall directly determine the identity of an alien and shall conduct an interview with them once the alien submits an application for the issuance of Visa D.
(2) An application for Visa D issuance shall be submitted on the appropriate application form prescribed by the Sub-Act of the Ministry of Safety and it must be filled accurately and completely.
(3) An application for Visa D issuance shall be submitted not earlier than three (3) months and not later than one (1) month prior to the intended travel date.
(4) The authorized official of DCM is obliged to, immediately or at least during the next three working days, forward the visa application along with the documentation required through the Ministry to the Service to give its approval.
Article 4
General Conditions for Visa D Issuance
(1) An applicant for Visa D is obliged to give their personal data and biometric data (photograph, fingerprints, signature) required from them and other relevant information regarding the purpose of their entering BiH.
(2) An applicant for Visa D is obliged to enclose:
a) a valid travel document;
b) a letter of invitation issued on a prescribed form and certified by the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs (hereinafter: the Service) identifying the place of residence or the headquarters of the inviter;
c) a color photograph, size 35x45 mm, showing faithfully the holder of the travel document;
d) confirmation of the purpose of their stay in BiH which proves that it is necessary to stay in BiH longer than 90 days in the period of 6 months;
e) a medical certificate proving that the alien does not suffer from a contagious disease if coming from the territory on which there is an epidemics of a contagious disease;
f) proof of payment of consular fee;
g) other documents regarding accommodation and funds for living expenses; conditions of travel and return to the country of origin on basis of which it is possible to make a reasonable conclusion on the purpose and the conditions of the intended stay in BiH.
(3) Apart from documents and attachments mentioned in the Paragraph 2 of this Article, at request of the authorized official of DCM, an alien is obliged to submit other evidence in accordance with Article 22 Paragraph 1 of this Rulebook.
Article 5
Minors and Other Persons Incompetent to Work
(1) The application for Visa D issuance for minors and persons incompetent to work shall be submitted by a legal representative or guardian.
(2) Apart from the documents for fulfilling general requirements from Article 4 of this Rulebook, legal representative or guardian of a minor or a person incompetent to work is obliged to enclose:
a) birth certificate or other relevant document of a minor or a person incompetent to work if parents are their legal representatives or
b) the decision of a competent authority on adoption or guardianship
(3) an alien from Paragraph 2 of this Article, who is not accompanied by their legal representative, apart from application for Visa D issuance, is obliged to enclose a certified consent of the legal representative or guardian which includes:
a) personal data of legal representative or guardian;
b) period for which the consent is issued;
c) signature of legal representative (parent) or guardian.
(4) The consent mentioned in Paragraph 3 of this Article must be written in one of the languages officially in use in BiH and in English or attached in other foreign language along with the translation certified by a court interpreter.
(5) If the consent mentioned in the previous Paragraph is not given in person before the authorized official of a DCM, the signature of legal representative or guardian must be certified by the competent authority.
Article 6
The Receipt Seal
(1) Upon the receipt of a visa application, the receipt seal of the DCM shall be affixed to the copy of the application.
(2) The receipt seal described in the Paragraph 1 of this Article is in rectangular shape, size 40x15 mm and contains:
a) the symbol “BiH” and the name of the city in which the DCM is located
b) a column with the heading “Date”.
Article 7
Visa D Validity Period
(1) Visa D shall enable an alien to enter and stay in BiH up to 180 days within one year, starting from the day of the first entry.
(2) Visa D shall be issued for a single or multiple entries into BiH.
(3) Visa D shall be issued for a validity period not longer than one (1) year.
Exceptionally, Visa D may be issued for a period longer than one (1) year if this is in the
(4) interest of BiH, which shall be decided by the MFA of BiH upon the approval of the Service.
Article 8
Deadline for Giving Consent
(1) Issuance of Visa D shall require prior consent of the Service.
(2) Visa D application along with the documentation required for justifying reasons for its issuance shall be forwarded by a DCM of BiH to the Service through MFA of BiH.
(3) The Service shall respond to the application at its earliest convenience but not later than within seven (7) days following the receipt of the application. The Service shall inform the MFA of BiH of its response.
Article 9
Withholding the Response of the Service
(1) If the MFA of BiH receives no response from the Service upon its request for giving consent within seven (7) days after the receipt, it shall be considered that the consent has been given and that there are no impediments for visa issuance.
(2) Upon the expiration of the deadline referred to in the previous Article, MFA of BiH shall, without delay, inform the DCM of BiH about the withholding the response of the Service.
Article 10
The Purpose of Stay
The purpose of stay for Visa D application may be verified with the following documentation:
a) a letter of invitation;
b) an appeal from a foreign diplomatic-consular representation or international organization accredited in BiH forwarded through the Ministry;
c) a certificate confirming the admission to education or training;
d) a work permit;
e) another document on basis of which can be proved that for the purposes of stay in BiH a period of more than 90 days is necessary within the period of 6 months.
Article 11
Accommodation
(1) Secured accommodation may be verified with the following documentation:
a) a letter of invitation;
b) a confirmation or other evidence about the paid accommodation;
c) proof of ownership or the lease of a real estate for residing in BiH;
d) other document based on which a reasonable conclusion may be drawn about the secured accommodation in BiH.
(2) Exceptionally in justified cases, an alien may be exempted from obligation to enclose documentation about the secured accommodation provided that they can prove to be in possession of sufficient funds for accommodation costs and living expenses during their stay in BiH.
Article 12
Funds for Living Expenses
(1) The existence of funds for living expenses of an alien during their stay in BiH and funds for return to their country of origin or to travel to a third country may be proved by the following documentation:
a) a letter of invitation,
b) possession of cash in the national or foreign convertible currency,
c) possession of any forms of non-cash payment funds (travelers’ checks, credit cards, etc.) accepted by the banking system of BiH or instruments enabling withdrawal of money in BiH or a guarantee of a bank from BiH which accepts the non-cash payment method at the alien’s disposal;
d) possession of proof of paid accommodation or of an organized trip,
e) possession of assets (immovable property in BiH) based on which it is possible to provide the funds to support an alien during the time of their stay in BiH; funds arising from direct foreign investment, manufacturing-technical cooperation or coordination, etc.
(2) An alien holding a work permit in BiH is considered to have met the requirements regarding the possession of funds for living expenses.
Article 13
Means of Travel and Return
(1) Documentation used to verify existence of the means of travel and the return to the country of origin includes:
a) a return travel ticket;
b) automobile registration card and drivers license if an alien is traveling by their own passenger car;
c) an authorization for the use of the car and drivers license if an alien is traveling by a car owned by somebody else.
(2) Apart from the evidence referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article, the authorized official of DCM may request from an alien a proof of their employment, schooling or other proof of social and professional status they have in the country of stay.
Article 14
Letter of invitation
(1) An alien who uses a letter of invitation to verify the purpose of stay, secured accommodation, or the possession of funds for living expenses in BiH is obliged to attach the authentic letter of invitation issued on a prescribed form.
(2) Exceptionally, in justified cases, an alien may enclose a photocopy of the letter of invitation along with visa application, if the authentic copy has been deposited with the Ministry, of which the Ministry has officially informed the DCM.
Article 15
Authenticity of Documents
With the exception of travel documents, all documents referred to in Articles 4 and 5 of this Rulebook must not be older than three (3) months at the time the application is submitted.
Article 16
Translation
If an authorized official is unable to determine certainly the content of the documents referred to in the previous Article of this Rulebook, due to the language or lettering it is written in, they may request enclosing the certified translation of the documents into one of the languages officially in use in BiH or into English, according to the choice of the alien who submits the application.
Article 17
Verification of Information Listed in the Application
(1) Responses to questions in the visa application form must be correct, complete, and consistent.
(2) The duration of the stay being requested must be correspond to the purpose of the stay and must be verified by the documentation attached.
Article 18
Travel document
(1) The authorized official of DCM shall, in accordance with rules of the Ministry and international law practice, verify that the foreign travel document, for which the issuance of visa is requested is valid and in order; that the complete and authentic documentation was enclosed with the visa application and that there are no legal impediments to visa issuance.
(2) A foreign travel document is considered to be in order provided that it has not been damaged, altered, forged or counterfeited; contains all the marked pages; the information written in it is legible; there are no stains or signs of deleted information; the photograph faithfully shows its holder and that possible corrections were made by an authorized body and certified by an affixed seal and signature.
(3) A foreign travel document is considered valid provided that it was issued by an authorized state body; provides its holder with the right to return to the country which issued it or the right to enter a third country and that its expiry date exceeds the expiry date of the visa an alien has requested –by at least three (3) months.
Article 19
Interview
(1) An authorized official of DCM shall conduct an interview with the visa applicant in order to confirm the facts relevant for deciding on the application.
(2) A visa applicant may be summoned for an additional interview in order to prove and justify their application with additional information if there is any suspicion regarding the purpose of their stay or their intention to return.
Article 20
Additional Documentation
An authorized official may, if considers necessary, request other documents from the alien to further substantiate and justify their application, such as:
a) title deed for real estate in BiH;
b) proof of their bank account status;
c) other evidence requested in order to prove the purpose of entry and stay in BiH.
Article 21
Decision on the Applications
(1) The decision on the Visa D application shall be made on the basis of the prior consent of the Service, available facts and proofs and the free assessment of all of them together and individually, as well as their interconnectedness.
(2) Should any suspicion arise regarding the authenticity of the documents enclosed and the verity of their content or the reliability of the alien’s statements made during the interview regarding the purpose of their stay or the intention to return, it shall be necessary to make additional verification and make the final decision afterwards.
(3) When a DCM receives the consent of the Service, an authorized official shall decide if Visa D shall be issued on the basis of the documents enclosed and the information at their disposal regarding each particular case.
Article 22
Incomplete Applications
(1) In case that during the course of the procedure it was judged that the visa application needs to be supplemented with additional documents or if an additional interview is necessary, an applicant shall be notified in the appropriate manner and shall be given a deadline of 15 days during which they are obliged to supplement the application or report for an interview.
(2) If the applicant fails to supplement the application and to respond to the summons for an interview within the given deadline without giving a reasonable explanation, it shall be considered that they have withdrawn their application and the official note of this shall be made in their file after which the file shall be closed.
Article 23
Deadline
(1) The deadline for processing an application for the Visa D issuance must not be longer than 30 days.
(2) The deadline described in Paragraph 1 of this Article does not include the time necessary to supplement an application referred to in Article 23, Paragraph 1 of this Rulebook.
Article 24
Denial of the Visa Application
(1) An application for the issuance of the visa shall be denied if:
a) reasons listed in Article 39, Paragraph 1 of the Law are present,
b) there is reasonable doubt that the alien requesting the visa would stay in BiH longer than it is legally permitted,
c) the Service denies its consent for the issuance of a visa,
d) There is a reasonable doubt that the alien shall not use their stay for the intended purpose or if there is a reasonable cause for not issuing the visa pursuant to other provisions of the Law or of other regulation in force.
Article 25
Notification of a Denial of a Visa
(1) The decision to deny Visa D can not be appealed against.
(2) Reasons for denying Visa D shall be entered into the file. The applicant shall be verbally informed about the decision.
Article 26
Entering Information into the Visa Form and its Validity
(1) The information shall be entered into the visa form electronically and shall include:
a) name and surname of the alien;
b) travel document number;
c) sex;
d) date of birth;
e) designation for the country in which the travel document was issued;
f) visa type;
g) number of entries;
h) validity period of the visa;
i) length of stay;
j) number of persons entered into the travel document who are accompanying its holder.
(2) Under the section which shows the validity of the visa, the amount of the consular fee charged or the word “GRATIS”- if the visa is issued for free - shall be entered.
(3) Visa D shall be marked in capital letters in accordance with Article 28 of the Law.
(4) The number of days for which the stay in BiH was approved – which may be equal or less than the validity period of the visa for BiH - shall be entered next to visa expiration date.
(5) If the number of approved days is less then the validity period of the visa for BiH, the alien may enter BiH on any date within the period of validity but must leave the country after the number of days which have been approved.
(6) If a period shorter than the number of approved days remains from the date of the alien’s entry into the country and the date of the visa expiration, the alien must leave the country prior to the visa expiration.
(7) A visa is valid for the period from 00.00 o’clock of the date entered as the beginning of the validity period until 24.00 o’clock of the date entered as its end.
(8) Entry into BiH on the day of the visa expiration shall not be allowed.
(9) In case data is entered electronically, the signature of an official and the stamp of the issuer of the visa shall be affixedon the right-hand side outside of the machine-readable areas, so that it covers both a portion of the sticker and a portion of the travel document page without covering the data entered into the areas with sections.
Article 27
Entering Information in Case of Technical Difficulties
(1) As an exception to Article 26 of this Rulebook, if humanitarian reasons, reasons of national interest or the international commitments of BiH request it, Visa D may be entered into a hand-written visa form in the event of technical difficulties caused by force majeure.
(2) The visa may be issued in the way referred to in the Paragraph (1) of this Article only with prior consent of the Ministry which shall previously inform the Service and the Border Police of BiH about the matter.
Article 28
Entering Visa D into a Travel Document
(1) Visa D shall be entered into a travel document in the form of a sticker and then shall be certified with the signature of an official and a small, circular seal of the authority issuing the visa.
(2) The visa sticker shall be affixed to the first empty page of the travel document designated for the entry of visas which must not contain any stamps or other marks so that the machine readable area on the sticker is turned towards the outer edge of the travel document page.
Article 29
Cancellation of a Completed Visa Form
(1) Changes cannot be made to the sticker/form of a visa. If a mistake was made in filling out the form, the form must be cancelled.
(2) If the visa has not been entered into the travel document, it shall be cancelled by placing the stamp “CANCELLED” on it and tracing a line with a sharp object over the optically alterable element.
(3) If the visa has already been entered into the travel document, it shall be cancelled in the manner described in Paragraph 2 if this Article and a new visa shall be entered into the travel document.
(4) The stamp described in the Paragraph 2 of this Article is rectangular in shape, size 70 x 30 mm, and contains the word “CANCELLED” in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and English languages or in French.
Article 30
Visa Application Files
(1) Administrative files on applications for the issuance of visas are kept in the Diplomatic and Consular Missions of BiH.
(2) The file on an application for the issuance of the visa contains:
a) a completed form of the application for the issuance of the visa with a photograph of the applicant and a designation of the number under which the file has been entered into the electronic register for the processing of visa applications,
b) a photocopy of the alien’s travel document (the page containing personal information, all pages containing entered visas that are currently valid and a residence permit, pages containing visas for BiH issued previously, pages with special marks – marks indicating bans from entering a third country, etc.
c) attached documentation or photocopies of attached documentation,
d) proof of payment of consular fee,
e) a copy of the issued visa,
f) if necessary, other documents related to the case.
(3) An authorized official shall make notes in the file regarding all oral statements of the party and other actions relevant in the procedure which are not registered with the appropriate documentation.
Article 31
Closing Files
Files on applications for the issuance of a visa shall be closed:
a) when the procedure has been carried out, the visa has been issued, and the alien has been presented with their travel document,
b) when the procedure has been carried out, the visa has been denied, and the alien has been informed about the decision to deny the visa,
c) if an alien, without giving a reasonable excuse, has not responded to summons for an interview or to supplement their application within fifteen (15) days from the day of the receipt of the notification,
d) if an applicant withdraws their application,
e) if the procedure has been carried out and the visa may be issued but the applicant, after being notified of the thirty (30) days deadline in which they are obligated to claim the visa, has failed to do so without just reason.
Article 32
Central Database on Aliens
(1) A collection of data on applications for the issuance of visas is kept in an information database – the Central Database on Aliens in the manner determined by Article 145 of the Law and other regulations governing the field of the central register and data exchange.
(2) A separate register on issued and cancelled visas is kept in the DCMs of BiH.
Article 33
This Rulebook shall enter into force on the eighth day from the day of its publication in the “Official Gazette of BiH” .
Number 08/-1-20535/08
December 11, 2008
Sarajevo
Minister
Sven Alkalaj, signed