Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a Balkan gem combining Ottoman heritage, Habsburg architecture, Adriatic mountain scenery, and one of the lowest costs of living in Europe.
Leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina
How to properly exit — protecting your finances, rights and records.
📅 General Timeline
8–10 weeks before: give notice on rental contract, utilities and mobile/internet. 4–6 weeks before: notify health fund and pension authority, begin tax clearance, start bank account wind-down. 2–4 weeks before: cancel or deregister at MUP (residence and work permit), obtain tax clearance certificate, close utility accounts. Final week: return keys with joint handover inspection, final bank transfers, and ensure all direct debits are cancelled.
Deregistration
Cancel your Temporary or Permanent Residence Permit (Odobrenje boravka) at the MUP Foreigners Affairs Unit (Ured za strance) — recommend giving 30 days notice before planned departure. Simultaneously deregister your address (odjava boravišta) at the same office. You will receive a deregistration confirmation. Cancel your work permit (radna dozvola) through your employer or the entity Employment Service (Zavod za zapošljavanje). If you held a CIPS (citizen registration) card, this is surrendered at the same time.
Tax clearance
File a final annual income tax return (PD form) for the year of departure. If leaving mid-year, the return covers January through your departure date — file by 31 March of the following year or request early settlement. Self-employed persons must close their tax account with the entity Porezna uprava. If registered for VAT (PDV), deregister with UIO (uio.gov.ba) when business activity ceases. Request a tax clearance certificate (Potvrda o izmirenim poreznim obavezama) from Porezna uprava FBiH (pufbih.gov.ba) or Porezna uprava RS (poreskaupravars.org). Bosnia has no formal exit tax on individuals.
Pension portability
Obtain a pension insurance extract (izvod iz matične evidencije) from Federalni zavod PIO (mio.gov.ba) or Fond PIO RS (fondpiors.rs.ba) before leaving. BiH has bilateral social security totalization agreements with most EU states, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, USA, Canada and others — if your country has an agreement, your contributions count toward your home-country pension. If your country has no agreement, you may be entitled to a contribution refund after a waiting period — submit a formal application to the relevant fund. Refunds are not automatic; contact the fund well before departure.
Health insurance
Notify your cantonal health fund (Zavod zdravstvenog osiguranja) or RS Health Insurance Fund (Fond zdravstvenog osiguranja RS) of your departure date. Your health insurance ends on the date your employment ceases or your residence is deregistered. Return your health insurance card (karton zdravstvenog osiguranja). If on private international health insurance, cancel the policy with the appropriate notice period.
Bank account
BAM (Konvertibilna Marka) is pegged to EUR at a fixed rate of 1.95583:1 — you can exchange to EUR at any bank without loss. EUR cash up to EUR 10,000 may be taken out of BiH without declaration; border declaration is required above this amount. International wire transfers via SWIFT work efficiently from Raiffeisen Bank BH and UniCredit Bank. Allow 3–5 business days for SWIFT transfers. You may keep your BiH bank account after departure to receive any final payments — close it once all transactions are complete.
Utilities
Cancel electricity (EPBiH in FBiH, ERS in RS), gas (BH-Gas), water (ViK) and internet/broadband (BH Telecom, Telemach, m:tel) contracts with at least 1 month notice. Read all meters on your final day and submit the readings to each provider. Cancel or convert your mobile SIM contract to prepaid to avoid ongoing billing. Allow for any final utility bills to be issued and settle them before closing your bank account.
Rental contract
Give notice in accordance with your rental contract (ugovor o najmu) — typically 30 days written notice. Arrange a joint handover inspection (komisijski pregled) with the landlord, document the property condition with photos, and request return of your rental deposit (depozit/kaucija) in writing. Under BiH consumer law, the landlord must return the deposit within a reasonable period if no damage beyond normal wear and tear. If the landlord refuses without justification, you can pursue the claim through the cantonal Municipal Court (Općinski sud).
Leaving the Country
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