Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina gets new Law on Employment of Foreigners

(Patria) - The House of Peoples of the Parliament of FBiH adopted amendments to the Law on Employment of Foreigners at today's session, introducing significant innovations aimed at easier engagement of the workforce and better adaptation to the needs of the labor market.

This legal solution was supported by 53 federal delegates, four abstained, and one voted against.

The adopted law brings a series of concrete measures that should simplify the procedures for employing foreign workers, especially in sectors where there is a shortage of domestic labor.

One of the key innovations is the introduction of a list of deficit occupations - professions for which there are not enough qualified workers on the domestic market. This list will be determined annually by the Federal Employment Service for the following year, no later than October 30.

Employers who hire workers in these occupations will no longer have to go through the procedure of checking whether there are domestic candidates in the unemployment records, which significantly speeds up the employment process.

The list of deficit occupations will be formed in cooperation with the Economic and Social Council, with the consent of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, and will be based on real market needs, the shortage of certain worker profiles, as well as planned investments and strategic projects.

The amendments to the law also bring more precisely defined deadlines for the extension of work permits. Employers will have to submit a request for extension between 60 and 30 days before the expiration of the current permit, while the competent cantonal services will be obliged to decide on the request within 30 days of receiving complete documentation.

It is also enabled to issue work permits to persons who have previously renounced their citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which opens up space for the return of the workforce from the diaspora.

The law also introduces an obligation for employers to report any change in the status of a foreign worker to the competent institutions - whether it is the termination of employment or a situation where the worker does not start work at all. This report must be made within 15 days.

The adopted amendments will enter into force eight days after their publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and are expected to have a significant impact on the labor market and economic development in the FBiH.