Most temporary residence permits in BiH granted to citizens of Turkey, Serbia, Croatia; number of illegal migrants increasing

(Patria) - The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Information of the Ministry of Security on the
situation in the field of migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period from January 1 to September 30, 2023.

According to data from the Service for Foreigners' Affairs, 8,949 temporary residence permits were granted to foreigners in this period, of which
4,376 were initial residence permits, while 4,573 were issued based on extensions.

Work permits accounted for 34% of all reasons for issuing initial temporary residence permits, and 23% of permits were issued for education and the same percentage for family reunification. The largest number of all temporary residence permits were granted to citizens of Turkey, followed by citizens of Serbia,
Croatia, India, Montenegro, and China. In the same period, 693 permanent residence permits were granted,
among which the majority were citizens of Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.

Regarding illegal migrations, a total of 25,174 illegal migrants were registered by the Service for Foreigners' Affairs in the first nine months of 2023, which is
the largest number of illegal migrants since 2018. Of the 111 different nationalities
registered among illegal migrants during the nine months of this year, the majority were citizens of Afghanistan (11,722), Morocco (5,318), Pakistan (1,107), Bangladesh (928), and Iran (810). A total of 23,490 people expressed their intention to apply for asylum during this period, of which only 108 or 0.46% submitted an asylum application in BiH.

A characteristic of transit illegal migrations in 2023 is the increased scope
of migration, with migrants staying in BiH for a short period to enter the Schengen area as soon as possible. The BiH Border Police registered 8,720 individuals attempting to cross or crossing illegally in the nine months of 2023, which is a 27% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Approximately 90% of individuals attempting to cross or crossing illegally were detected outside of border crossings.

The fight against migrant smuggling is one of the priorities for judicial institutions and
police agencies in BiH since the beginning of the increased pressure of illegal migrations through the territory of BiH.

According to data from the BiH Prosecutor's Office, there are currently 197 cases in the work of the Department for Human Smuggling and Trafficking. In the period from January 1 to September 30, 2023, 16 verdicts were delivered involving 21 individuals, and 17 indictments were filed against 21 individuals.