Working in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a French National: Permit, Pay, Contributions and Tax

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the work permit is the authorisation required to employ a foreigner in Bosnia and Herzegovina, except for exceptions provided for by law or by an international agreement. It is the employer, a legal entity or individual, that requests it from the body responsible for the employment of foreigners: the employment service of the Federation, the Republika Srpska or the Brčko District, depending on the employer’s seat. The permit cannot exceed one year. Temporary residence on the ground of work is then requested from the Service for Foreigners.

The Council of Ministers sets a quota every year. It is distributed between the Federation, the Republika Srpska and Brčko, then between extensions and new jobs. The best-provided sectors are construction, manufacturing and hotels and catering. Certain profiles are admitted outside the quota: holders of a higher education degree obtained in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a key post in a commercial entity, teachers or trainers, professional athletes under contract, work based on an international agreement, the spouse of a foreigner holding permanent residence. Priority goes to foreigners already on temporary residence for family reunification.

The Service for Foreigners also distinguishes temporary residence ‘work without a work permit’ for certain categories, including foreign media correspondents, members of international missions, scientific research, company founders and intra-group transfers. The reference texts are the law on foreigners and the laws on the employment of foreigners of the Federation, the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District.

CLEISS records a gross monthly minimum wage, revised each year, of around KM 1,600 for 40 weekly hours and an average monthly salary close to KM 2,500. The Statistics Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina for its part publishes the average net salary paid, close to KM 1,700. These two series rest on different definitions and cannot be compared directly. The local labour market remains difficult: the unemployment rate as defined by the International Labour Organization is high and the employment rate low (Statistics Agency).

For a French national considering a local contract, the local salary is a reference to set against their budget in euros: as the convertible mark is pegged to the euro, the conversion remains stable. A secondment from France, which maintains French social protection during the assignment, is an alternative described below. The Statistics Agency’s indicators are updated on its website and should be consulted before negotiating a contract.

An employee comes in principle under the legislation of the country where they work (Franco-Yugoslav agreement, CLEISS). Contributions apply to the whole gross salary, with no ceiling. In the Federation, the employee pays 31%: 12.50% for sickness-maternity, 17% for old age, invalidity and survivors, 1.50% for unemployment; the employer pays 5% (2%, 2.50% and 0.50%), plus two contributions of 0.5% for civil protection and water protection. In the Republika Srpska, the employee also pays 31%: 10.20% for sickness-maternity, 18.50% for old age, invalidity and survivors, 0.60% for unemployment and 1.70% for child protection; the employer pays no contribution, apart from a levy of 0.1% of the gross payroll when it employs fewer disabled people than the statutory quota (one for sixteen employees). In the Brčko District, the employee chooses to attach their pension scheme to the Federation or the Republika Srpska, with employee rates of 30.5% or 32% and employer rates of 0% or 6% depending on the choice.

Once affiliated, the employee obtains local health cover. The procedures are presented on the page on the healthcare system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The glossary entry on the local contract sheds light on the differences from a French contract.

The general Franco-Yugoslav agreement of 5 January 1950, supplemented by the administrative arrangement of 23 January 1967 and made applicable to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the exchange of letters of 3 and 4 December 2003 (in force on 4 December 2003), coordinates the social security of employed workers of French or Bosnian nationality. It covers all branches except unemployment. A French employer can keep its employee in the French scheme for an assignment of three years at most (Article 3 § 2 a); beyond that, an exceptional derogation can be requested from the French body, which forwards it to the Bosnian body responsible for deciding (Article 3 § 4).

For the general scheme, Urssaf (the French social security contributions collector; international mobility service) processes the application online from the employer account; the MSA (the agricultural social security scheme) handles it for agricultural employees. If approved, the French body issues form SE 21-01. The employee then keeps their French protection, with no local contribution; how their care is reimbursed is detailed in the page on healthcare reimbursement. The page on seconded or expatriate and the glossary entry on the seconded employee detail the difference in status.

France and Bosnia and Herzegovina apply the Franco-Yugoslav tax treaty of 28 March 1974, in force since 1 August 1975 and maintained by the exchange of letters of December 2003 (BOFiP, the French tax administration’s official doctrine). Under its Article 15, salaries received by a resident of one State for employment exercised in the other are taxable in that other State; they remain taxable in the State of residence if three conditions are met: a stay of 183 days at most in the tax year, an employer who is not a resident of the State of activity and remuneration not borne by a permanent establishment. Residence is determined under Article 4 (permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality). Article 23 provides for France to exempt income taxable in Bosnia and Herzegovina, subject to the effective rate.

On local law, the text of the Federation’s income tax law published by the federal tax administration sets a rate of 10% and treats as a resident a person domiciled in the Federation or staying there 183 days or more during the tax period; the version consulted is old and should be checked against the consolidated text in force. The Republika Srpska and the Brčko District apply their own laws: rates, allowances and filing obligations should be confirmed with the competent tax authority, no figure being retained here for lack of direct reading of the current text. A consultation with the French non-resident tax office and local tax advice are useful before fixing your tax residence.

According to CLEISS, the self-employed pay the sum of the employee and employer rates, except for the unemployment risk, for which they are not insured. The Franco-Yugoslav agreement concerns employed workers and Bosnia and Herzegovina is not on the list of social security agreements applicable to non-employed workers: coordination with France therefore does not apply to a self-employed person, who chooses between local affiliation, the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’Étranger, the French expatriate social security fund) and international insurance. Company founders benefit from a dedicated ground of residence, without a work permit.

For remote work for a foreign employer, the Service for Foreigners pages consulted describe no specific status: the ground of residence and social affiliation are clarified with the service on +387 33 772 950. Digital nomads will find points of reference in digital nomad insurance.

The currency is the convertible mark (KM). According to the World Bank, growth remains moderate; activity is supported by domestic demand, with strong momentum in accommodation and catering, while manufacturing slows. The growth model rests mainly on consumption, emigrants’ remittances and a large public sector; prospects depend on structural reforms, the business climate and investment.

To compare the social protection options of a professional project, see the page on healthcare reimbursement and the guide to working abroad.