Law on Travel Documents of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Article 1

            This Law shall regulate travel documents of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 2

            A travel document is a public document proving identity and citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Citizenship of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska.

Article 3

            A citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be entitled to have a travel document under the conditions provided by this Law.

Article 4

            Travel documents are: Passport, Diplomatic Passport, Service Passport, Group Passport and Travel Certificate. A Citizen may possess only one travel document of the same kind.

Article 5

            With the exception of  the travel documents as defined by this Law, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska. shall not issue other documents providing information on a person, including his/her identity to enable the person to travel outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 6

The Passport shall be of the following form:

1.  The cover shall be of dark blue colour;

2.  The front cover shall contain, in the following order,

a)       the words "Bosnia and Herzegovina";

b)       the Coat of Arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina (when decided by the Parliamentary Assembly and approved by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina)

c)       the word "Passport",

d)       the words "The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina" in italics if the bearer of Passport is citizen of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

e)       the words "Republika Srpska" in italics if the bearer of the Passport is citizen of Republika Srpska.

f)        the height of the letters of the Entity name is half the height of the letters for the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The length of the Entity name shall be equal to the length of the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina

3.  The text of items a), c) and d) shall be printed in the Bosnian or Croat language for passports of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued to persons mentioned under d), as chosen by the applicant for the passport. The text of items a), c) and e) shall be printed in the Serb language for passports of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued to persons mentioned under e). Items a) and c) shall also be printed in the English language.

4.  The text of the first page of the Passport shall be identical to the text of the front cover.

Article 7

Diplomatic Passport, or Service Passport, shall be of the same form as the Passports referred to in Article 6 of this Law, except for the following:

1.  The front cover shall contain, in the following order:

a)   the words "Bosnia and Herzegovina", and

b)   the coat-of-arms of BiH (when decided by the Parliamentary Assembly and approved by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina)

c)   the words " Diplomatic Passport" or "Service Passport".

2.  The first page shall contain, of the same size, in the following order:

a)   the words "Bosnia and Herzegovina"

b)   the words "Diplomatic Passport" or "Service Passport"

c)   if the bearer of Passport is a citizen of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, then the words "the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina"

d)   if the bearer of Passport is a citizen of Republika Srpska, then the words "Republika Srpska"

Article 8

Every Passport shall contain:

1.  32 pages with perforated serial number;

2.  on the inside of the front cover a laminated identification page which shall contain the followingitems in Bosnian, Croat and Serb language and alphabet. The information contained therein shall be written in Latin script:

a)       surname,

b)       forename(s),

c)       date of birth,

d)       personal identification number

e)       sex,

f)        place of birth,

g)       date of issue,

h)       date of expire,

i)         place of issue,

j)         signature of bearer,

k)       Passport serial number; and

l)         a photograph of the bearer;

3.  the page reserved for children shall include:,

a)       surname,

b)       forename(s),

c)       date of birth,

d)       place of birth, and

e)       sex

of any such children.

4.  the inner page of the back cover shall contain the following text:

a)       "This Passport should be safeguarded in every way and must not be altered";

b)       "The Passport may be used only by the bearer in whose name it is issued. Children under age 16 whose names are included in it must therefore be accompanied by the bearer.";

c)       "The Passport is not valid unless signed by the bearer on the designated signature line.";

d)       "The bearer of this Passport is citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina" and either "the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina" if the bearer of the Passport is a citizen of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or "Republika Srpska" if the bearer of Passport is a citizen of Republika Srpska.and

e)       "This Passport contains 32 pages."

Article 9

            Diplomatic Passport or Service Passport, apart from the elements referred to in Article 8 of this Law, shall contain a page reserved for the following text:

          "In the name of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks all competent bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as bodies of other countries to allow the bearer of this Passport to pass freely without hindrance and to grant the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary."

Article 10

The cover of the Group Passport shall contain the same elements as the passport referred to in Article 6 of this Law, with the words "Group Passport" instead of the word "Passport".  Details concerning the form of group passport shall be determined by the competent ministry.

Group Passport shall be issued to a group of not less than five and not more than fifty persons, for a single travel to one or more precisely identified countries.

Each person registered in the Group Passport has to meet the conditions necessary to be issued an individual passport as specified by this Law.

Into Group Passport the data on each of users of the group passport are entered: first and second name, name of either parent, date, month and year of birth, place of residence. The Group Passport shall contain a photo of each of the users of the passport.

Group Passport shall be valid as long as the group needs it to travel abroad, but no longer than a year.

Article 11

1.  A person younger than 18 not possessing his/her own passport may be registered into a passport of either parent or a guardian, upon the parents' or guardian's request.

2.  The registration into parents' or guardian's passport of the person referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be invalidated ex officio after such a person is issued his/her own passport.

Article 12

Travel certificate shall be issued to a person staying abroad without a passport to enable him/her to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The same travel certificate may be used by a spouse or children of the user of travel certificate, if entered into the travel certificate which contains their photos.

Travel certificate shall be valid as long as it is needed for the return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, but no longer than 20 days.

Travel certificate shall be issued by a diplomatic or consular representation of Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad in the country on the territory of which the person concerned is staying.

The form and the content of the travel certificate shall be specified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 13

Travel Documents Issuing Competence

Travel documents as defined by this Law, with the exception of Diplomatic and Service Passports, shall be issued by the following bodies, under the conditions and in the manner specified by this Law:

1.  Competent bodies of the Entity;

2.  Ministry for Civil Affairs and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

3.  Diplomatic and Consular representations of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Diplomatic passports are only issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Service Passports are only issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina may authorise one Ministry of each Entity to issue Service Passports

Article 14

            The Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications shall issue passports to citizens who  fulfills the conditions of this Law, and have not been issued passports by an Entity.

Article 15

1.  Diplomatic and Consular representations of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall issue Passports referred to in Article 6 of this law to citizens staying abroad three months or longer under the conditions and in the manner prescribed in this law.

2.  Diplomatic and Consular representations of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall issue passports referred to in Article 6 of this Law or travel Certificates referred to in Article 12 of this Law, to citizens staying abroad shorter than three months, when their Passports are expired, damaged, stolen or otherwise lost. A passport issued in accordance with this paragraph shall not be valid for longer than three months.

PASSPORTS ISSUING PROCEDURE

Article 16

            An application for issuing a travel document shall be submitted in a specified form.

            The form and the content of the application form for travel documents referred to in Article 6 and 10, and Service Passports shall be defined by Ministry for Civil Affairs and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 17

            The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall define the form and the content of the application form for issuing Diplomatic Passports and Travel Certificate.

Article 18 

            An application for issuing a travel document may also be submitted by a proxy.

            For minors, or persons incapable of doing business, an application for issuing travel documents shall be submitted by a parent with consent of the other, or another legal representative.

            Exceptionally of the provisions from the preceding paragraph, a travel document shall be issued in the following cases:

a)  if a parent is a person unaccounted for;

b)  if a parent's permanent or temporary residence is unknown;

c)  if a parent cannot be reached by the organ competent for issuing passports.

            The organs competent for issuing passports shall be obliged ex officio to establish  whether the conditions referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article have been met.

Article 19

            Apart from a application form for a travel document, the applicant shall submit his or her identity card or another public document proving the identity and citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Entity.

            To an application for issuance of a travel document, two photographs truly depicting the applicant and the receipt proving the administrative fee has been paid shall be enclosed.

            Whenever a travel document is expired and cannot serve its purpose, it shall be enclosed to the application  referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article unless it is stolen or othervise lost.

            The competent body shall be obliged to resolve an application for issuing travel document within 15 days from the date the application has been submitted.

            Exceptionally of the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article ( in case of medical treatment abroad, illness or death of a member of the nuclear family), the competent body shall be obliged to issue a travel document at once, but not later than within 24 hours from the moment the  application has been submitted.

Article 20

            An application for issuing a diplomatic and service passport shall be submitted by the competent body of Bosnia and Herzegovina or an Entity.

Article 21

            An application for issuing a travel document shall be dismissed in the following cases:

1.  if the applicant fails to produce a duly completed application with enclosures as specified by Article 18 of this Law;

2.  if the applicant has been charged with an offense which is persecuted ex officio and for which a prison sentence of at least one year is foreseen;

3.  if the applicant has been sentenced by a legally valid verdict to a prison sentence longer than 3 months and there is a danger of avoiding the sentence.

            Any dismissal of the application for issuing a travel document and the reasons thereof shall be explained in writing only upon an explicit request of the applicant.

           

Article 22

            A person whose application for issuing a travel document has been dismissed pursuant to Article 21 of this Law or for other reasons shall be entitled to:

a)  appeal to the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina if the competent body of Bosnia and Herzegovina has decided to dismiss the application;

b)  refer to the competent body of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to be issued a travel document of he/she used all legal means but could not exercise his/her right to passport in the Entity.

Article 23

            The bearer of a travel document  shall be dispossessed of that travel document in the following cases:

a)  if he/she has obtained travel document providing false or misleading information

b)  if he/she allows someone else to use his/her travel document

c)  if his/her citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina has terminated

d)  if later established that there were obstacles referred to in Article 21 paragraph 1 items 2 and 3 of this Law.

            On dispossession of travel docuements pursuant to the preceding paragraph a decision shall be made by the competent body issuing that travel document.

Article 24

            A person dispossessed of his/her travel document  pursuant to Article 23 of this Law shall have right to appeal.

            On the appeal referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article the following shall decide:

a)  the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the case of travel document has been issued by the competent body of Bosnia and Herzegovina

b)  the competent body of the Entity defined by the Entity regulation in the case the travel document has been issued by the competent body of the Entity.

            The appeal shall not prevent the decision from being carried out.

Article 25

            The Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications shall specify:

a)  the manner of withdrawing and nullifying travel documents;

b)  the manner of notifying the bodies competent for the control over travel documents.

CENTRAL REGISTRY

Article 26

            Ministry for Civil Affairs and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall establish a central registry of all Passports issued by the competent bodies referred to in Article 13 of this Law.

Article 27

            The bodies competent for issuing travel documents referred to in Article 13 of this Law shall be obliged to submit data on travel documents issued and revoked to the body referred to in the previous Article within 7 days from the date a travel document is issued or revoked.

Article 28

            Ministry for Civil Affairs and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be responsible for purchase, printing and deciding on the price of travel documents as well as for their distribution to the bodies referred to in Article 13 of this Law.

DATE OF EXPIRY

Article 29

            Passports specified by this Law shall be issued with a validity of 5 years and to persons younger than 16 years of age with a validity of 2 years.

TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 30

            Travel documents issued prior to the entry into force of this Law shall be valid until the date of expiry stated in the travel document but no later than within one year from the date this Law enters into force.

Article 31

            Proceedings resolving applications for issuing travel documents initiated prior to the beginning of the application of this Law shall be completed according to the provisions of this Law.

Article 32

            Within 60 days from the date this Law enters into force all competent bodies shall pass, for the enforcement of this Law,regulations harmonised with this Law..

Until the regulations referred to in the previous paragraph have been passed, the regulations passed under the Law on Travel Documents of Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BH 30/96) shall be valid unless they are in contradiction with this law.

Article 33

Supervision over the enforcement of this Law shall be carried out by the Ministry for Civil Affairs and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the competent bodies of the Entities in the manner defined by the regulations of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 34

            Upon the entry into force of this Law, any Laws and regulations on the basis of which travel documents of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been regulated shall cease to be valid, subject to Article 32 of this Law.

Article 35

            This Law shall enter into force on the eighth day after being published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina and shall be applied 60 days thereafter.

            This Law shall also be published in the official gazettes of the Entities.