Home/Countries/Bosnia and Herzegovina
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina · MNL → SJJ

Hire Filipino workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Licensed recruitment of skilled Filipino professionals for Bosnian employers. Your company is the direct employer — we run selection in Manila, the Bosnian permit process and the Philippine exit formalities end to end. From 1 worker.

Route Work permit (radna dozvola) within the annual quota + temporary residence Typical timeline 2–4 months, subject to quota availability Minimum 1 worker
Comparing the Balkans? Croatia and Slovenia are EU and Schengen; Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania are not — seven permit systems, three Philippine offices. See the Balkans decision guide for which country fits your role.

How recruitment works

Every Bosnian project runs on the same backbone: you define the roles, headcount and start date; our own DMW-licensed agency in Manila, Prime Search, sources and trade-tests candidates; you approve the shortlist (on-site or online); and we manage the Bosnian permit process under your power of attorney while the Philippine side — contract verification, medical, pre-departure orientation and the Overseas Employment Certificate — runs in parallel. The employment contract is signed and verified before departure; your new employee lands, completes local onboarding and clocks in.

The Bosnian specifics below are the part that makes Bosnia and Herzegovina different from every other market we serve.

Licensing: Recruitment in the Philippines runs through our own DMW-licensed agency (Prime Search); delivery in Bosnia and Herzegovina follows Bosnian licensing and immigration rules.

Bosnian immigration and work-permit route

Work permit (radna dozvola) within the annual quota + temporary residence. Bosnia and Herzegovina admits third-country workers through an annual quota set by the Council of Ministers and issued by the entity employment services — in 2026 the quota is 7,427 work permits (4,500 Federation of BiH, 2,000 Republika Srpska, 927 Brčko District), with construction, manufacturing and hospitality the largest allocations. The work permit is followed by a temporary residence permit from the Service for Foreigners' Affairs. The country is outside the EU, wages are the lowest in the region and the quota is small, so Bosnia works for specific employers — hotels, factories and contractors with a defined need — rather than as a volume destination.

  1. Employer applies for a work permit at the competent (cantonal or entity) employment service within the annual quota.
  2. Visa D at the BiH mission accredited for the Philippines; contract verified by MWO Budapest; OEC in Manila.
  3. Temporary residence permit from the Service for Foreigners' Affairs after arrival.

Labour-market test: The employment service checks the local register before issuing a permit within the quota; quota categories are set per entity and sector.

Shortage occupations: No exemption list; the 2026 quota reserves the largest allocations for construction (1,760), manufacturing (1,060) and hospitality (560).

Authorities involved: Entity and cantonal employment services (work permit) · Service for Foreigners' Affairs (residence) · BiH consular network. Rules change; we confirm the current position for your role before you commit, and we tell you the honest number — not the marketing one.

Employer requirements

  • Registered employer in the entity concerned; quota capacity for the sector.
  • Employment contract at least at the entity minimum wage; accommodation and health insurance.
  • Documents legalised for BiH; residence application filed on arrival.

DMW / MWO process on the Philippine side

Deploying a Filipino worker abroad is regulated by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). MWO Budapest has jurisdiction for Bosnia and Herzegovina — employer accreditation and contract verification. The verified contract, together with the job order approved by the DMW, allows the worker to obtain the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) — the exit clearance without which no Filipino worker can legally leave for a job abroad. Pre-employment orientation, medical examination at a DOH-accredited medical clinic authorised to examine overseas Filipino workers and pre-departure orientation complete the sequence. Because we operate the licensed agency ourselves, this runs in parallel with the Bosnian permit rather than after it.

Timeline

Typical gate-to-gate time for Bosnia and Herzegovina is 2–4 months, subject to quota availability from signed engagement to the first arrival, driven mainly by the Bosnian permit and the embassy appointment in Manila. Sourcing and trade testing usually take two to four weeks and are not on the critical path. We give you a written timeline for your specific role before you commit.

Typical professions for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sectors where Bosnian employers most often hire Filipino workers through us:

  • Construction
  • Manufacturing
  • Hospitality
  • Wood & metal processing

Costs and commercial model

Our contractual partner is the employer, and it is the employer we invoice for the service. You receive an individual offer for Bosnia and Herzegovina covering sourcing, trade testing, documentation, the permit process and arrival support — there is no price list, because volumes, roles and the Bosnian route differ from project to project. Direct employment means the worker's wage is paid by you under your Bosnian contract; there is no intermediary employer.

What a typical Bosnia and Herzegovina project looks like

A Bosnian employer briefs us on roles and headcount. Within two to four weeks we present trade-tested candidates from Manila with video assessments; the employer interviews online and approves. We file the work permit under power of attorney while Prime Search completes the DMW documentation. The employment contracts are signed and MWO-verified before departure; on arrival the workers complete registration and local onboarding and start on the floor — with our team reachable for the first months of integration. Whether the project is one specialist or a full shift, the mechanics are identical.

Frequently asked questions — Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Is the quota a real constraint?

    Yes — 7,427 permits for the whole country in 2026, allocated by entity and sector. We check quota capacity with the employment service before you brief.

  • Two entities — does it matter where the employer is?

    Yes: the Federation of BiH issues permits through cantonal services, Republika Srpska through its own employment institute, and Brčko District separately. The residence step is federal (Service for Foreigners' Affairs).

  • Is Bosnia a stepping stone to the EU?

    No. A BiH permit gives no right to work in the EU; workers who want the EU should be recruited for an EU employer directly.