How Long Can You Stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina With a Schengen Visa?
Sometimes, finding visa information is a real hassle. Most immigration websites have inadequate or out-of-date information. It’s almost like they don’t want you to visit their countries.
My wife is traveling around Europe using her Schengen visa. Many countries outside Schengen accept this visa as an acceptable way to enter their countries, which is generally a good things. It means you can apply for one visa and visit many countries.
Countries like Montenegro generally have the same rules as Schengen countries, so you can stay for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period.
When we searched for information on Bosnia and Herzegovina, all we found was that you could stay 30 days if you had a Schengen visa. That was fine, because we only stayed for 25 days during our first visit.
When we decided to go back to the country, we were unsure of the rules. Would we be allowed back in for an additional 30 days or would our original 25-day stay mean we could only stay for 5 days this time?
We emailed the Bosnia and Herzegovina Consulate in Malaysia, which is the nearest to my wife’s home country of Thailand. The email didn’t get delivered. This is so typical of Consulates and Embassies. When I’ve tried to contact them in the past, only around 20% reply. They just don’t do their jobs properly, which is very sad.
As we were in Montenegro at the time, I decided to email the Consulate there. And guess what? The replied within a couple of days with the answer to my question. So, a bi shoutout to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Consulate in Podgorica.
This is what they said:
The time of stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in case of possession of a Schengen visa, is possible for a total of 90 days in any period of 180 days, with the proviso that one continuous stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot exceed 30 days within the validity period Schengen visas.
So, there you have it. The rules as similar to the Schengen countries. You can stay for a maximum of 90 days out of 180 but each stay can only be for a maximum of 30 days. That was perfect for us.
