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Bosnia and Herzegovina does not accept a UAE residence permit as a visa waiver. Your passport decides. Emiratis and holders of the visa-free list travel without a visa. People from visa-regime countries can stay up to 30 days without one if they hold a valid multiple visa or residence permit from a Schengen country, an EU state or the United States. Everyone else applies for a visa first.
What we could read, and what we could not
Be clear about the source before you plan. The Bosnian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website is built with scripts and its visa pages did not open for us. The visa rule below comes from the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Oslo, page "Visas for Bosnia and Herzegovina", dated and updated . It is an official embassy page, but it is old. The UAE side comes from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Where we are unsure, we say so, and an adviser confirms the current rule with the embassy before you pay for anything.
The visa-free list
The Oslo embassy page lists nationals who need no Bosnian visa. Among them: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, the Schengen states, China, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates.
India, the Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Kenya are not on that list. A UAE residence permit does not appear on it either.
The 30-day waiver for visa-regime passports
The same page gives a waiver for the other passports. Citizens of countries with which Bosnia has a visa regime can stay up to 30 days without a visa if they hold a valid multiple visa or a residence permit issued by a Schengen country, an EU member state or the United States. That visa or permit must be valid at least 30 days longer than the date of entry.
Here is how that looks from Dubai:
| Your situation | Bosnia entry |
|---|---|
| Emirati passport | Visa-free, on the list and under the UAE memorandum |
| US, UK or Canadian passport | On the visa-free list |
| Indian with a valid multiple Schengen visa | Up to 30 days without a Bosnian visa |
| Filipino with UAE residence only | Bosnian visa needed |
| Egyptian with a US residence permit | Up to 30 days without a Bosnian visa |
The table is our reading of the embassy page, not a promise. The border officer decides on the day.
What UAE residence changes
Nothing at the border, as far as the sources we read go. Your UAE residence still matters for travel from here, because the airline in Dubai checks your entry rights before it lets you board. The UAE and Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a visa exemption memorandum on , according to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It covers citizens holding valid passports of the two countries for tourism, business and short visits. It does not cover other nationals who live in the UAE.
Fees, timing and Dubai agency prices
We found no official Bosnian visa fee or processing time that we could read, so we show none. We found one Dubai agency price page, with a starting service price in the high hundreds of dirhams, but one agency is not enough for a range, so we do not publish one.
Documents to expect for a visa application
The embassy sets the exact list. For a visa-regime passport, expect to be asked for:
- Passport with enough validity and blank pages.
- Photos in the embassy format.
- Your UAE residence visa and Emirates ID, to show where you live.
- Proof of money and accommodation, and a return ticket.
- Travel health insurance.
We will confirm the current list with the embassy before you submit.
Where plans fall apart
- Assuming UAE residence works like a Schengen permit.
- A Schengen visa that is single entry, because the waiver says multiple.
- A waiver document that ends less than 30 days after your entry date.
- Booking flights and hotels before the visa decision.
How it works with us
Send a copy of your passport and any Schengen, EU or US visa or permit on WhatsApp, or use the form on this page. An adviser tells you whether you are on the list, waived or in need of a visa. If a visa is needed, you get one total price before you pay, and the team prepares the file and follows the case with the embassy. DubaiVisaDesk.com is a private visa service. Bosnia and Herzegovina decides every application.
Bosnia does not refund a visa fee after a refusal. Before you pay us, the adviser tells you in writing which part of our total, if any, comes back in that case.
Official sources
- Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Oslo, visas: visa-free list and the 30-day waiver, last updated .
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visa exemption memorandum: signed on 6 November, covers UAE and Bosnian passports.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the current visa regime and embassy list.
Next door, see Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia, or the Schengen visa from Dubai, visa-free countries for UAE residents and all visas from Dubai.
