Dual citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, the United States and other countries

Author: Azur Prnjavorac, attorney at law, Bar Association of the Federation of BiH  |  Last updated: 20 September 2026  |  Legislation verified on 20 September 2026.

What does the Law on Citizenship of BiH say about dual citizenship?

Article 4 of the Law on Citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina (official consolidated text, Official Gazette of BiH No. 22/16) provides that citizens of BiH may hold the citizenship of another state provided there is a bilateral treaty between BiH and that state, approved by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. At first sight that reads like a ban on dual citizenship with everyone else. In reality it is not, and this is the first thing we explain to clients: nowhere does the law provide that BiH citizenship ceases for a person who acquires a foreign citizenship, and there is no authority that would monitor or establish this. BiH citizenship ceases only in the ways the law expressly lists, namely renunciation, release, deprivation and international treaty. A person who obtains a German, Swiss or American passport without having first been released from BiH citizenship remains a citizen of BiH with all rights, so BiH tacitly accepts dual citizenship with those countries.

The other side of the same question is when BiH itself imposes the renunciation requirement. Article 9 paragraph 1 item f) requires a foreigner who is being naturalised to renounce or lose the previous citizenship before admission to BiH citizenship, unless there is a bilateral treaty with that state. The same requirement applies to the facilitated naturalisation of a spouse under Article 10 and to re-acquisition under Article 14, and it is expressly waived only for persons of special benefit to BiH under Article 15. In acquisition by descent, that is through a parent, the renunciation requirement does not apply at all, because that is not naturalisation: the citizenship exists from birth and the entry in the civil register merely records it. That is why decisions on subsequent registration routinely state that the person holds both a foreign and the Bosnian citizenship. The full text of the law is in our legal database (in Bosnian): Law on Citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Which countries does BiH have a dual citizenship treaty with?

Bosnia and Herzegovina has concluded dual citizenship treaties with three countries: Croatia, Serbia and Sweden. The treaty with Croatia has been in force since 2012, the treaty with Serbia is the treaty concluded with the then FR Yugoslavia (Official Gazette of BiH, international treaties, No. 4/03) and applies by succession, and the agreement with Sweden was published in the Official Gazette of BiH, international treaties, No. 2/06. All three follow the same pattern: a citizen of one state may acquire the citizenship of the other without being required to give up the earlier one, a dual citizen is regarded on the territory of each state exclusively as its citizen, and in third countries enjoys the consular protection of whichever state he asks. The treaty with Serbia also regulates military service and taxes: obligations are fulfilled in the state of residence, or in the state where they arose.

There is no treaty with Germany, although an initiative to conclude one was launched in 2024, after the German reform. The practical difference matters for those who have lost BiH citizenship: without a treaty, re-acquisition of Bosnian citizenship under Article 14 still requires loss of the German one. There is no treaty with Austria, Switzerland or the United States either.

Dual citizenship of BiH and Germany

Until 2024 Germany was the most frequent reason for release from BiH citizenship, because the German Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz) required release from the previous citizenship for naturalisation. The reform that entered into force on 27 June 2024 abolished that rule: a person being naturalised in Germany no longer has to lose the Bosnian citizenship first, and a German citizen who acquires another citizenship does not lose the German one, so a retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) is no longer needed. Together with the position of BiH, which knows no loss for acquiring a foreign citizenship, dual citizenship of BiH and Germany is today possible without any procedure: whoever holds the Bosnian one and applies for the German one ends up with both.

The reform is not retroactive. A person who was released from BiH citizenship before June 2024 remains without it, and the only way back is re-acquisition under Article 14 of the Law on Citizenship of BiH, which requires an approved temporary residence in BiH of at least one year immediately before the application, or permanent residence, and fulfilment of the conditions of Article 9, hence also loss of German citizenship, because there is no dual citizenship treaty with Germany. The Constitutional Court of BiH confirmed in case U-19/22 that the residence requirement stands. In practice this means that re-acquisition is an option for those returning to BiH, not for those staying in Germany with a German passport. Anyone who received, in an older naturalisation procedure, an Einbürgerungszusicherung conditional on release should ask the German authority whether the condition can be lifted before being released. We have set out all three situations, with conditions and deadlines, on the page Bosnian lawyer for clients in Germany.

Dual citizenship of BiH and Austria

Austria is today the strictest of the countries where the Bosnian diaspora lives. The basic principle of the Austrian Citizenship Act of 1985 is the avoidance of multiple citizenship. An applicant for Austrian citizenship receives an assurance (Zusicherung der Verleihung) and must, within two years, submit proof that the previous citizenship has ceased, in our case the decision of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH on the termination of BiH citizenship; the exceptions from renunciation under section 10 paragraph 6 of that act are rarely granted. In the other direction, under section 27, an Austrian citizen loses Austrian citizenship by operation of law if he acquires a foreign citizenship on application, declaration or express consent, unless retention was approved beforehand under section 28. The loss occurs whether or not it was intended.

That is why release from BiH citizenship is today done above all for Austria: the procedure takes about a month from the power of attorney to the decision, is conducted without travelling to BiH, and the decision is submitted to the Austrian authority within the validity of the assurance. We have described it on the page renunciation of BiH citizenship through a lawyer. The position of a person born in Austria to parents from BiH, who has held Austrian citizenship from birth, is different: BiH citizenship is acquired by descent, at the moment of birth, and not on application, so the subsequent entry in the civil register in BiH is not an acquisition of a foreign citizenship on application within the meaning of the Austrian section 27. Such persons in practice hold both citizenships, but we advise anyone in that situation to check the position of the competent Austrian citizenship authority before registration, because the consequence is borne under Austrian, not Bosnian, law.

Dual citizenship of BiH and Switzerland

Switzerland has allowed dual and multiple citizenship since 1992 and does not require release from BiH citizenship in naturalisation. Since BiH requires nothing either, citizens of BiH in Switzerland as a rule keep both citizenships, and children born in Switzerland to parents from BiH hold Bosnian citizenship by descent and Swiss citizenship under Swiss rules. Release from BiH citizenship for Switzerland is practically never done. What clients in Switzerland actually need is the registration of children and marriages in the civil registers in BiH, a certificate of citizenship and a passport, and the certification of a power of attorney with the cantonal apostille, which we have described on the page Bosnian lawyer for clients in Switzerland.

Dual citizenship of BiH and Croatia, BiH and Serbia

With Croatia, BiH has a dual citizenship treaty in force since 2012. Under the treaty, a Croatian citizen who acquires BiH citizenship does not lose the Croatian one and is not asked to renounce it, and vice versa, and a dual citizen is regarded on the territory of each state exclusively as its citizen. Despite the treaty, the Croatian authorities in practice often require proof of renunciation of BiH citizenship in the procedure for admission to Croatian citizenship, except where Croatian citizenship is acquired on the basis of marriage to a Croatian citizen; for such cases there is a reduced fee for release with residence in Croatia. Those who acquire Croatian citizenship by descent or as members of the Croatian people generally keep both. We have covered the conditions and procedure on the pages Croatian citizenship lawyer and how to get Croatian citizenship.

With Serbia the treaty concluded with the FR Yugoslavia applies (Official Gazette of BiH, international treaties, No. 4/03): acquiring the second citizenship is not conditional on the termination of the earlier one, a dual citizen is regarded in BiH as a citizen of BiH and in Serbia as a citizen of Serbia, performs military and other compulsory service in the state of residence, and fulfils tax and financial obligations in the state where they arose. Montenegro and North Macedonia have no treaty with BiH and in ordinary naturalisation generally require release, with exceptions for descent, marriage and refugees.

Dual citizenship of BiH and the United States, Canada and Australia

The United States, Canada and Australia allow multiple citizenship and do not require renunciation of a previous one, so the diaspora in those countries routinely holds both passports. Naturalisation in the United States requires an oath of allegiance, but United States law does not treat it as a renunciation that would have effect in BiH, and BiH does not recognise any loss of its citizenship on that basis. The most frequent matter for the American, Canadian and Australian diaspora is therefore not dual citizenship as such, but proving and registering Bosnian citizenship by descent: children and grandchildren of citizens of BiH born abroad, often never registered in BiH, who need a certificate of citizenship and a passport, above all for inheritance and real estate in BiH. We have described the conditions on the page Bosnian citizenship by descent for US citizens and the practical side on the page Bosnian lawyer for clients in the United States; the rules for children by date of birth are set out below.

How is it regulated with other countries where the diaspora lives?

Sweden has a treaty with BiH and has itself allowed dual citizenship since 2001. Norway has allowed it since 1 January 2020, Denmark since 1 September 2015, Belgium since 28 April 2008, and Italy and France do not require release from BiH in ordinary naturalisation. Slovenia requires proof of renunciation of the previous citizenship in ordinary naturalisation, with exceptions for descent, marriage to a Slovenian citizen and refugees. The Netherlands also requires release in principle, but with important exceptions: marriage to a Dutch citizen, acquisition by birth, and cases in which renunciation is legally or practically impossible. The picture changes with amendments to foreign legislation, so the table on the renunciation page, which we keep up to date, is authoritative for the current year: countries requiring release from BiH citizenship in 2026.

Children born abroad: when do they hold both citizenships?

For families in the diaspora this is often more important than the parent's own position, because a parent who has acquired Austrian citizenship, or who was released for the German one before 2024, as a rule cannot hold both, but his children can. BiH citizenship by descent is acquired at the moment of birth and no renunciation of the foreign citizenship is required for it. A child born while the father or mother was still a citizen of BiH is a citizen of BiH from birth, regardless of the parent later losing that citizenship, provided the decision on the parent's release or renunciation did not also cover the then minor children. The rules depend on the date of birth, because the old Law on Citizenship of the Republic of BiH applies to those born before 1 January 1998 and the current law to those born later.

For those born before 1 January 1998, if both parents were citizens of BiH at the time of birth, or one from BiH and the other a citizen of another republic of the former Yugoslavia, the child is a citizen of BiH without any deadline and may apply for registration at any age; the deadline of the 23rd birthday exists only where the other parent was a foreigner who was not a citizen of the former SFRY. For those born on or after 1 January 1998, where both parents were citizens of BiH there is no deadline, and where only one parent was a citizen of BiH and the child was born abroad, the application for registration of citizenship must be filed before the age of 23; after that only naturalisation with renunciation remains. Germany no longer requires such a child to choose since 2024, Switzerland, Sweden and the overseas countries never did, and in Austria a child who acquired both citizenships by birth keeps both. We have set out all the conditions, article by article, for both laws, on the pages obtaining the citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and how to get citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the registration itself on the page subsequent registration in the civil registers of BiH.

What does dual citizenship mean in practice?

In Bosnia and Herzegovina a dual citizen is a citizen of BiH and nothing else. Before courts, notaries, land registry offices and administrative bodies he acts with Bosnian documents, at the border he uses the BiH passport, and the foreign citizenship does not give him the status of a foreigner. The practical benefit is greatest with property: he buys and inherits real estate in BiH without the reciprocity restrictions that apply to foreigners, which matters above all for agricultural land, where acquisition by foreign nationals is restricted or excluded. A person who has been released loses that protection and becomes a foreigner in BiH, so the acquisition of real estate is then assessed under the right of foreigners to real estate and reciprocity. There has been no compulsory military service in BiH since 2006, so that question no longer arises with dual citizenship.

Dual citizenship does not change tax residence, which is determined by domicile and residence rather than by passport, nor does it affect a pension earned abroad. In the other treaty state and in third countries the treaty rule applies: consular protection is provided by whichever state the dual citizen asks, while on the territory of Croatia or Serbia BiH cannot protect its dual citizen as a foreigner. What dual citizens most often neglect is record-keeping: a change of surname, a marriage and children registered abroad must also be registered in the civil registers in BiH, because without that neither a passport nor a certificate of citizenship can be issued; we handle that registration by power of attorney.

When is BiH citizenship lost and can it be regained?

BiH citizenship ceases by renunciation, release, deprivation and under an international treaty; there are no other ways, so there is no automatic loss because of a foreign passport. Renunciation and release are voluntary procedures before the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH, conducted when a foreign authority requires proof of the termination of Bosnian citizenship. The applicant must hold a foreign citizenship or an assurance that he will acquire it, orderly entries in the civil registers and a personal identification number; minor children may lose citizenship only under the conditions specially prescribed by law, and a child over 14 must give consent. Citizenship ceases on service of the decision, when the BiH passport is also surrendered. If the foreign citizenship is in the end not acquired, the decision on termination can be annulled on request. We have described the procedure, costs and documents on the page renunciation of BiH citizenship through a lawyer, and the act of renunciation itself on the page giving up citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A person who lost BiH citizenship by renunciation or release for the sake of a foreign citizenship may apply for re-acquisition under Article 14. The conditions are cumulative: an approved temporary residence in BiH of at least one year immediately before the application, or permanent residence, and fulfilment of the conditions of Article 9, which includes termination of the foreign citizenship where there is no dual citizenship treaty with that state. The procedure runs through a guarantee of acquisition of citizenship valid for two years, and the decision on admission follows once proof of the termination of the foreign citizenship is submitted. Our office handled the first such case in BiH, the re-acquisition of citizenship for a client who had been a German citizen for more than twenty years; the course of the procedure and a sample decision are published on the page re-acquisition of citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before anything is initiated we give a written assessment of whether re-acquisition is an option at all in the specific case, because that is the question most often got wrong.

Sources and legislation on this topic

Frequently asked questions about dual citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina