Can a marriage be entered in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was divorced abroad, but the divorce was not conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

First it is necessary to conduct the procedure for the recognition of the foreign judicial decision on the divorce, and then enter your marriage as well as the divorce in the registry books in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Do I have to be physically present in Bosnia and Herzegovina while the procedure for the recognition of the foreign judicial decision on the divorce lasts?

Your presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not necessary, because we represent you as your attorneys. The procedure can be conducted through a power of attorney.

Can a foreign judicial decision on divorce be recognized in which real estate in Bosnia and Herzegovina was also deliberated upon?

A foreign judicial judgment on divorce can in such a case be recognized only partially — the part by which the marriage was divorced is recognized, while the part deliberating on property located in Bosnia and Herzegovina is refused. Only a court in Bosnia and Herzegovina can deliberate on real estate located in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I concluded 2 marriages abroad, and one was divorced outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina; do I have to record everything in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

In order to enter the current marriage, you must previously enter the first marriage, as well as the divorce of the first marriage, so that you may enter the current status into the registry books and regulate the surname.

I am divorced abroad and I would like to revert my surname — how much time do I have?

In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina the deadline for reverting the surname after a divorce is 6 months from the finality of the recognition decision in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Republika Srpska the deadline is 12 months. Importantly, the deadline runs from the finality of the BiH recognition decision, not from the date of the foreign divorce.

Can I initiate the procedure if I am from Sarajevo but live abroad?

Yes. It does not matter that you live outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The procedure can be conducted through an attorney, without your arrival, if you have the necessary documentation.

If I previously had a residence in Banja Luka, can a marriage concluded abroad be entered in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

It can. First, it is checked whether the marriage is already entered somewhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and after that, the appropriate entry procedure is performed. If the marriage was in the meantime divorced abroad, the foreign decision on divorce must first be recognized.

If I was born in Tuzla, can you complete the entire recognition procedure without my arrival in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Yes. The procedure is most often conducted via a power of attorney, so it is not necessary for you to personally come to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Can the reverting of the surname after a divorce be completed through the registry office in Zenica or Mostar?

It can, but it must first be checked where the registry facts are entered, whether the divorce is already recognized in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whether the request was submitted within the legal deadline.

What if the marriage is already entered in Bijeljina, but the divorce was done abroad and is not yet recognized in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

The procedure for the recognition of the foreign decision on divorce must first be conducted before the competent court in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only after that can the divorce be properly entered into the registry books.

Recognition of Foreign Divorce Decree/Decision and Marriage Registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Recognition of Foreign Judicial Decision on Divorce in Bosnia and Herzegovina

After an individual conducts a judicial procedure for divorce abroad and obtains a judgment on the divorce, the decision from abroad on the divorce must be recognized in Bosnia and Herzegovina so that this fact can be entered into the registry books and the surname regulated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the fact of the termination of the marriage entered, and so that the personal status of the individual can be regulated for the purpose of obtaining a travel document with a proper surname / last name, concluding a new marriage abroad (obtaining a certificate of free marital status), etc. In certain foreign states, according to their positive legislation, a divorce can also be performed before a notary; also, in some states like Norway, a divorce can be performed in the Municipality before the City Governor, and such decisions of foreign state authorities on divorce can be recognized in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because in their legislation such a decision is equated with a judicial decision on divorce by the legislation of a specific foreign country. The competent courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the recognition of a foreign decision/decree on divorce in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the Cantonal courts, in the entity of Republika Srpska these are the District courts, and in the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina it is the Basic Court of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Decisions of foreign courts in marital matters, in matters of the relationship between parents and children or adoption, as well as other decisions of foreign courts, or decisions of another foreign authority which in the state in which they were brought are equated with a judicial decision brought regarding the personal status of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina / Republika Srpska, and which are entered into registry books, will be entered into registry books only if they are recognized by a decision of the competent court in Bosnia and Herzegovina, unless this is excluded by a contract / an agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and another state. This procedure for the recognition of foreign decisions on divorce is determined in detail in the Law on Resolution of Conflict of Laws with Regulations of Other Countries in Certain Relations ("Official Gazette of the SFRY" No. 43/82 and 72/82). The entry of data into the registry books in Bosnia and Herzegovina is performed after the competent court in Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes the foreign judicial decision on the divorce or a decision on another status issue, and then the decision on the recognition of the foreign decision becomes final in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The procedure for the division of marital property located in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not possible to perform before the court of some other state; if a court of a foreign state were to divide property located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it would not be possible to recognize such a judicial decision in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Period for reverting the surname/last name after a divorce in relation to the recognition of a foreign decision in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In the Law on Registry Books of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Article 25, Paragraph 4, it is stated that a marital partner who changed their surname by concluding a marriage may, after the termination of the marriage, take the surname they had before concluding the marriage, which is performed in the manner regulated in the Law on Personal Names, and that it is prescribed that this deadline is 6 months from the day of the termination of the marriage; however, in practice, the question arises as to what happens with the deadline of 6 months from the termination of the marriage when the marriage terminated abroad, i.e., for example: if a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina divorced in Germany in 2012 and performed the procedure for recognition of the foreign judicial decision on the divorce in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that decision became final on January 1, 2021 - in the opinion of our law office, the date of finality of the decision on the recognition of the foreign judicial decision from Bosnia and Herzegovina is always taken, and not the moment of the divorce from abroad. Legally speaking, in the practice of the registry offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a divided opinion and some registry offices brought decisions that the deadline of 6 months has passed because the divorce was finished much earlier abroad; however, according to our appeals to the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs in Sarajevo, every decision of the first-instance authorities was annulled and it was always ordered to take the deadline from the day of finality of the decision on the recognition of the foreign judicial decision from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and not the moment of finality of the judicial decision from abroad. For example, a person was born in 1974 in Sarajevo, and in 1989 concluded a marriage in Germany; by a decision of a court from Germany, the marriage was divorced in 2002, the judicial decision on the divorce was recognized in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2020 and became final on January 1, 2021, by a decision of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo; the decision from Germany by which the marriage was divorced in 2002 is therefore final in Bosnia and Herzegovina only as of January 1, 2021, and the deadline of 6 months is counted from that day, because from that date the foreign decision on divorce has legal effects and produces legal consequences in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, regardless of the fact that a period of 20 years has passed since the termination of the marriage in Germany, the deadline of 6 months for reverting to the maiden surname (née) by a statement before a registrar has not passed, because that deadline runs from the finality of the decision on the recognition of the foreign judicial decision in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Registration of a marriage from abroad into the registry books in Bosnia and Herzegovina

For the subsequent entry of a marriage concluded abroad, the following documents are required so that the same may be entered in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Power of Attorney for representation, properly certified by a competent authority abroad.
International extract from the registry of marriages in the original, not older than 6 months.
Extract from the registry of births for the marital partners.
Certificate on the movement of residence of the marital partners.
Certificate of citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Certificate - confirmation that the marriage is not entered in the municipalities in which the marital partners had their residence on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Photocopy of the passports of the marital partners.
If a marital partner is a foreigner, proof of citizenship of the foreign state.

Concluding a marriage in Bosnia and Herzegovina

When it comes to concluding a marriage, marital partners may agree on the following:

That they take the surname (last name) of one or the other marital partner for their surname, or each retains their own surname.
Each of them adds the surname of the other marital partner to their surname or
One marital partner takes the surname of the other marital partner and adds their own surname to that surname.

In administrative practice in Bosnia and Herzegovina, men almost always retain their surname, while women usually take the surname from the spouse (husband) or retain their own surname or add the surname of the spouse (husband) to their surname.

After a divorce, a person who changed their surname during the conclusion of the marriage (e.g., a woman took the surname from the husband) may, by a statement before the registry office, take the surname she had before concluding the marriage. The statement on reverting the surname which the person had at the moment of concluding the marriage is submitted in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina within a deadline of 6 months from the termination of the marriage, in the registry office in which the birth of the person is entered or to the registrar competent according to the place of residence of the person, with the fact that in the last-mentioned variant, the registrar is obliged within 3 days from the day of receiving or the receipt of the statement on taking the surname to deliver that statement to the registrar who maintains the Registry of Births in which the birth of that person is entered, for the purpose of entering / recording that statement in the registry of births.

If the person does not express themselves with a statement on the surname which they will use within the deadline of six months from the termination of the marriage (in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; in Republika Srpska the deadline is 12 months), every change of surname to the surname used before the marriage is performed in an administrative procedure for the change of surname.

In the case of an annulment of a marriage, the consent of the marital partner who is not responsible for the annulment of the marriage is also required for the retention of the surname taken during the conclusion of the marriage.

Frequently asked questions about the recognition of a foreign divorce decision and marriage registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Can a marriage be entered in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was divorced abroad, but the divorce was not conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina?: First it is necessary to conduct the procedure for the recognition of the foreign judicial decision on the divorce, and then enter your marriage as well as the divorce in the registry books in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Do I have to be physically present in Bosnia and Herzegovina while the recognition procedure lasts?: Your presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not necessary, because we represent you as your attorneys. The procedure can be conducted through a power of attorney.
Can a foreign judicial decision on divorce be recognized in which real estate in Bosnia and Herzegovina was also deliberated upon?: A foreign judicial judgment on divorce can in such a case be recognized only partially — the part of the judicial decision by which the marriage was divorced is recognized, while the part by which property located in Bosnia and Herzegovina was deliberated upon is refused. Only a court in Bosnia and Herzegovina can deliberate on real estate located in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I concluded 2 marriages abroad, and one was divorced outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina; do I have to record everything in Bosnia and Herzegovina?: In order to enter the current marriage, you must previously enter the first marriage, as well as the divorce of the first marriage, so that you may enter the current status into the registry books and regulate the surname.
I am divorced abroad and I would like to revert my surname — how much time do I have?: In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina the deadline for reverting the surname after a divorce is 6 months from the finality of the recognition decision in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Republika Srpska the deadline is 12 months. The deadline runs from the finality of the BiH recognition decision, not from the date of the foreign divorce.
Can I initiate the procedure if I am from Sarajevo, but I live abroad?: Yes, you can. It does not matter that you live outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The procedure can be conducted through an attorney, without your arrival, if you have the necessary documentation.
If I previously had a residence in Banja Luka, can a marriage concluded abroad be entered in Bosnia and Herzegovina?: It can. First, it is checked whether the marriage is already entered somewhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and after that, the appropriate entry procedure is performed. If the marriage was in the meantime divorced abroad, the foreign decision on divorce must first be recognized.
If I was born in Tuzla, can you complete the entire recognition procedure without my arrival in Bosnia and Herzegovina?: Yes, we can. The procedure is most often conducted via a power of attorney, so it is not necessary for you to personally come to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Can the reverting of the surname after a divorce be completed through the registry office in Zenica or Mostar?: It can, but it must first be checked where the registry facts are entered, whether the divorce is already recognized in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whether the request was submitted within the legal deadline.
What if the marriage is already entered in Bijeljina, but the divorce was done abroad and is not yet recognized in Bosnia and Herzegovina?: In that case, the procedure for the recognition of the foreign decision on divorce must first be conducted before the competent court in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only after that can the divorce be properly entered into the registry books.

Author: Attorney at Law Azur Prnjavorac | Updated: 07.04.2026.