Passport from Bosnia & Herzegovina
Series I
The Independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established in 1992 on the basis of the popular referendum, after two other Yugoslav republics, Slovenia and Croatia, seceded from the Yugoslav federation.
On 7 July 1992, Reuters reported that the "rump Yugoslav state" had ceased issuing passports to residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina who were leaving due to the war.
The initial determination of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s citizenry was based on legal continuity with the previous republican citizenship. This means that the 1992 Citizenship Act was based on the legal continuity with the former citizenship of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. People who had the country’s republican citizenship during Yugoslavia were automatically considered as citizens of the new state. On the other side, the citizens who had another republican citizenship within Yugoslavia, but were residing in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 6 April 1992 were also considered as citizens of the new Bosnian state.
BiH began issuing its own passports in December 1992 and ceased recognizing the validity of passports issued by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) in November 1993.
The main difference between Series 1 and Series 2 can be seen from the size of the coat-of-arms, where Series 2 has a smaller crest and on the data page, the name of the republic. The name is Series 1 was printed in three lines whilst Series 2 in two lines.
SERIES I
Issued during the war with coat-of-arms of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
COAT-OF-ARMS
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Coat of arms used from 1992 until 1998, taken from the arms of Tvrtko I of Bosnia.
The coat of arms of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was similar to that of the Kotromanić dynasty. It had a blue background divided by a white line. The diagonal white line is supposed to symbolize the sword of Tvrtko and his might as a ruler. The coat of arms was designed in a hurry, right at the beginning of the Bosnian War, which lasted for three years. At the end of the war, there came uproar from the Bosnian Serbs arguing that the coat of arms solely represented Bosniaks. The international community within Bosnia and Herzegovina was the instrument to solve the controversy. In early 1998, a commission for the flag change was created and the same year a new coat of arms was adopted in order to help alleviate the tensions among ethnicities.
Fleur-de-lis. The coat of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia contained six fleurs-de-lis, understood as the native Bosnian or Golden Lily, Lilium bosniacum. This emblem was revived in 1992 as a national symbol of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and was on the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1998.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS
The passport contains 32 pages.
PASSPORT NUMBER
Passport number prefixed with BH and followed by 6 digits. The numbers are needle-perforated from page 1 to page 31.
The country code, as well as the nationality, were written as BIH.
NOTES
On 7 July 1992, Reuters reported that the "rump Yugoslav state" had ceased issuing passports to residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina who were leaving due to the war.
The initial determination of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s citizenry was based on legal continuity with the previous republican citizenship. This means that the 1992 Citizenship Act was based on the legal continuity with the former citizenship of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. People who had the country’s republican citizenship during Yugoslavia were automatically considered as citizens of the new state. On the other side, the citizens who had another republican citizenship within Yugoslavia, but were residing in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 6 April 1992 were also considered as citizens of the new Bosnian state.
BiH began issuing its own passports in December 1992 and ceased recognizing the validity of passports issued by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) in November 1993.
The main difference between Series 1 and Series 2 can be seen from the size of the coat-of-arms, where Series 2 has a smaller crest and on the data page, the name of the republic. The name is Series 1 was printed in three lines whilst Series 2 in two lines.
SERIES I
Issued during the war with coat-of-arms of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
| Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Republika Bosna i Hercegovina Република Босна и Херцеговина |
COAT-OF-ARMS
Coat of arms used from 1992 until 1998, taken from the arms of Tvrtko I of Bosnia.
The coat of arms of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was similar to that of the Kotromanić dynasty. It had a blue background divided by a white line. The diagonal white line is supposed to symbolize the sword of Tvrtko and his might as a ruler. The coat of arms was designed in a hurry, right at the beginning of the Bosnian War, which lasted for three years. At the end of the war, there came uproar from the Bosnian Serbs arguing that the coat of arms solely represented Bosniaks. The international community within Bosnia and Herzegovina was the instrument to solve the controversy. In early 1998, a commission for the flag change was created and the same year a new coat of arms was adopted in order to help alleviate the tensions among ethnicities.
Fleur-de-lis. The coat of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia contained six fleurs-de-lis, understood as the native Bosnian or Golden Lily, Lilium bosniacum. This emblem was revived in 1992 as a national symbol of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and was on the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1998.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS
The passport contains 32 pages.
| PAGE | DESCRIPTION |
| Front Cover | |
| Interior of Front Cover | Datapage (Laminated) |
| 1 | Country's name Coat-of-arms Document type Document number |
| 2 | Family members up to 8 persons |
| 3 | Family members photo per page 2, up to 4 photos. |
| 4 | Family members photo per page 2, up to 4 photos. |
| 5 | Document's extension of validity / renewal |
| 6 - 30 | Visas |
| 31 - 32 | Official note regarding passport holder. |
| Interior of Back Cover | Notes. |
PASSPORT NUMBER
Passport number prefixed with BH and followed by 6 digits. The numbers are needle-perforated from page 1 to page 31.
The country code, as well as the nationality, were written as BIH.
NOTES
| 1. Državljanin RBiH, za vrijeme boravka u inostranstvu, može se za savjet, pravnu pomoć i drugu zaštitu obratiti diplomatskom ili konzularnom predstavništvu Republike Bosne i Hercegovine u inostranstvu. 2. Zabranjeno je dati svoj pasoš na poslugu drugom ili se poslužiti tudjim pasošem kao svojim. 3. Državljanin RBiH dužan je brižljivo čuvati svoj pasoš od kradje ili oštećenja. Nije dopušteno nikakvo mijenjanje ili ispravljanje podataka u pasošu ili mijenjanje fotografije. 4. Osoba koja ostane bez pasoša za vrijeme boravka u inostranstvu, gubitak pasoša prijaviće najbližem diplomatskom ili konzularnom predstavništvu Republike Bosne i Hercegovine u inostranstvu, a nakon povratka u zemlju organu koji je izdao ili drugom nadležnom organu u mjestu prebivališta. Osoba koja je izgubila pasoš u zemlji dužna je bez odgode prijaviti gubitak organu koji ga je izdao ili drugom nadležnom organu u mjestu prebivališta. 5. Tko nadje ovaj pasoš dužan je predati ga osobi na čije ime glasi, radniku milicije, stanici milicije, organu uprave nadležnom za unutrašnje poslove ili mjesnom uredu. 6. Državljanin RBiH koji otputuje u inostranstvo u namjeri da tamo boravi duže od godine dana o tome treba da obavijesti najbliže diplomatsko ili konzularno predstavnoštvo Republike Bosne i Hercegovine. |