Project Context and Scope: BiH faces persistent shortages of highly qualified professionals in key sectors, largely due to emigration (“brain drain”), an ageing workforce, and limited domestic training capacity in certain specialties. Highly skilled foreign workers are important to Bosnia and Herzegovina because they help address critical skills shortages caused by emigration and a limited domestic workforce, particularly in sectors such as medicine and senior management in transnational companies, where the lack of specialized expertise directly affects service quality and economic performance. In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the system governing labour migration is fragmented and complex, with policy competencies split between the state authorities, two entities, the Brcko District, and ten cantons.  The existing labour mobility framework in BiH is characterised by complex, multi-layered, and time-consuming procedures for the admission and employment of skilled foreign workers on a long-term and short-term basis. These procedures are fragmented, resulting in inconsistent legal requirements, overlapping competencies, and limited institutional coordination. The procedure for hiring foreign workers is complex from both a legal and a procedural perspective, and has been characterized as too long and inefficient. While all three administrative units of Bosnia and Herzegovina apply a broadly similar procedural framework for employing foreign workers, the system differs significantly in practice with regard to institutional organisation, documentation requirements, interpretation of regulations, and the duration of procedures—particularly in the first phase of work permit issuance, including the recognition of qualifications.The main obstacles to smooth and effective implementation are not rooted in the legislative framework itself, but in fragmented administrative competencies, uneven institutional capacities, non-harmonised documentation and qualification requirements, limited digitalisation, and inconsistent application of regulations across jurisdictions. These factors create legal uncertainty and procedural unpredictability, leading to delays in recruitment and higher compliance costs for employment. While these challenges affect the employment of foreign workers in general, their impact is particularly pronounced for highly qualified and specialised professionals, for whom lengthy procedures, unclear recognition of qualifications, and administrative inconsistencies significantly reduce Bosnia and Herzegovina’s attractiveness as a destination for skilled labour. There is little or no research on the specific needs for specifics of highly skilled labour in BiH and experience in hiring foreign skilled labour, especially for short-term visits and transfer of knowledge. To ensure that stakeholders have an improved evidence base upon which to formulate policies, the project will engage a national legal expert to gather evidence and best practices, preferably deriving from the EU MS as well as relevant regional examples, on the legal framework governing hiring highly skilled foreign workers in BiH. In 2024, IOM commissioned a comprehensive legal desk review analysing the legal framework governing work and employment of migrant workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The consultancy will not duplicate the existing desk review. Instead, it will deepen, update, and complement it by focusing on the admission, employment, and mobility of highly skilled foreign workers, including long-term employment, short-term assignments, project-based work, intra-company transfers, digital nomad-type arrangements, and knowledge-transfer schemes. IOM supported the development of the Roadmap for employment of foreign workers in BiH, which outlines gaps and provides recommendations for procedural improvements, interinstitutional cooperation, engaging with countries of origin, etc. This research will complement the Roadmap by focusing on hiring highly skilled workers based on the assessment of sectoral and/or employers’ needs. IOM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Association of Italian Enterprises in BiH. This partnership focuses on three key areas: (a) promoting regular migration pathways through ethical recruitment practices, skills development, and mobility opportunities, including training and exchange schemes; (b) advancing advocacy and awareness-raising to highlight the positive contributions of migrants and promote evidence-based, inclusive narratives; and (c) strengthening communication and information-sharing mechanisms to ensure regular coordination, data exchange, and alignment of priorities.

Within this framework, the present assignment should design surveys for targeted sectors/industries, including the companies part of the Association of Italian entrepreneurs in BiH, to systematically capture their feedback on the needs for and experiences of employment of highly skilled foreign workers, including short-term stays. The analysis should provide an in-depth assessment of employers’ practical experiences with existing legal and administrative procedures, identify key bottlenecks and good practices, and assess their impact on business operations. Based on these findings, the assignment should formulate concrete, evidence-based recommendations against applicable EU standards and practices to simplify and streamline employment procedures for highly skilled foreign workers, while safeguarding security considerations and maintaining high standards for skills recognition and workforce quality. In addition, the employers’ associations at the level of the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska, as well as relevant sectoral employers’ associations, will also be consulted in sectors where labour demand has already been identified, such as IT, health, construction, and textiles, to ensure that advocacy efforts and policy measures are aligned with actual workforce needs. In addition, the results of the analysis should inform the development of targeted communication and outreach materials aimed at countering stereotypes that foreign workers are predominantly low-skilled, while also producing practical guidelines to support more efficient and compliant hiring processes for employers. The consultant will work in close coordination and with oversight and guidance by IOM's internal capacities and expertise in the field of labour migration.

Tasks to be performed under this contract: 

1. Methodology development, desk review, and stakeholder mapping

   The Consultant shall develop a structured analytical methodology combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess labour migration governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a focus on highly skilled migrant workers. This phase shall include a desk review of relevant policies, strategies, laws, and bylaws governing labour migration and the employment of foreign workers at state, entity, cantonal, and Brčko District levels, building on the existing IOM legal desk review and with particular attention to provisions applicable to highly skilled workers, digital nomads, short-term assignments, project-based work and knowledge transfer. The desk review shall identify legal gaps, inconsistencies, and implementation challenges. In parallel, the Consultant shall map key governmental and non-governmental stakeholders involved in labour migration governance, including institutions responsible for migration, employment, education, recognition of qualifications, labour inspection, social protection, and relevant employers’ and sectoral associations, analysing their roles, responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms.

2. Legal and comparative analysis

   Based on the desk review, the Consultant shall conduct a legal and comparative analysis of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s labour migration framework against relevant EU acquis, international instruments, standards, and best practices, taking into account the country’s EU accession process, demographic trends, and current and projected skills shortages. The analysis shall assess the degree of alignment with EU and international obligations, identify divergences across administrative levels, and examine sector-specific requirements (e.g., health professions), procedures for recognition of foreign qualifications and skills, and regulatory and procedural differences affecting long-term versus short-term employment of highly skilled migrant workers, including intra-company transfers and project-based mobility.

3. Procedural assessment and quantitative/qualitative data collection

   The Consultant shall develop tools for data collection and analyse quantitative/qualitative data and statistics on labour migration, labour market needs, and skills shortages. To complement existing data, the Consultant shall design a structured survey among employers— including members of the Association of Italian Enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other relevant sectoral associations—to assess demand for highly skilled labour and identify practical challenges encountered in recruiting and employing highly skilled foreign workers, including for short-term engagements. The collection of the data, in line with the tools developed by the Consultant, will be carried out by IOM and its implementing partners (Association of Italian Enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other relevant actors). The collected data will be delivered to the Consultant for further analysis. Survey analysis shall be carried out in close coordination with the IOM team and shall inform the assessment of procedural bottlenecks and administrative practices affecting labour mobility.

d) Formulation and validation of recommendations and reporting

Drawing on the methodology, legal and comparative analysis, procedural assessment, and stakeholder inputs, the Consultant shall formulate clear, evidence-based recommendations aimed at improving Bosnia and Herzegovina’s labour migration governance framework. Recommendations shall address legislative, regulatory, and procedural measures to facilitate and accelerate labour market entry for highly skilled migrant workers, enable short-term and flexible mobility schemes, and support knowledge transfer. The Consultant shall present and validate findings and recommendations through consultations or a validation workshop with relevant stakeholders, incorporate feedback as appropriate, and submit a final analytical report for dissemination.

Key deliverables (not limited to):

• A work plan outlining the methodology, stakeholder mapping, and proposed data-collection tools;

• A comparative legal analysis of procedures for hiring highly qualified foreign workers, including short-term employment, assessed against the EU acquis and best practices, with recommendations for legislative alignment and procedural improvements;

• An analysis of the provided data collected.

• An updated comparative legal analysis incorporating empirical findings, together with recommendations;

• A final activity report detailing the consultant’s engagement, timelines, and other relevant aspects.

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

Availability of expert analysis and recommendations: 

• Comprehensive expert analysis and actionable recommendations on the legal and procedural framework governing labour migration in BiH, produced with explicit reference to EU acquis, relevant international instruments, standards, and best practices;

• Deliverables are submitted on time, complete, and of high quality.

• Recommendations are clear, actionable, evidence-based, and aligned with EU acquis, relevant international standards, and the BiH labour migration context.

• Effective engagement with relevant governmental authorities, employers’ associations, and other stakeholders.

• Final outputs reflect consolidated inputs from consultations and IOM feedback, demonstrating a coherent, internally consistent, and actionable report that supports evidence-based policy and procedural improvements in BiH.