Werklist Bosnia helps workers access verified jobs abroad and helps employers hire reliable candidates.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has sent workers to Germany and Austria for more than fifty years. Around 220,000 Bosnians live in Germany and roughly 170,000 in Austria, so most candidates have a parent, sibling, or cousin who already worked a German job site. That diaspora is why a Bosnian welder often arrives with German at A2 or B1, a family contact in the receiving town, and a clear idea of what a Mittelstand shift looks like.
For employers, this shortens onboarding. Bosnia is a non-EU country, so the corridor to Germany runs under the West Balkan Regulation, § 26 Abs. 2 BeschV, which needs a binding job offer and consent from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit rather than formal qualification recognition for most trades. Werklist Bosnia screens trade and German level in country, and registers each labour-export file with the relevant BiH authority, before a candidate reaches employer review.
Roughly 220,000 Bosnians live in Germany and 170,000 in Austria, the legacy of guest-worker routes that opened in the 1960s. Many candidates have close family who already worked a German job site, so they arrive with a contact in the receiving town and a realistic picture of the work, the housing, and the pay slip before they ever sign.
Bosnia trains welders, locksmiths, CNC operators, fitters, electricians, and masons through a German-style vocational system, and Zenica, Tuzla, and the Una-Sana canton have a long metalworking base. These are the exact trades the German Mittelstand is short of, which is why the West Balkan Regulation quota fills every year.
The West Balkan Regulation lets Bosnian nationals take a job in Germany on a binding offer plus consent from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, without the formal Anerkennung most other routes demand. The annual quota was raised to 50,000 visas across the six Western Balkan countries on 1 June 2024 and the scheme was made permanent, so the lane is open year round rather than a one-off programme.
Every placement is documented at the German receiving end under § 26 Abs. 2 BeschV and registered as a labour-export file with the relevant BiH authority. Werklist Bosnia is the in-country office that keeps both records aligned, so the candidate clears the Bosnian side and the German consent without a missing document between them.
Many candidates already speak German at A2 to B1 from family ties or a returnee stint, and we test the level in Bihać before employer review rather than taking it on trust. Where a role needs A1 or A2 on paper, candidates sit a Goethe or telc exam, and we arrange a course before departure if the gap is small.
Around a third of everyone born in Bosnia and Herzegovina now lives abroad.
Werklist is licensed to source workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina as WERKLIST d.o.o.
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The West Balkan Regulation is § 26 Abs. 2 of the German Employment Ordinance (Beschäftigungsverordnung, BeschV). It lets nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia take a job in Germany on a binding offer, with consent from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit on the working conditions. Unlike the standard skilled-worker route, it does not require formal recognition of the qualification for most trades, which is why it suits blue-collar and skilled hiring.
Yes. The quota was raised to 50,000 work visas a year on 1 June 2024, doubled from the previous 25,000, and it is shared across all six Western Balkan countries. The scheme was extended indefinitely in November 2023, so it is now a permanent lane rather than a pilot. Once the yearly quota is exhausted no further consents issue until the next year, so timing the application matters and we plan filings around it.
Realistically 10 to 16 weeks from a signed job offer to a worker on site. The Bundesagentur für Arbeit consent under § 26 Abs. 2 BeschV typically runs 1 to 6 weeks; the visa appointment at the German embassy in Sarajevo is usually the critical-path bottleneck, since slots can be booked out 2 to 3 months ahead. German language screening adds about 2 weeks if the candidate has not been pre-tested.
Many candidates sit at A2 to B1 because of family ties to Germany and Austria or a previous stint working there, and returnees often go higher. We test the level in Bihać before employer review rather than reporting a self-assessment. Where a role or the visa requires A1 or A2 on paper, candidates take a Goethe-Institut or telc exam, and we arrange a pre-departure course if the gap is small enough to close before the start date.
Yes. Employers can review the shortlist remotely or run a casting event where they interview and trade-test candidates in person over a few days. Organising a casting with practical testing usually takes around 6 weeks to plan. Some German and Austrian employers fly in to Bihać or Sarajevo for it; others handle the full selection by video. We document who attended, who tested, and who signed, so the casting leaves a receipt rather than a verbal headcount.
Under most cross-border employment frameworks the employer covers the visa fee, the work permit, the one-way flight, and accommodation on arrival, while the candidate carries passport issuance and document translation. The visa fee for the German national visa is currently 75 euro. Werklist Bosnia sets the cost split out in writing before deployment so nothing surfaces afterwards.
Metalworking and construction lead: welders (MIG, MAG, TIG), locksmiths and metalworkers (Schlosser), CNC operators, fitters, electricians, plumbers, scaffolders, and masons. We also place drivers, warehouse and logistics staff, and care and hospitality workers. Bosnia's German-style vocational training and its metalworking base in Zenica, Tuzla, and the Una-Sana canton give a deep pool in exactly the trades the German Mittelstand is short of.
For most trades under § 26 Abs. 2 BeschV, no. The West Balkan Regulation deliberately skips the formal recognition (Anerkennung) step that the standard skilled-worker visa requires, so a binding job offer and Bundesagentur für Arbeit consent are enough. Regulated professions such as nursing or electrical work to German standard may still need recognition or a German exam, and Werklist Bosnia flags that at the scoping call rather than after the candidate has flown.
Werklist offers a replacement candidate within an agreed window of typically 30 to 60 days at no additional placement fee. We screen for job stability, German level, and motivation before employer review specifically to keep early attrition low. Our 12-month retention rate is 82 percent.
A 30-minute call to scope the role, a draft job offer with wage and accommodation terms that meet the Bundesagentur für Arbeit consent threshold, and the details we need to file under § 26 Abs. 2 BeschV. A corridor-fit assessment lands within one business day of a brief, whether you go with us or not.
Werklist Bosnia operates as a local recruitment and coordination office for candidates, employers, and partners involved in overseas hiring.
Werklist Bosnia works at the source of the hiring process: finding, reviewing, and preparing candidates in Bosnia and Herzegovina for employers hiring in Germany, Austria, and across the EU. The branch is built around local recruitment, candidate verification, document collection, German language screening, interview and casting coordination, and practical preparation before a worker enters an international employment process.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of Europe's established labour-sending countries. Around a third of everyone born there now lives abroad, with roughly 220,000 Bosnians in Germany and 170,000 in Austria, the legacy of guest-worker routes that opened in the 1960s. That long history gives employers access to candidates who often already speak German, have family in the receiving country, and understand contract work, shift schedules, and the discipline of a German or Austrian job site before they apply.
The flagship corridor runs to Germany under the West Balkan Regulation, § 26 Abs. 2 of the Employment Ordinance (BeschV). As a non-EU country, Bosnia reaches the German labour market through this route, which needs a binding job offer and consent from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit rather than the formal qualification recognition the standard skilled-worker visa demands. The annual quota was raised to 50,000 visas across the six Western Balkan countries on 1 June 2024 and the scheme was made permanent, so the lane is open year round.
Hiring from Bosnia is not only about finding available workers. It requires local sourcing, identity and work-history checks, German level testing, realistic expectation setting, document readiness, registration of the labour-export file with the relevant BiH authority, and coordination with the German consent process. Werklist Bosnia is designed to make that process more controlled before candidates are presented to employers.
The branch is strongest in metalworking and construction trades, the categories the German Mittelstand is short of. Typical profiles include welders trained to MIG, MAG, and TIG, locksmiths and metalworkers, CNC operators, fitters, electricians, plumbers, scaffolders, and masons, drawn from Bosnia's German-style vocational system and the metalworking base around Zenica, Tuzla, and the Una-Sana canton. The branch also supports drivers, warehouse and logistics roles, and care and hospitality staff.
Every hiring project starts with role requirements. Candidates are reviewed against the actual job: trade experience, availability, German level, documentation status, salary expectations, and readiness to relocate to Germany or Austria. Where required, candidates are interviewed, trade-tested, screened on German, shortlisted, and prepared. Employers can run the selection by video or fly in for an in-country casting event with practical testing.
Werklist Bosnia also supports the administrative side of overseas hiring. This can include document collection and translation, candidate data organisation, contract coordination, German exam booking through Goethe or telc, visa appointment preparation for the German embassy in Sarajevo, registration on the BiH side, and communication between the candidate, employer, local partners, and destination-side teams.
Werklist Bosnia supports companies and partners looking to hire Bosnian workers, recruit from Bosnia and Herzegovina under the West Balkan Regulation, source skilled trades for Germany and Austria, manage foreign worker recruitment, and coordinate international employment processes from the country. Work is carried out in line with § 26 Abs. 2 BeschV, Bundesagentur für Arbeit consent rules, BiH labour-export registration, employer requirements, and destination-market conditions.
