Documenting an individual personal identification number

Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are obliged to document their personal identification number in a single database (CIPS). Please note that thus far documented are only the unique identification numbers for those citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who have an identity card or driver's license issued in Bosnia-Herzegovina after 2003 by CIPS.

A large number of Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens, who left Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war or live and work in the United Stated on any basis, did not register their existing individual personal identification number in a single database (CIPS). Individuals who do not have a documented person identification number in the single database do not actually exist in the system of Bosnia and Herzegovina and  in the future will experience difficulty in exercising their rights or resolving any personal problems from abroad.

The process of documenting a personal identification number is done through the General Consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Chicago through the submission of original documents:

- Birth certificate and certificate of citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina, (these documents must not be older than 6 months)

- Completed JMB-7 form – for documenting an existing personal identification number 

Upon receiving the above documents, our consulate staff will document your personal number electronically and notify you.

IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR CITIZENS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO OBTAIN DOCUMENTS FROM BIH

Our citizens who are not able to (do not have relatives or friends) to obtain a birth certificate and citizenship of BiH, may address the General Consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Chicago in writing with a plea to obtain the above stated from BiH. This request should contain:

-  Completed JMB-7 form for every member of the family whose personal identification number needs to be documented

- Request to obtain birth certificate and certificate of citizenship from BiH for every member of the family whose documents need to be obtained from BiH

Please note that the issuance of documents from Bosnia and Herzegovina through the consulate takes a much longer time and is recommended only for those citizens who are not in a hurry to get the above mentioned document.

INFORMATION FOR CITIZENS OF BIH

Chicago, IL (04/29/2009) After the publication of our statements to the public on 23/04/2009 regarding the documenting of personal identification numbers, a number of BIH citizens who live in the United States addressed the consulate asking for additional clarification regarding this issue. In order to better inform our citizens, we are providing this information with a list of frequently asked questions and answers that will, hopefully, contribute to the clarification of problems.

Q: Recently, the General Consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Chicago issued a statement to the public regarding the documenting of a personal identification number? What is this concerning?

A: In 2003, CIPS project introduced a single electronic database for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH). All citizens who obtained a CIPS identification card or driver’s license is indicative that they are found in the database. All citizens who did not obtain an identification card or driver’s license from the year 2003, and are living in the United States, is indicative that they are not located in the databse of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In order to be recorded in this database, our citizens have two options. The first is during the next visit to BIH to obtain an identification card, which will indicate they have been recorded. For our citizens who are not able to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is an option to document the personal identification number through our consulate. Documenting your personal identification number is therefore the process of entering your personal number and your personal information in the CIPS electronic database.

Q: What is necessary in order to record your personal identification number?

It is necessary to provide a birth certificate and a certificate of citizenship (both original documents and not older than 6 months) and a completed application for documentation of your personal identification number, known as the JMB-7 form. These documents are submitted for confirmation of an individual's citizenship status, and the data from these two documents are submitted for a request electronically in Chicago and Washington, and forwarded directly to the CIPS office of the municipality in which the individual has a place of residence. We recommend that documentation is performed on time, i.e. before you require documents (passport, etc.) so that you do not find yourelf in an unpleasant situation of waiting.

Q: What about the citizens who do not have anybody in Bosnia and Herzegovina and who have a difficult time obtaining these documents?

A: In this case, our citizens in the United States can contact our consulate to request that we obtain these documents from Bosnia and Herzegovina. After receiving the request, it shall, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, be forwarded to the registry offices. Please note that this way of obtaining documents takes much longer and it is recommended only to our citizens who are not in a hurry. Document requests for obtaining a birth certificate and certificate of citizenship, as well as the M7 form, can be obtained through the consulate or on our website www.gkbihcikago.com.

Q: What kinds of difficulties are referred to when it says that our citizens will have difficulties exercising their rights if they do not document their personal identification number?

A: Instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that dimplomatic consulate premises cannot issue a passport to citizens without a documented personal identification number. Therefore, all of our citizens who are not documented and request a new passport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, must provide a birth certificate, certificate of citizenship, and a completed JMB-7 form. After receiving these documents, our consulate performs the documentation of the personal identification number electronically and then starts the procedure for the issuance of a passport. Therefore, the procedure for the issuance of a passport is longer for people who are not registered. Individuals who do not have a recorded personal number will still need to submit additional documents for certain consular services (birth certificate, certificate of citizenship not older than 6 months) to achieve their rights through the Consulate General in Chicago (passport, statements, power of attorney, various certificates, regulation of issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.).

Q: Is there a possibility for citizens who do not have a personal number recorded to in the future lose their citizenship, real estate, etc.?  

A: Recording a personal identification number does not concern this topic, therefore nobody can take away your citizenship or any other property in Bosnia and Herzegovina because you are not registered. You are aware that without a SSN (social security number), you can have problems with exercising your rights in the United States, therefore without a recorded personal number you will require more time to resolve your problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina on any basis. Documentation is to help citizens easily and quickly resolve their issues from abroad.

Q: Many of our citizens have a passport of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which there is a personal number written. Does this mean that for these citizens the personal number is documented?

A: Almost all of our citizens have a personal identification number and it has been and still is written in all personal identification documents. Therefore, a written personal number in a passport or another document does not mean that it is documented. To repeat, recording in Bosnia and Herzegovina began in the year 2003. For citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who reside abroad it is tolerated, after the establishment of a unified database in the year 2003 (CIPS), the issuance of passports under the old system to this day. Thus, most citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who have a valid Bosnian-Herzegovinian passport does not mean that their personal number is documented.

Q: What are the benefits of documenting a personal number?

A:  Our  consulate will have direct access to your personal information. It is expected that soon this database will be filled with data from your registry offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina (birth certificate, citizenship certificate, marriage certificate). Therefore, your information will be included in a unified system and we will have access electronically from Chicago or Washington. Completing personal data in a single database will eliminate the obligation to submit a birth certificate and certificate of citizenship.

Q: How long does the procedure last for the issuance of a passport through diplomatic consular premises in Chicago?

A: The deadline for issuing passports to our citizens in the United States is up to 60 days. On average, the passport issuance procedure is shorter than the legally provided period except in cases where the documents (birth certificate and certificate of citizenship) have a late delivery from Bosnia and Herzegovina. For individuals who are registered, passports are issued in a period of 2-3 weeks. For all others, the procedure takes longer and depends on the speed of obtaining documents from the registry offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purpose of documenting a personal number.

Q: Why is the process of issuing passports long, why can'd you issue a passport in a few days?

A:  Bosnia and Herzegovina passports are printed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and not in Chicago or Washington, as a number of our citizens think. Also, a very common situation is that our citizens submit a request for the issuance of a passport after their current passport expired or right before their trip to Bosnia and expect their passport to be issued right away. The biggest problems are with our citizens whose passports have expired and must urgently travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina (death in the family or the like). For this reason, we encourage all of our citizens in the United States to submit the request for the issuance of a passport 2-3 months before their existing passport expires to avoid any possible inconvenience.

Q: There are large crowds at the counters in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it is necessary to spend an entire vacation attempting to obtain an identification card.

A: Immediately after the establishment of CIPS, there were indeed large crowds. However, in most municipalities the situation is now much better and there are no longer crowds at the counters for the issuance of identification cards. Of course, it is not possible to obtain identification documents the same day but you will not waste much time for the issue above.

Q: What is the priority?

A: We hope that after this information our citizens will recognize that it is a priority, when going to Bosnia and Herzegovina, to obtain an identification card and respectively register themselves. This method of registering greatly eases and simplifies the ability to exercise rights of our citizens in the United States. We are convinced that during a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina you will not come across expected traffic in the CIPS office due to the fact that the citizens who live in Bosnia and Herzegovina have long before regulated the issue of personal documents. We are urging all citizens who travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina to take advantage of their trip and vacation and to regulate the above issues.