SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia will expel more than 300 foreigners, most from the Gulf, as illegal residents after they bought property for investment that they may have evaded taxes on, the office for expatriate affairs said on Wednesday.

In recent years, Bosnia has seen an influx of Arab investors who have built residential complexes and tourist resorts, attracted by low prices and a favorable climate in a country where half the population is Muslim.

Over the past three months officials inspected nearly 700 firms and 16 tourist resorts owned by citizens from the Gulf, Libya, Russia and Ukraine.

About 500 of the firms, between them owning more than 600 residential and business premises, were found to be registered at false addresses and had no staff, the office said.

Many of the property owners had registered the firms as real estate companies for a 2,000 Bosnian mark ($1,000) fee in order to buy or develop property worth hundreds of thousands of marka to rent out to tourists, then not filing tax declarations.

Some of the owners were living illegally in the country, some were not registered as having arrived in the country at all, some had violated their visa requirements and others misused their work permits, the office said.

Depending on the offence, more than 300 will be either asked to leave the country voluntarily or be expelled and banned from returning for between one and five years, a source at the office said.

Details of the violations will be passed on to tax authorities and the police.