PRISTINA – The highly anticipated visa liberalization program of the European Union for Kosovo nationals was implemented on Monday, allowing them to travel to the borderless Schengen zone without the need for a visa.
The initiation of this system permits Kosovars to enter the passport-free Schengen zone for periods of up to 90 days within any 180 days, a country last among the six nations in the Western Balkans to receive this waiver.
This visa relaxation is also being seen as a pivotal move towards gaining complete recognition and joining the European Union in future.
The European Commission, the EU’s administrative body, confirmed that Kosovo met all the necessary criteria for the visa-free regime back in 2018; the delay was due to the opposition by France and the Netherlands, citing concerns about potential increased migration flows.
Moreover, five other EU members — Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain — declined recognition of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, prompting a delay in the visa waiver.
Presently, the citizens of Kosovo can merely enter a little more than a dozen countries without the need for a visa but the EU’s relaxation offers more travel choices to the citizens.
In recent months, the government in Pristina conducted an extensive public awareness campaign, emphasizing responsible travel and advising against seeking employment opportunities in the EU to prevent misuse of the newly granted freedom of movement.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who advocated the relaxation for years, is scheduled to address the initial Kosovo residents set to embark on visa-free travel from Pristina airport to the European Union.
