The European Union announced the start of implementing decisions regarding the travel of citizens from the country of Kosovo to the Schengen Area countries without passports and also without a visa for a period of 180 days.
The European Union announced that the latest decision has already entered into force, which allows Kosover citizens to travel to the border region in Europe without a travel visa.
The decision entered into actual force
According to received reports, this decision has already entered into effective effect starting Monday, allowing Kosovar citizens to travel without passports and also without visas for long periods ranging from 90 days to 180 days.
The country of Kosover is considered the last of the six countries in the Western Balkans to obtain exemption from entering the Schengen area without passports and without a visa.
Full recognition of the state of Kosovo
It is worth noting that the State of Kosovo met all the criteria required for the visa exemption system in 2018, in accordance with what was announced by the European Commission, and it also met the grants regulator from the border and immigration department.
Rejected by France and the Netherlands
It is also worth noting that the decision to approve an exemption from the state of Kosovo has been held up over the past years by France and Poland, which were concerned about the occurrence of new waves of immigration.
The decision also affected a few member states of the European Union, namely Slovakia, Cyprus, Spain, Greece and Romania, as the five countries expressed their non-recognition of the independence of the state of Kosovo from Serbia.
Awareness campaigns against the misuse of visas for travel to the Schengen area
It is worth noting that the government in Pristina has carried out several public awareness campaigns to urge citizens not to misuse Schengen visas by searching for jobs in the European Union.
The Prime Minister of the Kosovo government is scheduled to deliver a speech to the citizens who will travel from Pristina Airport to the European Union.
It is noteworthy that the old visa system for Kosovar citizens granted passport holders visa-free travel to only 14 countries around the world.
