Following visa liberalization in Kosovo, which came into force on January 1, Slovakia invited Kosovars to visit the country, adopting a spirit of openness and hospitality although it does not officially recognize Kosovo’s independence .
Kosovo, with its population of 1.8 million, was the last country in the Western Balkans whose citizens can visit European Union countries without a visa, although the country is in the process of obtaining a visa facilitation agreement for over a decade. SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Before this change, Kosovars could only travel without a visa to 14 countries around the world. With the abolition of the visa regime by the EU, citizens of Kosovo can now explore 27 EU countries without the need for a visa, allowing a maximum stay of 90 days in a 180-day period.
According to VisaGuide.World Passport Index, which ranks the passports of a total of 199 states in terms of their passport strength and number of visits to many countries allowed, Kosovo now ranks 98th in the world. The visa liberalization agreement quadrupled the strength of Kosovo’s passport.
Despite initial hesitation from some EU member states, such as France and the Netherlands, which raised concerns about possible migration waves, the deal was ultimately approved, as reported by the Slovak Spectator . Slovakia, which initially opposed visa-free relations with Kosovo because it does not recognize Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, has taken a different approach.
In a positive gesture, the Slovak liaison office in Prishtina sent a congratulatory message to Kosovars and invited them to explore Slovakia.
In Slovakia you can feel like a true explorer always able to discover something new.
This could be a step towards Slovakia recognizing Kosovo’s independence and improving their bilateral relations.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 and a total of 113 countries have recognized this small Balkan country as a state.
Despite a small population, the Kosovar diaspora in Europe, particularly in countries like Germany and Switzerland, is estimated to number in the millions. Kosovars’ interest in visiting Europe has always been evident, as in 2022 they were among the top 20 countries of origin for visa applications.
With a total of 121,9972 visa applications, Kosovo was ranked 18th country with the highest visa application rates, while Germany was the top destination country with 54,685 applications.
Slovakia, on the other hand, was one of the countries with the fewest applications filed by Kosovars – a total of 135, of which 121 were issued.