Alarm: In just 2018, Germany's embassy issued 38,000 visas for Kosovars

However, something like that has denied Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, saying these figures are not real.

He has even chosen a meeting with German Ambassador Christan Heldt to show statistics, according to him, real.

Haradinaj blames the media for giving inaccurate figures, and according to him for one year there have been only 3515 demands for migration.

“in some media are being provided inaccurate data regarding the migration of Kosovo's population, mainly our youth. Recent real migration statistics show that Kosovo does not pose a threat to migration, marking the smallest trend of years with only 3515 cases of migration demand in 2018, compared to 2015, when 67,545 people had migrated. And in 2018, 727 Kosovo citizens have voluntarily returned. This clearly shows a high decline in migration and that Kosovo citizens respect the basic principles of free movement”, Haradinaj wrote on Facebook.

Alarming migration figures come from Kosovo's friendly state embassy, Germany as the country that has the biggest visa requirements for equipment by Kosovars.

A written response by the German Embassy for Gazette Express says that 38 thousand German visas were issued for work and family reunions only in 2018.

The German Embassy in Pristina in 2018 issued about 38,000 visas. These include short-term visas (so-called Schengen visas for tourism, business trips, etc.), as well as long-term stays (employment, study, family union, etc). For the year 2019, the figures are designed to be drawn around the level of the period compared to the previous”, the embassy's response is said.

The German embassy also shows that there are so many visa requirements from Kosovars that they exceed the capacities the diplomatic mission has in Pristina.

Germany's “Embassy in the past few years has significantly increased visa demand processing capacities and will employ staff in this sector as well. However, the demand further exceeds our capacities, so that waiting times are inevitable”, it is further said in response.

This shows that even in 2019 Kosovars will experience migration, as an escape solution for Kosovo, such as tourists or even for jobs.

These are the requirements for going to the German state, without counting visa requirements in other countries, which are also known to be high.

However, the chief of executive says there are manipulations with the figures of those applying for visas.

“Inaccurate data, with or without purpose, and manipulation with visa applications figures, which in most cases are tourist, official and working visas, and visits and family unions that citizens apply simultaneously to several embassies and the same several times within the year, seriously damage the visa liberalisation process”, Haradinaj wrote.

Otherwise, economic reasons are estimated to be the main factor in Kosovo's continued migration to European states.