Pandemia leaves businesses in Kosovo without visas

Currently, the products of this company go to Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and France.

But to get to these places and send the metal they produce to their factory, the workers of this company must be equipped with visas.

Sheriff Musliu from this company shows that the process has become even more difficult during the pandemic.

For visas (business-visa), for us as owners has influenced because we could not be equipped with visas. We should actually go to Norway with our assembly teams, but the visa problem of sending workers there, but they have to be originally equipped with visas to get ready for assembly there. Which is taking a lot of time and telling the truth, we're not sure if she can go. That's a question of contracting jobs”, says Sheriff Musliu, who is the son of the owner of this company.

Musliu says that as a result of visa failure, they have failed to accomplish their jobs abroad.

And this is actually a problem because our products, it's a product that we make and we have to make their own assembly. It's hard for someone else to make production and someone else to mount. The floor goes to prepare it and tow it must be finalised by the end of”, Musliu tells Radio Free Europe.

Musliu shows that to be equipped with visas of ten or 12 workers who have to mount different constructions in any European country, they must pay hundreds of euros.

This company, which was founded in 1996, currently has 110 workers.

Help to Equip

Kosovo's business concern has also been raised by the chairman of the Kosovo Economic Ode (OEK), Berat Rukiqi.

He tells Radio Free Europe that visas continue to be an insurmountable obstacle for Kosovo citizens and businesses.

Rukiqi shows that in recent months of pandemic, there have been many Kosovo companies that have sought the assistance of the Economic Ode to be equipped with Schengen visas.

“We are thus-so discriminated against, but however few of them have had visas, which have now expired, and because a large portion of the offices for consular issues do not work, they have remained without visas”, Rukiqi says.

As a result of visa failure, Berat Rukiqi says hundreds of contracts are being jeopardised and export costs are rising.

“Once we don't have liberalisation like other countries, travel without procedures, they have to find a way to resume these services and enable those who have business needs to travel”, Rukiqi says.

I Came Only for Urgent Cases

Germany's embassy is among the few in the Schengen Zone that have continued to issue business visas, only in the event of special invitations, nongovernmental organisation leaders Germin say.

Freedom Krasniqi from this organisation, which deals mainly with diaspora issues, tells Radio Free Europe that during this year, described with the pandemic, visa equipment for Kosovo citizens has become more difficult.

According to the information we have, in the last four months, visas are being issued only for emergency health cases”, says Freedom Krasniqi from Germin.

“Viza is also being issued to those who should make the continuation of expired visas, but in other cases not”, he adds.

Kosovo citizens are the only ones in Europe who cannot move without visas towards European countries.

Political leaders and past governments have pledged visa liberalisation since 2011.

Recently, Kosovo has been told it has met the criteria required for visa liberalisation, but the decision on the issue has stalled due to scepticism that states like France and the Netherlands have shown.