What are the consequences of the high rate of migration?

This is an alternative, now from all evil we must choose the lesser evil. I know this is not good for anyone, but it's imperative, not that someone wants it, that I don't think anyone really wants it”, says Isufi.

He says that a few years ago he led a business company, but was forced to stop it due to a case in court. While awaiting the court's response without a regular job and rising prices, Isufi says that daily life has become very challenging.

The main reason is that the court and police have not worked so far, and are not yet expected to change anything. Personally, I've been in court since 2010, now over 10 years are becoming”, he says.

Isufi is just one of many citizens waiting in front of foreign embassies in Pristina, with the aim of leaving abroad.

According to the Kosovo Statistics Agency, only in 2021 from Kosovo have 42 thousand and 728 people emigrated, most of them on legitimate roads and mainly to European Union countries.

A research by the organisation Democracy Plus in Pristina reveals that the high number of Kosovo youth leaving will have serious consequences for the country's future.

Albana Rexha, public policy analyst in this organisation, told Voice of America that the motives that encourage citizens to leave Kosovo are mainly related to unemployment and the economic situation. The phenomenon of migration, she says, is more widespread among educated young people.

The overall education cost of people who leave Kosovo within the year ranges from 180m to 205m euros, depending on the educational structure of the displaced. It means that what was supposed to be an investment for the state, becomes a”, she says.

In addition to financial losses, Ms. Rexha says Kosovo is also losing labour.

This is the loss of economic potential for the country, all this evacuation. The migration of highly educated individuals in particular presents loss of potential for the country, presents the decline in Kosovo's authenticity for foreign investors, and in the future there may be problems with productivity and innovation in general in the country. All of these are future losses to the country”, she says.

The consequences of leaving citizens abroad have begun to feel in the bar and restaurant sector, says Petrit Kllokoqi, chairman of the gastronomic association. He told the Voice of America that this is the largest crisis of labour shortages in 16 years, which he has been part of this sector.

It's never been harder than it is now. Now among the main things that have happened is to increase spending, we realize that workers have the same salary left, as they have grown all basic expenses like oil, food and everything else, so they cannot survive with these salaries. We as the gastronomial sector have started with salary hikes, but they're still not at the desired point”, he says.

Klokoqi says that if this trend continues, many businesses will be forced to hire workers from abroad or to go into self - service.

We see that the day will soon come when we have to get workers from outside, so we're on the verge of it. We still don't have liberalisation, and we don't have the suffering our sector has in neighboring countries, but it is expected. The other is that the majority of businesses will switch to Self-service, where the number of workers is reduced. We're hoping the state will subsidize us in this case to turn down the TV. The S.H.I.T.E. at 8 per cent and what profits businesses to make for the benefit of workers in gastronomy or other sectors”, he says.

According to data from the Ministry of Interior for 2020, Germany leads with the number of residence permits issued to Kosovo citizens. The vast part of them have been given for family reunion, while the rest for employment, education, or other purposes.