With passports “kordinacija” Kosovo Serbs can travel without visas after 20 days

The “Rule (BE) 2024/2495 of the European Parliament and the Council of September 18th 2024 that changes the resolution (BE) 2018/1806 regarding holders of Serbian passports. The document 32024R2495”, said in the EU Official Journal.

The decree was signed on 18 September in Strasbourg by European Parliament President (PE) Roberta Metzola and Hungary's European Affairs Minister Yiannos Boca.

It is stressed that the decision will take effect 20 days after publishing in the EU Official Journal.

This regulation is mandatory in its entirety and equally applicable in member states in accordance with the Treaty. ”

In 2009, when Serbian citizens were granted visa-free travel freedom to the Schengen member states, an important condition was set: the visa-free regime was not worth carrying Serbian passports that reside in Kosovo.

To meet that requirement, Serbia founded the Co-ordination Directorate, a body responsible for issuing passports to Serbian citizens living in Kosovo.

The removal of Serbian passport carriers in Kosovo from the visa liberalisation mechanism comes because Serbia does not control or have jurisdiction in northern Kosovo and cannot offer guarantees for the carriers of these passports.

According to the Serbian Interior Ministry's latest data, the number of people who own Serbian passport issued by the Co-ordination Directorate is about 97,000. Nevertheless, according to a European Parliament rapporteur (PE) report, Matjaz Nemec, the number of people with this kind of passport is estimated to be 18,000.