Valley children exempted from subsidies in Kosovo ʹ institutional discrimination against Albanians with residence permits

This happens despite many of these children being born, raised and registered in Kosovo institutions.

According to reports by parents and informal organisations, the reason for this expulsion is the legal status of their parents who possess only temporary residence permits and do not have Kosovo citizenship.

This exception is considered institutional discrimination and political hypocrisy, especially by the Albanian community of the Valley, which the state of Kosovo has declared “moral and national obligations”. Critics stress that while public statements mention support for the Valley Albanians, their children are in practice being left without minimum rights, such as free education or social assistance.

“It is the question posed by many families affected by this situation.

Ironically, these children are excluded simultaneously from Serbia's system, due to lack of access to services there, and from Kosovo, due to administrative restrictions.

The responsibility for this situation, according to critics, falls on Kosovo's central institutions, which have never changed this practice, as well as on the political leaders of the Presevo Valley, which appear active in rhetoric but are lacking in concrete solutions.

Human rights organisations and representatives of the Albanian community in southern Serbia have called for urgent change in the e-Kosovo system and the involvement of all children with permission to stay in state schemes for education and social protection.