Following Kosovo visa liberalisation, which became effective as of January 1, Slovakia has invited Kosovars to visit the country, embracing a spirit of openness and hospitality despite not officially recognising Kosovo’s independence.
Kosovo, with its population of 1.8 million, was the last country in the Western Balkans whose citizens can visit the European Union countries visa-free, despite the country being in the acquisition process for visa facilitation agreement for more than a decade.
Before this change, Kosovars could travel without a visa to only 14 countries globally. With the EU abolishing the visa regime, citizens of Kosovo can now explore 27 EU countries without the need for a visa, allowing for a maximum stay of 90 days in any 180-day period.
According to VisaGuide.World Passport Index, which ranks passports of a total of 199 states in terms of the strength of their passport and visits to how many countries it allows, Kosovo now ranks 98th globally. The visa liberalisation agreement has quadrupled the strength of Kosovo’s passport.
Despite initial hesitations from some EU member states, such as France and the Netherlands, who raised concerns about potential migration waves, the agreement ultimately received approval, as the Slovak Spectator reports. Slovakia, which had initially opposed visa-free relations with Kosovo as it does not recognise Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, has taken a different approach.
In a positive gesture, the Slovak Liaison Office in Prishtina issued a congratulatory message to the Kosovars and extended an invitation to explore Slovakia.
In Slovakia, you can feel like a real explorer who is always able to discover something new.
This could be a step towards Slovakia recognising Kosovo’s independence and improving their bilateral relations.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, and a total of 113 countries have recognised this small Balkan country as a state.
Despite having a small population, the Kosovar diaspora in Europe, especially in countries like Germany and Switzerland, is estimated to be millions. Kosovars’ interest in visiting Europe has always been evident, as in 2022, they were among the top 20 countries of origin for visa applications.
With a total of 121,9972 visa applications, Kosovo was ranked the 18th country with the highest visa application rates, while Germany was the main destination country with 54,685 applications.
Slovakia, on the other hand, was one of the countries with the fewest applications filed by Kosovars – a total of 135, with 121 of those being issued.
