Spain has recognized Kosovo's passport as valid, although it does not recognize the independence of this country, which proclaimed its unilateral independence from Serbia in 2008. This was announced by Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, citing the European Commission, and sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation confirmed this to EL PAIS.
Kosovo has joined the visa-free regime in the Schengen area since January 1, 2024, allowing its 1.8 million citizens to travel freely to the 27 countries of the European area without borders (23 EU countries and four non-EU countries) . and stay there for a maximum of 90 days during a period of 180. And vice versa.
Visa liberalization with Kosovo was approved by the European Council last March and by the European Parliament a month later. However, the Commission warned at the time that Spain was excluded from this measure because it did not recognize the validity of passports issued by the Kosovo authorities. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares then claimed: “Spain is pursuing a policy of non-recognition of Kosovo, and this includes the non-recognition of Kosovo passports, which we consistently apply.”
Of the other four EU countries that do not recognize the independence of the former Serbian province (Romania, Cyprus, Greece and Slovakia), the last two are part of the Schengen area and accept Kosovo passports, which made Spain an exception. Although Spanish customs authorities did not require visas, in practice they did not allow Kosovars to enter the country because they did not validate their identity documents.
“The good news continues,” Kosovo’s deputy prime minister wrote on his Facebook account last Saturday. “The General Directorate of Internal Affairs [de la CE] has announced that even Spain will now recognize the passports of the Republic of Kosovo. Then we can travel to this country without a visa. Although visa-free travel began on January 1st, thanks to liberalization where the obstacle was the non-recognition of our passport, Spain is another destination among the countries to which we can travel. “We are moving forward to deliver more good news that will positively impact our citizens,” he added.
When contacted by EL PAÍS, Spanish Foreign Ministry sources confirmed the acceptance of the Kosovo passport at Spanish customs, stating that “all Schengen states do not recognize [de la independencia de Kosoyo] We have accepted the use of ordinary Kosovo passports. This does not in any way mean recognition of Kosovo,” they emphasized. The same sources added that “without this change, the holders of these passports would have had problems legally visiting the non-recognizing states” and stressed that “Spain supports and will continue to support the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina as a possibility.” “This “Solve the problem” and try to minimize the impact on citizens.”
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In recent years, the Spanish government has made recognition of Kosovo's independence conditional on an agreement with Serbia, but has assured that this would not hinder Pristina's rapprochement with the European Union. The Spanish government has accepted the participation of the Kosovo authorities in the EU summit meetings with the Western Balkan states, but with the exclusion of the flags and identifying symbols of the Kosovo state. The last of these summits took place on December 13 in Brussels under the Spanish Presidency of the Union.
Kosovo was the last country in the Western Balkans whose citizens required a visa to enter the Schengen area. In the region, Bulgaria and Romania remain outside the borderless European area, but the EU has agreed to lift controls at ports and airports (not yet at the land border) from March 31.
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