Kosovo authorities said on Saturday that Spain, one of five European Union (EU) member states that do not recognize Kosovo's independence, had recognized the passport of this former Serbian province.
“The good news for our citizens and our country remains. “DG Home (Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Union, editor's note) has informed us that Spain now also recognizes the passports of the Republic of Kosovo,” welcomed Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bilimi.
“We can therefore enter this country without a visa,” the Kosovo leader said on Facebook, specifying that “Spain has now been added to the countries of the Schengen zone,” to which Kosovo nationals have been able to enter without a visa since January 1.
The message was also shared on
“Spain will recognize normal passports issued by Kosovo from January 1, 2024. This change in no way constitutes an official recognition of Kosovo as an independent state,” the document says.
Spain, whose authorities have not yet commented, is one of five EU countries, along with Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Slovakia, that have not recognized the independence proclaimed by Kosovo in 2008 and which Serbia has never accepted.
But unlike the other four countries, Spain did not recognize the Kosovo passport, whose nationals could not enter the Iberian country even with a Schengen visa.
The visa waiver regime comes into force on January 1 and allows Kosovars to travel to the Schengen area without a visa for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.
Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million, is the last of the six Western Balkan countries to benefit from such a regime.
Before the EU lifted the visa requirement for Kosovo, Kosovo passport holders could only travel visa-free to 14 countries worldwide.
Kosovo's independence has been recognized by more than 100 countries, including the United States, and 22 of the 27 EU member states, but not by Russia and China, Belgrade's allies.