Coordination Directorate for Kosovo and Metohija

The Coordination Directorate for Kosovo and Metohija (Serbian: Координациона управа за Косово и Метохију, romanized: Koordinaciona uprava za Kosovo i Metohiju) is directorate of  Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and authority which is responsible for issuing Serbian passports^[1] to Serbian citizens residing in Kosovo.

In the process of granting visa-free travel to the Schengen Area, the European Union urged Serbia to found such a special authority for its citizens residing in Kosovo as the European Union considered it impossible for Serbia to evaluate the issuing of original source documents needed to apply for a passport and the integrity of the procedures applied by Serbia to check the authenticity of documents provided by applicants for that purpose.^[2] In 2009, Government of Serbia established the Coordination Directorate for Kosovo and Metohija.

Serbian passports issued by the Coordination Directorate for Kosovo do not allow the holder to enter the Schengen Area without a visa, even for a stay of less than three months within half a year. Holders of these passports have to apply for visas to travel to the European Union in Pristina, Skopje or Tirana, not in Belgrade, or they can apply for a Kosovan Passport.^[3]

Serbian citizens with passports issued by the Directorate for Administrative Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs enjoy such a privilege.

In 2023 EU Parliament have approved visa liberalisation with Kosovo and since 2024, holders of a Kosovan passports are allowed to travel to the EU, and EU citizens to go to Kosovo, without requesting a visa, for periods of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. ^[4]

References

This page was last edited on 24 April 2024, at 07:55