Traveling to Spain will continue to be an administrative odyssey for the citizens of Kosovo despite the agreement, ratified this week by the European Parliament, which exempts its nationals from the obligation to present a visa to enter the Schengen zone. The Spanish Government will apply the new European regulations and will stop requesting a visa for travelers from Kosovo. However, for the moment, it keeps intact its decision not to recognize travel documents --that is, passports-- issued by its State, diplomatic sources explain.
De facto, therefore, the borders could continue to be closed to Kosovars if they try to reach Spain directly. However, the circumstance occurs that once within the Schengen zone there is freedom of movement of people. As of 2024, Kosovar citizens will be able to enter the Schengen zone without the need for prior authorization for stays of less than 90 days, so in principle they will be able to enter Spanish territory without problems, as is the case today.
Kosovo was the last territory in the Western Balkans not to have a visa liberalization agreement with the European Union. The agreement ratified this week by the European Parliament, after being approved by the Council, theoretically means that the citizens of Kosovo will be able to travel through the 27 countries of the Schengen zone, which includes most of the EU countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, for stays of less than 90 days. Visa liberalization will enter into force in parallel to the launch of the new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), which will be activated no later than January 2024.
Spain is one of the five countries of the European Union that has not recognized the independence of Kosovo, declared in 2008 and later endorsed by international justice as a unique case. Nor do Greece, Romania, Cyprus or Slovakia recognize the former Serbian province as a sovereign and independent country. Of them, like Spain, Greece and Slovakia are also part of the Schengen zone and must therefore apply the European visa liberalization agreement. However, according to the European Commission, Spain is the only country that does not recognize passports issued by Kosovo.
"Among the Schengen countries, all countries except one (Spain) have recognized Kosovo's travel documents (...) Kosovo citizens will be able to travel freely with their visas to all Schengen countries except one", explained today the Justice spokesman, Christian Wigand, who has clarified that the Spanish Government is within its right to make that decision. "The recognition of travel documents is ultimately a national competition."
Proposed by the European Commission, the agreement for the liberalization of visas for the citizens of Kosovo was approved in December by the Council, where all the countries voted in favour, and this week it received the approval of the European Parliament. The Spanish Government has not explained for the moment the practical modalities of application of the new European standard from its decision to continue without recognizing the documents issued by the State of Kosovo. It remains to be seen, for example, what alternatives a Kosovar citizen would have who needed to travel to Spain for reasons of God in order to fly directly to this country.
