Izvor: N1 televizija, 28.Maj.2018, 08:33 (ažurirano 02.Apr.2020.)
Kosovo Albanians opt for Serbia’s passports
Kosovo Albanians increasingly apply for Serbia’s citizenship as a condition for getting the country's passport, but it is unclear if they do that to travel to the Western states without visas or to seek asylum there, an official has said.
If the latter is the reason, experts say, it could soon trigger a red alarm in Brussels.
Though recognised by all but five European Union’s member states, Kosovo >> Pročitaj celu vest na sajtu N1 televizija << is still not on a free visa regime with Schengen zone states, and its citizens must obtain a visa for travelling abroad.
There have been promises the visa regime will be abolished, maybe during this year, but Kosovars seem to be impatient, and many go Gracanica, a Serb enclave, to apply for Belgrade’s documents, according to Ljubinko Karadzic, the president of the Provisional Pristina administration seated in the northern town.
“The number of those applying for the documents has significantly increased lately. There are a lot of youngsters who seek documents for the first time, most probably to be able to get Serbia’s passport they need to travel abroad,” he said.
In addition to a more comfortable journey, the passport could also help the Albanians to leave Kosovo and settle somewhere else, the experts warned.
“Any mass migration switches an alarm. The trend is still not worrying. But, since Belgrade consider the Kosovo citizens as its own, we hope it won’t take any steps that will discriminate Kosovars,” Vladimir Sjekloca, form the Centre for Crisis Politics, said.
Many Kosovo Albamnians publicly deny they will seek Serbia’s passport, saying they are citizens of an independent state and do not need other passports, even if the travel is more difficult.
