Kosovo postpones controversial foreign visitor law

PRISTINA - Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Saturday said that the government is postponing for 12 months the enforcement new entry regulations for foreigners, avoiding political fallout with ethnic Serbs.

The so-called Law on Foreigners stipulated that all foreign nationals entering Kosovo for reasons ranging from employment to family unification will have to obtain a residence permit.

It also prohibits vehicles with foreign licence plates from being on the roads for more than three months.

The move risked destabilising relations between Kosovo and neighbouring Serbia, which has remained fragile since a 1990s war between the two Balkan nations, as well as in Kosovo's Serb majority north.

After an early meeting with the EU envoy for Kosovo-Serbia negotiations, Peter Sorensen, Kurti said that his government would offer to Serbs workers and students "a temporary residence permit for 12 months with the possibility of extension."

Stressing that the EU "has had intensive discussions with the Kosovo government over the past few weeks" on this issue, Sorensen said that the decision to postpone the law is made "in order not to hinder the provision of health and educational services" in Serb majority regions.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X the move was "an important step forward for the benefit of all people in Kosovo".

The head of the Serbian government's office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, said that "the solution will enable the smooth and normal work and functioning of Serbian health and educational institutions in Kosovo."

Serbia fully finances a parallel education and health system, and many of its employees who hold Serbian identity documents do not recognise Kosovo's independence.

The law, which was initially due to come into effect Monday, would have hit Serb nationals as well as ethnic Serbs in Kosovo benefitting from their services.

Kurti also announced another concession for ethnic Serbs, promising that the procedure for obtaining Kosovo's identity card would be simplified.