Prizren, a town in Kosovo. (source: Pixabay)
Kosovars can travel to EU countries, including Slovakia, visa-free as of January 1.
According to the European Commission, Kosovo has met all the necessary criteria for a visa-free regime.
Kosovo, with 1.8 million inhabitants, was the last of the Western Balkan countries whose citizens needed visas to travel to EU countries, notes the Euractiv website. Before the EU abolished the visa regime with Kosovo, Kosovars could travel without a visa to only 14 countries in the world. Kosovars can now travel to 27 EU countries without a visa for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period.
However, several EU member states, including France and the Netherlands, had initially blocked the agreement out of fear of a new migration wave. Slovakia had refused to back visa-free relations with Kosovo as well. Slovakia is one of the countries that do not recognise Kosovo's independence from Serbia.
Still, the Slovak Liaison Office in Prishtina congratulated the Kosovars and sent them a message inviting them to visit Slovakia:
"In Slovakia, you can feel like a real explorer who is always able to discover something new," the office wrote.
In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, which was recognised by more than 110 countries. Serbia is not among them.
