Kosovo Citizens Warned of Consequences If They Violate Schengen Area Visa-Free Travel Rules

Since the liberalisation of visas for Kosovo will officially become effective starting from January 1, 2024, Kosovo’s European Integration has published details related to the consequences that Kosovars risk facing for violating the visa-free travel rules.

Through a post on the Facebook account, Kosovo’s European Integration, an official website operated by the EU government, has warned that if a person stays in the borderless area of Schengen for a period of more than 90 days, without a residence permit or long-term visa, they risk facing a travel ban in the Schengen Zone, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The same has recalled that, under the Schengen rulesworking in the countries of the EU’s passport-free travel area without a work permit is also illegal.

Working in the Schengen area without a work permit is also illegal (even if it is less than 90 days) and may also result in a ban on re-entry to the Schengen area.

Depending on the member state, administrative and financial penalties may also apply.

In case of eventual violations and abuse of visa-free travel, the personal consequences include: the imposition of a financial fine and an official note in your passport and file showing the violation in the Schengen system, as well as a ban on entering the Schengen area for up to 5 years.

In April this year, the European Union adopted visa-free travel for holders of Kosovo passports, stressing that they would be able to travel without visas starting from January this year after waiting for over ten years for this process to be finalised.

Besides, through a statement, the German Embassy in Kosovo said that citizens of Kosovo would be eligible to travel visa-free for short-term stays to Schengen Zone countries starting January 2024.

At present, Kosovo is ranked in the 188th position in the VisaGuide.World Passport Index, which ranks passports of 199 states in terms of the power of their passports, while the visa liberalisation is expected to quadruple the strength of Kosovo’s passport.

However, authorities in Spain have stressed that the EU and Kosovo visa liberalisation agreement would not be recognised by Madrid.

The decision was confirmed by the Foreign Minister of Spain, Jose Manuel Albares, who also said that since Spain did not recognise the Republic of Kosovo as an independent country, it does not recognise the passports issued by authorities as well, meaning that Kosovars are subject to additional requirements when planning to travel to Spain.