Elshani: No penalties for vehicles with Serbian license plates until January 15

Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police for the North Region, Veton Elshani, told Kosovo Online that the measure concerning vehicles with Serbian license plates has been postponed for two and a half months — until January 15 — as has the requirement for residence registration for foreigners with temporary or permanent residence in Kosovo, which in this case also includes Serbs.

He stated that there will be no penal measures either in the south or in the north of Kosovo until January 15.

“Nothing will change until January 15, but from November 1 to January 15, we will conduct public campaigns to inform people, organize round tables — for example, with some NGOs here in northern Kosovo — and explain to people exactly which documents they need, both for vehicles and for foreigners,” Elshani explained.

What causes the greatest concern and confusion among residents in the north is whether those who have Serbian ID documents but reside in towns in Kosovo may drive vehicles with Serbian license plates under authorization. Elshani reiterated that, in this regard, nothing will change until January 15.

“From January 15 onward, it will be according to the law, and the law says that if you are from Kosovo, you cannot have authorization from someone who is a Serb from Serbia, who has no residence or documents from Kosovo. However, all this will be clarified during this informational campaign period,” he said.

The postponement of this measure by the Kosovo Ministry of Interior will apply equally to citizens in the north and to those south of the Ibar River, where there have already been cases of cars with Serbian license plates being confiscated while driven under authorization.

“The same will apply to the south, to the whole of Kosovo,” Elshani emphasized.

Vehicles used by healthcare institutions operating within the system of the Republic of Serbia, as well as official vehicles of schools, universities, and all institutions functioning within that same system, bear license plates from cities in central Serbia. This measure will also affect them.

“What I know is that we are simply enforcing the law, and the law says that everyone here must be registered with RKS plates. If someone has authorization, it must, as stated, comply with the law. If there is something different, we will be together with you, to stay informed during the campaign until January 15, in case something changes compared to what the law currently stipulates. We also have health and education institutions, but if the law is applied as it should be, then everyone must have RKS plates,” Elshani emphasized.

Elshani also said that the police are aware of numerous cases of citizens who possess only Serbian documents showing residence in towns in Kosovo, but according to him, such persons are considered by the police as having no valid documents.

“We referred that issue to the Ministry of Interior; I don’t know if anything has changed, but I believe that by January 15 we will know more about it. For us, documents issued by ‘PU Kosovska Mitrovica,’ ‘PU Zubin Potok,’ and the like are not valid — we treat them as if the persons have no documents. We are, of course, aware that people live here — for example, mothers who are married here and have children here — but that is an issue for the Ministry of Interior,” he concluded.