EU Council decided to remove visa requirement for Serbian passport holders from Kosovo

The EU Council has decided today to remove the visa requirement for holders of Serbian passports from Kosovo issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate, thereby concluding the legislative process on this issue in the EU.

According to the EU Council's announcement, a regulation has been adopted ensuring that the entire Western Balkans region is subject to the same visa regime, by removing the exclusion that previously applied to holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate.

Today's adoption by the Council concludes the legislative process. As soon as the regulation enters into force, which will happen on the 20th day following that of its publication in the 
Official Journal of the EU, it will become applicable in all EU member states.

Since December 2009, holders of Serbian biometric passports have been exempted from the visa requirement when traveling to the Schengen area. One category of holders of Serbian passports was excluded from the visa requirement exemption at the time, namely the holders of passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate in Belgrade.

On November 16, 2023, the Commission published a proposal to remove this exclusion by amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, thus enabling all citizens of the Western Balkan region to benefit from visa-free travel to the Schengen area.