Roundtable in North Mitrovica: Numerous uncertainties in the implementation of the Laws on Foreigners and Vehicles

A roundtable on problems in the implementation of the Law on Foreigners and the Law on Vehicles, organized by the Center for the Advocacy of Democratic Culture (ACDC), was held today in North Mitrovica, where representatives of institutions, civil society, and citizens highlighted numerous practical difficulties, particularly regarding the issuance of documents, residence permits, and vehicle registration.

According to the program director of the Center, Aleksandar Rapajic, the aim of the roundtable was to identify concrete problems faced by citizens in practice, especially in administrative procedures.
“We see that this law has been applied for about a month, and that the new registration process approved by the Kosovo government is being presented as functioning properly. However, in practice, this is not entirely accurate. That is why we invited institutional representatives to clarify existing ambiguities and citizens who are facing difficulties, so that together they may seek solutions,” he said.
Rapajic explained that in practice administrative offices often request documents not envisaged by regulations, reject certain documents, or require additional ones.
“We have cases where, in each of the four northern municipalities, more than one hundred people have been rejected over the past month for various reasons—meaning over 400 individuals in total. The process loses its purpose if such a large number of applicants are rejected. Officials effectively have the discretion to request any document or reject submissions arbitrarily. There is no standardization in what is required, despite official lists of documentation,” he emphasized.

Jetmir Haziri from the Civil Registration Agency stated that a special team of experts would soon be deployed to address specific cases on the ground.
“We consider the process so far to be at an appropriate level and in line with preparations. We encourage all citizens to take advantage of the window that has been provided,” he said.
Valon Krasniqi from the Department for Asylum and Migration expressed regret that municipal representatives did not attend the roundtable, adding that institutional capacities had been increased.
“The process is progressing very well. We have around 500 applications in Mitrovica and have already issued approximately 70 decisions regarding residence permits, family reunification, and similar cases. The remaining challenges relate to specific cases that our officials are addressing. There are no unsolvable problems,” he said.
Panelists from the Serbian community pointed out that applicants whose residence permit requests are rejected do not receive written decisions, but only verbal notifications.
Çentrim Bitiqi from the legal department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs explained that written rejections are not issued because, in such cases, individuals would have to leave Kosovo and face deportation, which is currently not being enforced. Instead, applicants are given the opportunity to submit missing documentation at a later stage.
He added that applications for residence permits based on employment are still under review.
“Out of 180 cases, none have been rejected so far. We hope that by the end of the process there will be no rejections, so that no one is removed from Kosovo. If documents are incomplete, applicants will be given another opportunity to provide the missing materials,” he said.
Bitiqi also clarified that individuals undergoing the residence permit process will not be removed by the police, as they are legally allowed to remain in Kosovo during the procedure.

Greater difficulties, according to panelists, arise in citizenship applications, where documents are submitted at the municipal level but decisions are made in Pristina. In such cases, citizens have sometimes received inaccurate information.
“The decision deadline is six months, and every application must result in a decision. There have been cases where citizens were not informed of the outcome. If dissatisfied, applicants have the right to appeal and seek judicial review,” he added.
He further explained that Serbian ID cards issued by police administrations in Kosovo remain valid until 16 March 2027, while 15 June is the deadline for submitting documents for replacement.
Deputy Commander of the Kosovo Police for the North Region, Veton Elshani, stated that since 16 March, 224 warnings and 21 fines have been issued, noting that the process is proceeding satisfactorily.
“There are no major problems. The police enforce the Law on Vehicles as any police force would. However, we act with discretion—if someone has an urgent situation, such as a medical emergency, officers will allow passage. We do not confiscate vehicles; we primarily issue warnings,” he said.

He added that fines amount to €200, reduced by half if paid within two weeks, while vehicle confiscation remains a last resort and has not yet been applied.
Elshani also noted that there is currently no information regarding the possibility of re-registration of vehicles.
“We have no information that a new re-registration process will be introduced. From our perspective, it would be better to conclude this issue. If the law changes to allow registration of older vehicles across Kosovo, that could help citizens,” he explained.

Blagica Radovanovic from the NGO sector stated that, in her view, this is not a law on foreigners but effectively a civil registration issue.
“We who live here are not foreigners but residents. However, administrative changes have imposed obligations that must be followed. The problem is that central authorities do not fully understand the realities on the ground. Many documents, such as those issued in Serbia, are not recognized, and deadlines are too short,” she said.
Radovanovic concluded that the authorities in Pristina either do not sufficiently understand or are unwilling to address the problems of the Serbian community, expressing skepticism about the effectiveness of such discussions in resolving these issues.