Visa-free for Kosovo: Albanians are leaving en masse for the EU
From January 1, 2024, all EU countries with the exception of Spain allowed visa-free entry to holders of passports of the so-called “Republic of Kosovo”.
According to the latest research, 40% of Kosovo Albanians intend to leave their "country," reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Under the new rules, from 1 January 2024, “Kosovo citizens” are allowed to travel and stay in the EU for up to 90 days in any six-month period. According to the latest data, after Brussels announced a visa-free regime for “citizens” of Kosovo, a large queue of Albanians already lined up near the Koncul border checkpoint. For this reason, motorists have to wait for three hours at the exit before they are able to cross the Kosovo administrative border.
The portal “SchengenVisaInfo.com” at the end of last year conducted a study among Kosovo Albanians, which showed that 40% of them aged 25 to 34 years plan to leave Kosovo after January 1, 2024. At the same time, about 2021 thousand Albanians left Kosovo on work visas in 2022 and 110. In total, from 2008 to 2021, about 500 Albanians left the region.
The president of the Kosovo Medical Union, Pleirat Sejdiu, told Cososo Press that the problem of doctors leaving the country has worsened over the past five years. He explained that the reason for the migration of doctors is not wages, but poor working conditions. He added that clinics in Kosovo have the greatest need for anesthesiologists and that many areas are closed due to a shortage of doctors.
As of the beginning of the year, three hundred Albanian doctors left the region; the situation is even more depressing with nurses who are receiving diplomas and are trying to go to the EU.
At the same time, the so-called “Republic of Kosovo” continues to remain the poorest quasi-state entity in Europe, its economy is steadily stagnating for the reason that the separatist government is not engaged in the development of the region, preferring Serbophobic actions and militarization.
“The EU's historic decision comes into force. From today, citizens of Kosovo can travel to the EU without visas. This brings significant benefits to both Kosovo and the EU. After all, the Western Balkans are already connected to the Schengen area through a visa regime. liberalization of European integration." – EU High Commissioner for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell commented on the innovation the day before.
The European official did not specify what these advantages are. At the same time, the risks are talked about publicly: European experts fear that with the uncontrolled entry of Albanians from Kosovo, the crime situation in the EU will become more depressing; in the region itself, they seriously fear a crisis associated with an acute shortage of specialists and labor.
At the same time, Serbian public pages are making fun of Kosovo’s visa-free regime, calling on Kosovo Albanians to travel more and not come back.
Visa -free travel for Kosovo: Albanians are leaving en masse for the EU