Passport of Kosovo

• Burgundy cover
• Issued to all citizens of Kosovo with a maximum validity of 10 years to facilitate private international travel.[9]

• Maroon cover
• Issued to political staff within the Government as well as their family members with a maximum validity of 5 years.[9]

• Black cover
• Issued to the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, members of the Government, the President of the Constitutional Court, the President of the Supreme Court, Ambassadors as well as other diplomatic staff in embassies or consulates around the world, to the Ombudsperson, members of state delegations if so required, Government officials which have been appointed as representatives of the Government in various international organisations, diplomatic couriers as prescribed by law, and persons of interest as prescribed by the law with a maximum validity of 5 years.[9]

• Light Blue cover
• Issued to the citizens of Kosovo if the original passport has been lost or stolen, and/or it has expired. It can also be issued for group travel of no fewer than 5 persons and no more than 50. A Travel Document has a maximum validity of 30 days.[9]

Visa requirements for citizens of the Republic of Kosova

  Kosovo

  Visa-free

  Visa-Free, starting January 2024

  Visa on arrival

  eVisa

  Visa available both on arrival or online

  Visa required

  Admission refused

As of 2023, Kosovar citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 41 countries and territories, ranking the Kosovar passport 99th in the world in terms of travel freedom (tied with the Sri Lankan and Lebanese passports) according to the Henley Passport Index.[10]

On 18 April 2023, the European Parliament approved visa liberalisation for nationals of Kosovo with no objections.[11] From 1 January 2024, holders of a Kosovar passport will be allowed to enter the Schengen Area (except Spain), as well as Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania, without a visa, for short stays, or 90 days within a 180-day period. This changes the visa-free or visa on arrival access to approximately 89 countries, which would correspond to Rank 59 on the Henley Passport Index. This puts Kosovo above India, China and many other non recognizers.

  Kosovo

  States that officially recognise Kosovo and the Kosovar passport

  States that have not recognised Kosovo, but have stated that they accept the Kosovar passport

  States that have reportedly been visited even though these states do not recognise the Kosovar passport nor Kosovo's independence.

  States that have not recognised Kosovo and do not accept the Kosovar passport

Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is not universally recognised. Countries like the United States do recognize Kosovo’s independence.[12] Therefore, some countries may not accept passports issued by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.[5]

In addition, other countries have recognised the Kosovar passport as a travel document whilst not recognising Kosovo as a country. This situation is similar to that of the Taiwan passport, which many countries routinely process, even though they only maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan.

The following countries have officially stated that they accept the Kosovar passport as a valid travel document, whilst not formally recognising Kosovo as an independent country:

In addition there are countries to which people have apparently been able to travel on Kosovar passports, however where this is not officially stated policy or well established de facto practice this is not an indication that such a travel can be repeated in the future. Countries that have reportedly been visited in this manner include:

Russia does not recognise Kosovo as an independent state, nor does it recognise the Kosovar Passport as a valid travel document for everyday entry to Russia under normal circumstances.[12] However, the Kosovar Passport can be used to enter Russia in special cases such as to attend or participate in events under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee and other international sporting organisations, which Kosovo is a member of. Russia issues visas in the form of special forms inserted into the Kosovar Passports. The Russian Embassy in Belgrade published a statement about use of the Kosovar Passport in Russia:[21][22]

"It is only possible to enter the territory of the Russian Federation with passports of the so-called Republic of Kosovo in cases based on the fulfilment of international obligations of the Russian Federation as a side-recipient of an event, which is organised through multilateral structures, whose member or participant is the so-called Republic of Kosovo... For other purposes, the procedure of entry of persons with Kosovo passports to the territory of Russia has not changed. Namely, their entry is not possible."

Kosovo passport stamps over-stamped by Serbian immigration officers.

Serbia has not recognised Kosovo as an independent state. However in March 2023, Serbia concluded a normalisation agreement with Kosovo in European Union mediated dialogue. Under the terms of the agreement, Serbia committed to recognise Kosovo's official documents including passports and customs stamps.[23][24][25] Citizens of Kosovo can freely enter Serbia and stay for 90 days with a valid identity card.[26]

When the issuing of new Kosovar visas and passport stamps began in 2008, Serbia refused entry to people with entry and exit stamps of the Republic of Kosovo customs authority stamps or visas in their passports. In addition, border crossings from third countries (Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia through land, many more through air travel) to Kosovo were considered illegal points of entry by Serbia, and it had created problems if one entered through there and then attempted to leave Serbia through another border crossing in Central Serbia or Vojvodina without a corresponding entry stamp. That practice, however, was soon abandoned and these were simply over-stamped (nullified), which potentially could have led to problems with long term Kosovar visas appearing to be annulled.