The Japanese embassy in Kosovo has officially started issuing visas, as confirmed through a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo.
The recent changes are expected to further facilitate the travel process for Kosovars, VisaGuide.World reports.
The Ministry has also announced that from March 24, holders of official or diplomatic passports will be eligible to travel visa-free to Japan.
The new decision was confirmed during a meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gërvalla, held together with the ambassador of Japan in Kosovo, Ryuta Mizuuchi and the charge d’affaires, Keisuke Yamanaka.
The deepening of diplomatic relations, cooperation in the economy, trade exchanges, sports, and support in Euro-Atlantic integration processes were the highest priority issues discussed during this meeting.
The travel process for Kosovars has been facilitated since the beginning of this year following the approval of the European Parliament to allow Kosovars to travel visa-free for short-term stays in EU’s Schengen Zone countries.
It means that from January this year, Kosovars can head to the EU’s borderless area without being subject to visas for periods of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
The decision helped Kosovo’s passport to jump by 90 positions in the Passport Index of VisaGuide.World, from the 188th position, which was placed in December 2023, to the 98th position in January 2024.
In addition, in January this year, Kosovo and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement for visa exemption for those holding diplomatic and official passports.
The visa exemption agreement was signed in Riyadh by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Kreshnik Ahmeti and his counterpart, Waleed Abdulkarim El Khereiji.
During the meeting with the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr El Khereiji, they talked about the establishment of economic cooperation, cooperation in the field of defence and against terrorism, and about the initiation and finalization of agreements in the field of transport, education and sports.
Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates also agreed to lift entry visas for citizens of Kosovo, as confirmed in January by Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani.
Another agreement was reached between the UK and Kosovo in January as well. Kosovo’s Defense Minister, Ejup Maqedonci, announced that personnel from the Ministry of Defense and the Security Force of Kosovo engaged in military and official activities in the UK will be able to travel visa-free.
In addition, Kosovars are also eligible to travel visa-free to Israel for tourism purposes while the country is working to reach a mutual visa waiver agreement with Qatar.