The United Arab Emirates has signed an agreement to remove entry visas for Kosovo passport holders, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has revealed.
The decision to lift visas for Kosovo citizens has been announced following a meeting between President Osmani and the President of the UAE, Mohamed Bin Zayed, VisaGuide.World reports.
I thank the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Mohamed Bin Zayed, for accepting my proposal to lift visas for the citizens of Kosovo. The agreement reached during our meeting last month has already been signed, opening the way for more cooperation opportunities between our countries and our citizens.
The decision has sparked joy amongst Kosovo citizens who have congratulated and praised President Osmani for the achievement, in social media.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to the UAE, Xhabir Hamiti, who signed the agreement, has also expressed his joy on this achievement.
I am pleased that today we formalized the signing of the MoU for the removal of entry visas to the UAE for citizens of Kosovo.
On January 1, 2024, Kosovo citizens were granted visa-free access to the Schengen Area Member states, following a 12-year long process towards this goal.
Schengen visa liberalization has helped Kosovo passport to climb up in the Visa Guide Passport Power Index for 90 positions, from the 188th where it was listed in December 2023, to the 98th in January 2024.
The founder of VisaGuide.World, Besart Bajrami, has called the climb up in the index “historical”, praising EU’s power to give such strength to a passport overnight.
This is a historical achievement for Kosovo, and a historical climb up in the passport strength index, which showcases that only the EU has the exclusive authority to increase the power of a passport overnight, to such an extent.
Following the removal of the Schengen visa requirement for Kosovo citizens, Spain, which does not recognize it as an independent country, has moved to recognize its passports, thus enabling Kosovo passport holders to travel to Spain visa-free as well. Four other EU countries – Greece, Romania, Cyprus, and Slovakia – also do not recognize the independence of Kosovo but do accept its passports for travel.
Now that the UAE has also removed entry visas for Kosovars, it is expected that the Kosovo passport will climb up a few more positions in the Visa Guide Index for February 2024.