Visa for Kosovo ?

I went there last November and the rule was we didn’t need one unless we wanted to travel into Serbia proper, in which case we would have had to get one.

Thanks for you reply, Wade.
But are the rules the same for everybody, I mean for every nationality ?

I have an Australian passport. That doesn’t get me any special treatment anywhere. You can contact the UN MIssion in Kosovo to talk about it.

I traveled there two summers ago. Crossed the border from Macedonia by train without any problems. The guards where two nice guys (french) and we had some laugh and jokes on football (World championship). With a dutch passport it was no problem, the same for my friends italian.

We went out using the kosovo/serbia border, which is said to be quite tricky, as the serbs don’t recongnize the unmik stamp. So you are inside the country without the right stamp. But at the border I had just a small check (i traveled at night by public transport).

Anyway, i don’t believe there is a visa policy. About the justification, that is a bit vague… when asked by authorities; say you are a tourist.

Ok, thanks for your help. I’ll try to contact them. If anyone is interested, I can post their reply here.

Hi Emiel, thanks. I know that I need a Visa for Serbia, but I do not intent to go outside Kosovo.

Hope I can find a a place to stay, it must be full of journalists right now.

michael,

if you need a visa for serbia,then i would get one just in case you want to enter the serbian enclaves.it might not be necessary but you might as well cover your back.

personally i have never had any problems,but then i don’t have a korean passport.

I agree with michael, just get it to be sure…
About places to sleep; what are your plans, which places you want to visit?
You could also try couchsurfer and hospitalityclub…. it can fix you a place to sleep at the strangest places on earth :)

Thank you all for your helpful replies.

Michael, you may be right, I should get a Visa for Serbia.

To be honest, I’m not 100% sure that I can go there, because of some gear problem. I’ll know tomorrow morning if I go or not :-/

If everything is ok, I intend to take a plane from Paris to Pristina on saturday morning. Once there, take the temperature, and maybe move to Mitrovica by bus/train.

Emiel, if you have some good adresses in Mitrovica or Pristina, thanks a lot for sharing.

Michael if you have a France passport you nit need a visa for Serbia and Kosovo wel de best thing to do is in Prestina go the KFOR head quarters of the UN and NAVO to get a pass so you are able to pass road blocks and if need they will help you by transport and you can go with the KFOR or others.

mitrovica is one of the hottest places around their. You can take minibusses from pristina to mitrovica, a 45 minute trip. They drop you off in the middle of mitrovica, at the albanian side. there is a nice hotel, i thought named number 1. It is at the serbian part of the town. Just a few streets from the bridge.

Well, according to the serbian embassy I finally don’t need any visa to go to Serbia.

Thanks for the info, Robert. Is the pass a must ?

Thanks again Emiel.

Hope my gear problem is resolved tomorrow.

Colleague,
Yes, as I understand it protocol is still:
Go to UN/UNMIK HQ in Pristina, and bring a hard copy of agency/media’s accreditation letter.
Email, call or fax it ahead of time. Bring passport foto (or they may do with their digital if memory
serves me).

Be aware that the UNMIK press pass is not a cart blanche to hide behind the ‘international community’. If you want to work as a responsible journalist and get “the other side of the story” meaning Serbs, non-independence Albanians, and other ethnic groups, flashing an UNMIK credential in their faces will not help. Being open, naturally curious, well informed, and discreet about your ambition will better help you to do a proper job. An UNMIK pass will get you little access or immunity; your integrity will.

God luck.

Thank you for your precious information.

I finally went to North Mitrovica after the declaration.

I confirm that the No1 Motel is a nice place with a very good restaurant.

You can see some of the photos on my web site. It has not the pretention to be journalism. Maybe next time…

http://www.jongrockpark.com/gallery-mitrovica-north-index.html