Nearly 20 years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, key issues remain unresolved. Dozens of states still do not recognize Kosovo — notably Serbia, five EU members and large economies such as India, Brazil and Indonesia — and Russia and China back Belgrade’s stance, blocking Kosovo’s UN membership.
At the center of tensions inside Kosovo is the status of the ethnic-Serb minority. Accurate counts are difficult because many Serbs boycotted the census, but estimates put the community at roughly 100,000 people. That number has been falling as both Serbs and the ethnic-Albanian majority emigrate for better opportunities. Many Serbs say they may soon be forced to leave rather than choose to do so, citing a Law on Foreigners that Kosovo plans to enforce from March 15.
Pristina calls the measure administrative and routine. Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla has said residents must regularize their status “as is the case in every European country.” But many Kosovo Serbs see the law as targeted: they fear it will treat long-term residents who do not hold Kosovo-issued papers as foreigners and push them out. A significant portion of the Serb community does not recognize Pristina’s institutions and continues to use Serbian documents instead.
The law requires foreigners to register with the police as visitors and enforces a “90 days in any 180-day period” limit on stays. Serbs worry those rules will be applied to people who have lived in Kosovo all their lives but lack Kosovo-issued identification, and they fret that similar restrictions could be applied to Serbian-registered vehicles used by thousands of Serbs in Kosovo. Svecla notes the law originates from 2013, its enforcement has been postponed twice, and that authorities do not intend mass expulsions: residents should be able to regularize their status.
On the ground, many Serbs describe a different reality. With enforcement imminent, those trying to comply encounter practical obstacles. Jovana Radosavljevic, director of New Social Initiative in predominantly Serb North Mitrovica, says people cannot meet Kosovo administration demands. To apply for citizenship or residency they are asked for passport copies, yet Kosovo often does not recognize Serbian passports. Some applicants were born and raised in Kosovo but face a full documentation process rather than a simple citizenship verification.
The foreigners law is the latest of several measures affecting Serbs since Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje came to power in 2021. Other steps cited by the community include restrictions on using the Serbian dinar for cash transactions, closures of health centers labeled as “parallel structures,” and shutdowns of banks and post offices that had distributed Serbian pensions and benefits. Belgrade warns the law will “gravely affect” Serb-run health and education services by limiting staff movements between Kosovo and central Serbia; many teachers, medical workers and municipal employees are employed by Serbian institutions not registered in Kosovo’s legal framework and thus cannot obtain the employment contracts needed for residence or work permits.
Petar Petkovic, head of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija, called the regulations “a severe existential blow to over 10,000 Serbs,” accusing Pristina of creating intolerable living conditions and completing “the ethnic cleansing” of Serbs from Kosovo.
Analysts offer a more measured assessment. Ilir Deda, formerly of Vetevendosje and now a senior fellow at KIPRED, doubts there will be mass expulsions or a blanket declaration that Serbs are foreigners in their own homes, but he criticizes poor communication from Pristina, Belgrade and EU mediators. “We have a population left in the dark,” he said, noting that Serb political representatives often lack clear information for their constituents. Donika Emini of the CiviKos Platform agrees Serb complaints are “quite fair” but stresses the law itself is standard for regulating foreign residents; the problem is Kosovo’s abnormal administrative environment, where Serbian documents are frequently not recognized and even marriages performed in Serbia can be hard to register.
The combined effect of these pressures has created a bleak atmosphere. Belgrade says roughly a quarter of Kosovo’s Serb population has left since 2022. From North Mitrovica, Radosavljevic fears that number will rise: “You really feel this grim atmosphere, that your identity is being denied and suffocated,” she said. Faced with mounting institutional hurdles, families will either try to stay under increasingly constrained conditions or decide to leave.
Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan